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GRINNELL, Iowa – The Cornell College women’s cross country team will look to defend its Midwest Conference (MWC) title on Saturday when Beloit College hosts the 2016 Women’s Cross Country Championship. 

Despite winning last season’s title and returning the NCAA National Champion Abrah Masterson, Cornell enters this weekend as the underdog to a powerful group from St. Norbert College, who is ranked 15 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll.  The Green Knights, who are also rated fourth in the Midwest Region, boast four of the top six runners in the league, including senior Erin Artz who has the fastest time in the conference so far this fall.  Artz ran a 21:35.70 at the Greater Louisville Classic back on October 1 and was named the USTFCCCA Division III Athlete of the Week after she finished first and helped St. Norbert achieve a perfect score at Lawrence University’s Gene Davis Invitational.  

Freshman Taylor Domro has been a huge addition this fall and also ran a tremendous time down in Louisville.  Domro is currently ranked third in the league behind Artz and Masterson, respectively.  Junior Lisa Baeten and senior Brittany Kozlowski will be critical pieces to the Green Knights’ championship hopes as they are rated fifth and sixth in the league.  Graceanne Tarsa, Abby Janto, Clarissa Jauregui and Sarah Parbs should also contend for all-conference honors, which is awarded to the top 20 finishers.  St. Norbert has not won a MWC title since the 2010 season.  

Despite already winning a national title in her career, Masterson is still searching for her first conference title.  Rachel Moline is rated as the fourth-best runner in the conference and will need to have a big performance on Saturday for the Rams to remain in the hunt.  Cornell’s MariKate Murphy and sophomore Dominique Fleming will also contend for all-conference medals.  The Rams are currently ranked No. 8 in the Central Region. 

The No. 10-ranked team in the Central Region is Grinnell College.  Emma Luhmann and Emma Zimmerman will be key pieces for the Pioneers as both were all-conference runners last season.  Both juniors are ranked in the top 10 in the league entering this weekend.  Grinnell’s underclassmen will be pivotal if they want to maintain their hold on third-place in the conference and freshman Tori LaVerdiere and Mikayla Fujiwara must run solid races. 

For Monmouth College, junior Joanna Podosek will lead the charge.  She ran the seventh-best time in the conference this season in her last appearance at Bradley University and will certainly be expected to win all-conference hardware.  Her teammate, Caitlyn Allen also had a strong effort at Bradley and should provide a solid finish for the Fighting Scots.  Kate Saulcy will be leaned on for Monmouth, who is trying to improve on its fourth-place finish from last season. 

Beloit College’s Emma Koenig finished just outside the top 20 in last season’s Championship, but is currently ranked 14^th, while teammate Ellie Waddle, a sixth-place finisher at the conference meet last season, is ranked 21^st.  Lake Forest’s Cassie Lira ran a great race early this season at Aurora University and could also factor into the all-conference discussion.

Lawrence University does not have a runner ranked in the top 20, but does have four runners rated between 25-33.  Junior Erin Schrobilgen leads the group while Hannah Kinzer should also perform well. 

Action at The Beloit Club will begin at 11:00 a.m. with the men’s race, while the women’s race will follow at 12:00 p.m.