With the fall season coming to a close, the ISU cross-country teams will head to Waco, Texas, this weekend for the Big 12 Conference Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2.

A win for the women’s squad would mark the Cyclones’ third-consecutive conference championship.

“There are no words to describe it. I came to [Iowa State] to be a part of a team that was great and was able to accomplish these things,” said ISU captain Samantha Bluske. “Not many people can say that they won one championship, let alone three. It would be incredible.”

Bluske was sidelined earlier in the season due to a stress fracture in her foot, which caused her to be in a boot for about four weeks. She was cleared by officials to start workouts again last weekend and slowly has been getting back into a routine.

Whether she will run or not this weekend is still up in the air.

“I’m treating it like I’m racing on Saturday, but really, it will be a game-time decision,” Bluske said. “But whether I race or not, it doesn’t change our goal as a team: to win a third conference championship.”

The men’s team moved up in the rankings last week. The Cyclones are ranked No. 4 in the Midwest region, after being outside of the top 10 earlier in the year.

Although they haven’t raced in competition in close to a month, the runners feel they are well prepared for the conference meet.

“The last three weeks have gone extremely well in our training,” said ISU coach Martin Smith. “If we can transfer the improvements we have made in practice into the competition environment, I’m confident that the team will maximize our finish.

“The hope is that a successful performance at the Big 12 Championships will be a positive catalyst for regionals.”

After the ISU women finished fifth at the Wisconsin Adidas Invite two weeks ago, the team jumped 20 spots in the national rankings and are now No. 8. It was ISU coach Andrea Grove-McDonough’s job to make sure that the new ranking didn’t go to the runner’s heads.

“Obviously the ranking was very exciting and a nice compliment,” Grove-McDonough said. “But I tried to bring the girls back down to Earth, too. I’m not sure we are the eighth best team out there yet. We can be eighth as long as we remain solid as we go forward. Anything is possible.”

The men will start their 8-kilometer race at 10 a.m., and the women will start their 6-kilometer race at 11 a.m. The meet will be at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco.

And along with the high expectations from the women’s squad, Grove-McDonough has some pretty high expectations, too.

“I’m excited to see how they preform in a championship setting and see how they handle pressure that goes along with that,” Grove-McDonough said. “I’m expecting to go in and kick some butt. And honestly, I’m expecting a win.”