After long hours of training and running many miles together, the men’s cross country team will put all its training to the test Friday at the Big 12 Championship meet in Lawrence, Kan.

The team set a goal at the beginning of the season to finish in the top four, and given the difficulty of the conference this year, it is quite a lofty goal.

No. 2 Colorado comes into the meet having won all 10 of the previous Big 12 cross country titles since 1996 when the conference became the Big 12. No. 19 Kansas, No. 22 Oklahoma State and No. 27 Texas are the other teams from the conference that are nationally ranked.

“With those four teams, it’s going to be tough to crack the top four,” coach Corey Ihmels said. “For us to be in the top five, we’ve got to have our game on. It’s going to take a great race from us.”

Ihmels said racing against a national powerhouse like Colorado is a great challenge and he has great respect for its program.

“Their coach there has done a tremendous job. It’s a program you kind of look to and emulate,” Ihmels said. “It’d be fun to be the first team to knock them off. Until somebody beats them, they’re the team to beat.”

The Cyclones have finished sixth in each of the last two Big 12 Championships. The team has never won the meet but came close in 1997, taking second.

Ihmels said this team has more experience than last year and he feels “really good” about where the team is at this point of the season.

“We’ve got some experience from the guys who ran last year,” he said. “It’s an important race, and obviously we’re gearing toward it. I’m excited for this weekend.”

The Cyclones will bring nine runners to the meet and the fastest five will score for the team. Ihmels said the team will be led by sophomore Kiel Uhl and freshman Guor Majak, who have been the front-runners all season long. He said he hopes to get a good performance from the rest of the team and needs guys to have a strong showing.

“We really need someone to step up for us in that three, four or five spot,” Ihmels said.

Uhl, who finished seventh last year as a freshman, said he feels ready for the meet and has confidence in how Ihmels has been preparing the team.

“Coach Ihmels has his training all set up for us so I think I’m definitely ready for it. I think he’s done a great job and he’s been there. He has great experience,” Uhl said.

Senior David Rotich, who placed 34th at last year’s Big 12 meet, said the race won’t induce any pressure the team can’t handle before the gun is fired.

“There’s always pressure to run well,” Rotich said. “It necessarily doesn’t have to be pressure from anyone else – it’s the Big 12 meet and you just feel like you have to run well. That kind of personal pressure just makes you work harder.”

As far as pep talks go, Ihmels said he will give the team a brief talk before the race to loosen them up and then let them go to the starting line.

“I think they’re a well-prepared team and they’ve got high aspirations and high goals,” he said. “I’ll give them a few words before the race and then they’re on their own.”

Kansas senior Benson Chesang, two-time Big 12 champion, will defend his individual title on his home course, the Rim Rock Farm cross country course. The 8K race will begin at 11 a.m. Friday.