Kingsville - The Texas A&M - Kingsville cross country teams are set to begin their postseasons when they host the Lone Star Conference Cross Country Championship at Dick Kleberg Park on Saturday.

The men's race, an 8k, will start first, at 9 a.m. central, and will be the 42nd iteration of Championship. The women will begin 45 minutes later, at 9:45 a.m. - their 6k will be the 42nd iteration of the race.

Twelve teams will take part in the men's race, Angelo State University, Texas A&M International University, Dallas Baptist University, Eastern New Mexico University, Western New Mexico University, Oklahoma Christian University, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, University of Texas at Tyler, St. Edward's University, Lubbock Christian University, Cameron University, and West Texas A&M University. The women's race will feature 14 teams, those previously listed as well as Midwestern State University and UT Permian Basin.

It will be the first race for the Javelinas since their trip to Romeoville, Illinois for the Lewis Crossover two weeks ago. There, TAMUK faced its most difficult competition all season, which should prepare the teams for their postseason races.

On the women's side, the Javelinas own three of the top five times that have been run in the LSC in the 6k this season. Seniors Maya Espinosa, Odette Fernandez, and Ivanova Yanes hold, respectively, the second, third, and fourth spots, with 22:12.10, 22:21.40, and 22:22.60, all three of those times were run at the Our Lady of the Lake Saint's Classic.

"I believe we can finish top five in the conference," Assistant Coach Zach Hall said. "I think our team should be able to crush the second half of the course after the rolling hills."

A big X-factor for the men's team will be freshman Nirmit Dahiya, who has just one collegiate race under his belt. That one race came when he raced against more than a dozen ranked teams in Romeoville - he ran his 8k in 26:35.30.

"I'm expecting our men to have one of our best performances in recent years," Hall said. "I'm hoping for at least one top-15 performance."

Live results for the races will be available here.
Course maps are available here: Men's Women's.