A matchup between two of the best women’s NCAA cross country programs in the nation-- No. 2 New Mexico and No. 5 Boise State-- headlines this Friday’s 2018 Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships in San Diego, California, which will be live on FloTrack starting at 11 AM CT.

WATCH THE 2018 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE XC CHAMPIONSHIPS LIVE ON FRIDAY

A compelling men’s race awaits as well, so you won’t want to miss a second of the action in SoCal. Here’s what to watch at Mountain West:

Women’s Team Battle: Boise State Looks To Snap New Mexico’s Decade-Long Win Streak

Teams To Watch: No. 2 New Mexico, No. 5 Boise State

The defending NCAA champion and second-ranked New Mexico Lobos have won each of the last 10 Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships dating back to 2008, and on Friday in San Diego they’ll look to make it 11 straight. Led by 2017 NCAA XC champ Ednah Kurgat, the Lobos swept the top three places a year ago, and all three ladies-- including 2018 Pre-Nats white race winner Weini Kelati-- will be on the start line again this time around.

New Mexico's win at Pre-Nationals on October 13:

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With that dominant trio up front, coach Joe Franklin’s squad will be favored in Southern California, but a Boise State squad that upended UNM a month ago at the Nuttycombe Invitational certainly has the firepower to end the Lobos’ streak.

While New Mexico’s big three of Kurgat, Kelati, and Charlotte Prouse appear to be slightly stronger than Boise’s top trio of Allie Ostrander, Emily Venters, and Clare O’Brien, all of whom finished in the top 10 at Nuttycombe, the Broncos could sneak past their rivals on Friday if their four and five runners outperform UNM’s last two scorers. 

That’s exactly what happened at Nuttycombe, which led directly to Boise State’s 39-point beatdown of the Lobos on September 28. Alexis Fuller and Maxine Paholek, Boise’s No. 4 and 5, beat their New Mexico counterparts-- Adva Cohen and Hannah Nuttall-- by a combined 51 points.

Cohen was much improved at Pre-Nats as she finished 14th, and the junior will need to be just as strong on Friday for New Mexico to keep their streak alive. The same goes for Nuttall, who took 41st at Pre-Nats after placing 83rd at Nuttycombe.

Women’s Individual: Kelati vs. Kurgat vs. Ostrander Is Top Conference Individual Battle

Names To Watch: No. 1 Weini Kelati (New Mexico), No. 2 Ednah Kurgat (New Mexico), No. 5 Allie Ostrander (Boise State), No. 16 Charlotte Prouse (New Mexico), No. 24 Emily Venters (Boise State), No. 25 Clare O’Brien (Boise State)

The Mountain West women’s race is the only conference matchup across the country that will feature three of the top five individuals in the FloXC rankings. With two national champions-- Ednah Kurgat and Allie Ostrander-- plus the current No. 1-ranked Weini Kelati, the talent at the top of this race is unmatched in the NCAA this weekend.

Kurgat won the race easily a year ago by 13 seconds over Kelati as part of an undefeated 2017 season, but Kelati has clearly elevated her game over the last 365 days. She will have all the momentum after beating Kurgat and winning Pre-Nationals two weeks ago in Madison.

Ostrander has only beaten Kurgat once in cross country-- three years ago at NCAAs when Kurgat was a freshman at Liberty. Since then, she’s lost four consecutive cross country battles to Kurgat, and with Kelati running better than ever, Ostrander’s odds are long to beat both of them.  

Still, Ostrander has been around the block and is a former champion of this race. A victory is not out of the question for the eight-time All-American.

Men’s Team Battle: Boise State Looks To Reclaim Throne Against 2017 Champ Colorado St., Upstart Wyoming

Teams To Watch: No. 8 Boise State, No. 15 Wyoming, No. 16 Colorado State, No. 21 Air Force 

The Rams from Colorado State won their first-ever Mountain West crown last year as part of a dream season that culminated in a top 10 finish at NCAAs, but with CSU losing two of their top five from last year’s team, the eighth-ranked Boise State Broncos will look to take advantage with their highly experienced squad.

The Boise boys have four upperclassmen in their top five-- including 2016 Mountain West champ Yusuke Uchikoshi-- and will be the favorites in San Diego. However, an upstart Wyoming squad-- led by Paul Roberts-- and the Cole Rockhold-powered Colorado State men will push the Broncos hard on Friday.

Paul Roberts is the Cross Country Star You've Never Heard Of - @FloTrack #OneWyoming #GoWyohttps://t.co/Sy8hoanr4q

— Wyoming Track and XC (@wyo_track) October 12, 2018

Boise appears to have the upper hand based on their 93-point defeat of Colorado State at Nuttycombe on September 28, but a much smaller field at Mountain West should shrink that difference considerably. The Broncos haven’t faced Wyoming yet this season, but considering that the Cowboys and Colorado State were separated by just three points at Pre-Nats, both teams project similarly. 

For either Colorado State or Wyoming to score an upset, one thing is for sure: the Cowboys and Rams will both need to have tight spreads. CSU’s was a whopping 55 seconds at Nuttycombe, and although they improved to 29 seconds at Pre-Nats, that still wasn’t as strong as Boise’s 23-second spread at Nuttycombe. Wyoming, meanwhile, had 41 seconds between their 1-5 runners at Pre-Nats. 

This stat will likely end up being the key of the race in a battle between three programs closely matched on paper.

Men’s Individual: This One Is Wide Open

Names To Watch: Cole Rockhold (Colorado State), Paul Roberts (Wyoming), Yusuke Uchikoshi (Boise State)

With no clear individual favorite between Colorado State’s Cole Rockhold, Wyoming’s Paul Roberts, and Boise State’s Yusuke Uchikoshi, the men’s race is there for the taking for the runner who has the best day. 

The senior Rockhold may have the psychological edge as the top returner from last year’s race-- he was second in 2017-- but he was beaten by Roberts at Pre-Nats, so an argument could be made that the Wyoming junior has the advantage with that momentum. And Uchikoshi was the 2016 MWC champ, so he too is right in the mix.

No matter who wins, this should be a fight all the way to the tape.