SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The Lawrence Technological University cross country teams travel to Grand Rapids to compete in the WHAC cross country championships Hosted by Aquinas College at Riverside park.

The women's race is now a 6k that starts at 3:00pm and the men's race 4:00pm with the traditional 8k. Both teams look to improve on last year's performance when the men took 3rd and the women took 5th, each team's best performance to date.

The men will be looking to qualify for the NAIA National cross-country championships as a team for the second consecutive time, following their first appearance in school history last year. The men face an uphill battle, however, as Griffin Armbrustmacher—last year's top finisher—is still recovering from injury, as well as other key runners. Conner Uppleger recently returned, so that should give them a boost.

Coach Green on the men: "We have been looking forward to this race all season. It has been a struggle with the injuries we have had with our top runners but most of them are back other than Griff. We are not as strong as last years team but we are good enough compete and qualify as a team. Worst case scenario is getting at least 3 individuals to still qualify. Our highest placing in the programs history at this meet was last year placing 3rd but the goal is finishing in the top 2."

On the women's side, they will look forward to placing higher than their top 5 finish last season which was the highest ever placing for the team. They have improved in every single race as a team and look much stronger than last year. Both Jacqueline Albo and Hanna Assenmacher look to lead the team to a higher finish while focusing on qualifying as individuals for the national championships.

Jackie and Hanna currently are ranked #3 and #5 in the conference time-wise, so if that holds up in placement during the race, they should get one of the 4 automatic individual qualifiers bids. Last year, Jackie was our first ever qualifier for the women's team and appears to be on the cusp of returning but hopefully this time she has company. "The women have all trained well and stayed healthy for the most part but this is the strongest women's team we have ever had for this meet and that is very exciting for me as a coach," said coach Green.

The Blue Devils head to Riverside Park to the complete the regular season and compete in the WHAC Championships with hopes to qualify for NAIA National Championships in Vancouver, Wash. on November 17.