The Iowa State cross country program is about to face its biggest test of the season.

Both the Cyclones’ men’s and women’s teams will travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma State University Cross Country Course on Friday to compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional. Iowa State enters this meet as the defending team champions for both the men’s and women’s races.

This time of year is a very important one for cross country teams across the nation, as the end goal of reaching the national championships is almost within reach. In the nine regional meets that will be taking place, the top two teams in the overall standings will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23. The remaining 13 spots will be chosen by a committee as “at-large” bids.

The Cyclones will be looking to win their third straight Midwest Regional title on both the men’s and women’s sides, as the Cyclones come into this meet off of a long and grueling regular season.

On the women’s side, the Cyclones will again be looking to junior Cailie Logue to lead the way to a podium spot. The Erie, Kansas, native enters this race as the defending individual champion after winning the regional title last year at Bradley University. Logue is also coming off a second straight Big 12 title after holding off Oklahoma State’s Taylor Somers down the stretch.

Behind Logue, the Cyclones have a relatively younger team compared to recent years. Three of the seven who raced at the Big 12 Championships last weekend were freshmen, all of whom have played a big part in the Cyclones’ season thus far. As such, coach Amy Rudolph will be looking to runners like Madelynn Hill and Janette Schraft to score some big points for the Cyclones.

Over on the men’s side, coach Martin Smith and his squad will be looking to defend their No. 1 Midwest Regional ranking that the team has held for the entire season. The Cyclones also currently sport the No. 5 national ranking behind Stanford, Colorado, BYU and defending national champs, Northern Arizona.

Iowa State will once again be looking to senior All-American Edwin Kurgat to lead the way. The Eldoret, Kenya, native has already produced one of the greatest cross country careers in Cyclone history, having won two Big 12 Championships, a Midwest Regional title and a bronze medal at last year’s nationals.

Behind Kurgat, the Cyclones will be looking to rely on fellow seniors Addison Dehaven and David Too to secure some key spots and points. The two transfers — from Boise State and Florida A&M, respectively — have provided solid running throughout the season.

This consistency can be seen in last weekend’s conference championships, where Iowa State placed seven of its nine runners in the top-15.

The NCAA Midwest Regional Championships will start at 10:30 a.m. Friday with the Women’s 6K race, followed by the Men’s 10K championship at 11:30 a.m.

Women’s Teams:

-#22 Illinois

-#25 Oklahoma State

-#26 Minnesota

-Missouri

-Iowa State

-Wichita State

-Loyola-Chicago

-Northern Illinois

-Iowa

-Nebraska

-Bradley

-North Dakota State

-Kansas

-South Dakota

Men’s Teams:

-#5 Iowa State

-#7 Tulsa

-#23 Oklahoma State

-Kansas

-Bradley

-Nebraska

-Minnesota

-South Dakota State

-Iowa

-Illinois

-Kansas State

-Wichita State

-Missouri

-Drake

-Northern Iowa