Senior runner Samantha Bluske has just one more opportunity to qualify for the national cross-country meet. And she gets to do it at her home course.

“I’m most excited to just be racing in Ames,” Bluske said. “I’ve never raced a championship-type race here, and having it be one of my last races is pretty exciting.”

On Friday, Nov. 15, the men and women’s teams will host the NCAA Midwest Regional meet at the Iowa State cross-country course. The women have won this meet the past three years and are hoping to make it a fourth.

Iowa State hasn’t hosted the meet since 1997, but the team is hoping that running at its home course will play a big part in its performance.

“We have been out there working all fall on that course, so everyone is really confortable with it,” Bluske said. “Hopefully we will have a decent size fan base. Ames is a great running community, so everyone usually gets excited for these things.”

The team is coming off of its third consecutive Big 12 Championship, which the girls say improved their morale.

“It definitely boosted our confidence,” said Crystal Nelson. “We knew we were capable of winning the Big 12 meet; we just didn’t know how we would stack up against the other big teams. I think we surprised others and ourselves.”

The team stayed in a hotel off campus last night to prepare for the meet and maintain their focus.

However, coach Andrea Grove-McDonough is confident that nothing will be able to shake this team’s determination.

“I don’t think that we have to do anything special. It’s just business as usual,” Grove-McDonough said. “We just need to have a solid day. There shouldn’t be a way that we won’t advance. I’m that confident.”

The men will start at noon Friday with the women racing after at 1:15. The meet includes 37 teams, all from the Midwest. The women are listed as the top team in the region, while the men have jumped to the No. 3 spot after coming in second at the conference meet.

The women are also ranked No. 7 in the nation, and the men are No. 24 in the latest polls by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

And with the teams competing at home for the first time this season, the runners are looking for strong fan support from the Iowa State community.

“We really want to give back to the people that come out during the day,” Coach Grove-McDonough said. “We want to give back to our fans, and don’t want to let our supporters down. It’s a lot more exciting for the team being at home, but we still have a job to do, and we will do it.”