JOPLIN, Mo. – The Minot State cross-country runners get one more chance to compete this weekend as they head to Missouri for the NCAA Central Region Championship hosted by Missouri Southern State University this Saturday.

Action gets underway at 10 a.m. with the women running their standard 6-kilometer course, while the men move up to a 10K, with the gun going off at 11:15 a.m. for their race.

At stake are berths to the NCAA National Championship later this month in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with the top 3 teams in both races advancing. An additional 10 at-large teams will also head to nationals, and at least 24 at-large individuals who are top finishers on non-qualifying teams at regionals.

"The team is definitely looking forward to this weekend," Minot State's head coach, Steven Schultz, said. "They are prepped and ready!

"I'm really looking for everyone to own their space; don't get lost in the shuffle of a large and competitive race," Minot State's coach added. "I think if we can get out in good position and continue to fight the whole way, we'll have a successful weekend."

Leading the way all season for the men has been Jake Jenkins, who at the NSIC Championships finished 44^th individually in 26 minutes, 53.8 seconds on an 8K course. One meet prior, he ran a collegiate-best 8K time of 26:20, finishing 5^th at the Marauders Invitational.

This will be Jenkins' second trip to the NCAA Central Region meet as he finished 165^th last fall in 34:35.5 on the 10K course.

As for the Minot State women, Emery Smith has led the way for the majority of the season, including a 49^th-place finish in 24:00.9 two weeks ago at the NSIC Championship.

Like Jenkins, she ran a collegiate-best 6K time at her previous event, the Marauders Invitational, clocking a time of 22:44 as she finished 8^th.

This will be the fourth trip to the Central Region Championship for Smith, a senior who turned in her best finish last fall at the meet as she was 131st in 23:44.5.