Last year, the women’s cross county team won a ticket to the NCAA Championships in Waterloo, Iowa, after placing second at the Midwest Regional Championship. If the Wildcats each run strong individual races at Saturday’s regional competition in Stillwater, Okla., coach Amy Tush said the squad might be able to book that return flight.

“The girls are pretty rested and sharp,” Tush said. “It’s going to take every ounce of heart to pull through and have a great day on Saturday.”

The pressure is on, as the top two teams at this meet will automatically compete in the Nov. 24 NCAAs. No. 20 Missouri and Nebraska are the top seeds going into the meet, but Minnesota and Illinois, as well as Southwest Missouri State, will also be vying for positions in the front of the pack.

Tush, however, said “the second spot is pretty wide open.”

Senior Nora Colligan agreed that winning a trip to Waterloo is not out of the question.

“Nobody expects us to make nationals,” Colligan said. “It’d be fun to surprise people, to be the dark horse.”

If the team does not finish as one of the top two, Tush said junior Diana Hossfeld might still have a chance to travel to Waterloo as an individual. The top three individuals in the region not on a top-two team qualify for NCAAs. Going into the meet, Hossfeld is seeded fourth, not including runners from top two seeds, Missouri and Nebraska. Tush said Hossfeld is shooting to finish in the top 10 and would give everything to be one of the top three.

“It’s kind of a stretch but I’m optimistic,” Hossfeld said. “The higher up I can place, the better the team can do. The first goal obviously is for the team to make it.”

The Wildcats have been tapering their mileage since the Nov. 2 Big Ten race and like before other races, the women will do race visualizations on Friday night after they have run the course. This technique allows the runners to be mentally prepared and confident.

“They visualize themselves running in perfect form, feeling good and knowing every turn,” Tush said. “It’s an individual set-up.”

“You think about how you’d like the race to play out and you visualize how you will approach the race,” Hossfeld said. “I picture that ideal scenario — thinking that I want to be in a certain position, running in the top 10. I visualize passing people and visualize myself being up there, kicking at the end and placing where I want to place.”

Hossfeld and Colligan agreed that the team is excited to have the chance to recreate the impressive performance the Cats put up last year.

“We know what’s at stake on Saturday and we know what it’s going to take to get to nationals,” Hossfeld said. “We’re all ready to have that race, take risks and put it on the line. If we have that race, no matter where we finish, we are going to be happy with it.”