Teams: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Christian University, Texas Texas, West Virginia 

The rolling hills of Kansas’ Rim Rock Farms will play host to the Big 12 Cross Country Championships this Saturday. On the men’s side, #2 Oklahoma State looks for its seventh consecutive conference title. Leading the way will be #18 Kirubel Erassa, who finished runner-up to superstar Kennedy Kithuka in 2013. He’s the top returner, so one would think Erassa’s got it in the bag. But this Cowboy has only raced one time this season, and may be challenged by a few contenders. #21 Abbabiya Simbassa of #22 Oklahoma ran well at Washington and Wisconsin this year, and will be improving on his eighth place finish from 2013. Teammate Brandon Doughty was 9th at this meet in 2013 and will try and hang with Simbassa to break up the inevitable Oklahoma State pack. Everyone’s favorite Longhorn Craig Lutz will also be in the mix. He was fearless at Roy Griak and ran tough at Pre-Nats before settling for a disappointing 16th place. He’ll want to cap off his final cross country season as a champion, which should prove an interesting individual battle.

The team title will go to Oklahoma State. No question. Yes they graduated Shadrack Kipchirchir and Thomas Farrell, but they also return four other top 18 finishers from 2013, not including Erassa. Plus, they added transfer talent Vergard Oelstad and superstar freshman Cerake Geberkidane. They’re not going anywhere.

The women’s race will be one of the best this weekend. #3 Crystal Nelson of #6 Iowa State was the runner-up in 2013 after blowing away the rest of the field with eventual winner Marielle Hall. After her Wisconsin victory this season, she’s a favorite for an NCAA title. But wait, #2 Rachel Johnson is also in this race?! Last year the Baylor Bear was 10th place in a race that would begin propelling her into the national spotlight. All American indoor 3k honors, a third place finish in the steeplechase AND a 15:39 PR in the 5k followed, and she was crowned the Pre-Nats champion just a few weeks ago. With both of these women running away from their respective fields Pre-Nats/Wisco weekend, this will be a matchup for the ages.

Let’s not forget about the other three ranked ladies in this race. #11 Katy Moen was fourth in 2013 and has been right on her teammates heels this season. Fourth at Roy Griak and fifth at Wisco put Moen in a position where we could see a 1-2 Cyclone sweep. Bethanie Brown was fifth in the conference in 2013 and ran well at Roy Griak. After sitting out of Wisco, we’ll have to wait and see if she returns to the Cyclone lineup at Rim Rock. If so, this team will be more dangerous than ever. Let’s not count out #13 Monika Juodeskaite of #20 Oklahoma State. The Cowgirl is undefeated in 2014, but has yet to face competition. Her dominating performances are an indication of her fitness, though, and she will be in the mix with Iowa State. New to the Saucony Flo5o is #23 Jillian Forsey of #17 West Virginia. The Mountaineers were the surprise team of Wisco after finishing fifth, Forsey placing an impressive 11th in 19:57. The young gun was only 25th at this meet in 2013, so that number should drastically improve this weekend.

Just like the men’s side, the women’s team victory will be an obvious Iowa State win. After scoring 35 points last year, they could do better than that performance if 100% healthy.