JAMESTOWN, N.D. – With the season quickly winding down, the Minot State cross country teams are prepared for a strong push toward their Championship season.

That push starts Friday morning at the Jimmie Invitational hosted by Jamestown at the Parkhurst Campground. The men's 8-kilometer race gets underway at 9:30 a.m., with the women slated to run a 6K starting at 10:10 a.m. Both races were moved up from late Friday afternoon to the morning to beat the early October heat.

But Minot State coach Steven Schultz expects his teams to turn up the heat themselves on the course.

"I'm looking for people to put themselves in good positions, to race hard down the stretch, and to cover moves from other competitors," he said of the weekend's race goals.

The second-to-last regular season meet before the NSIC Championships on Friday, October 24, in Wayne, Nebraska, this weekend's meet, hosted by the Jimmies, will be a good test for the Beavers as they prepare for the Championships later this month.

"I think this weekend is important in that it is another opportunity to complete," Schultz said, adding, "the race lineup is going to be more competitive than we originally thought it would be, so we need to take advantage of that fact and race with confidence."

Jake Jenkins, a junior from Grand Forks, has been racing with confidence this season as he's led the men in their two previous races. That includes a top 20 finish at the season-opening Marauders Invitational a month ago.

On the women's side, Emery Smith ran a career-best 6K time at Mary's meet, finishing 10^th in 22 minutes, 44.92 seconds, while teammate Bailey Wride led the way at the Beavers' second meet, the Roy Griak Invitational, finishing 35^th in 24:29.5.

Following Friday's meet hosted by Jamestown, the Beavers will race once more before the NSIC Championships, running at the Marauders Open at the McDowell Dam Recreation Area on Friday, October 10.