BOWLING GREEN, Kent. – Kereiakes Park is the site of this Saturday's 2019 Conference USA Cross Country Championships.
 
Louisiana Tech head coach Gary Stanley takes his Bulldog and Lady Techster teams to the blue grass state where they will compete in the event hosted by WKU.
 
The men's 8K race begins at 9 a.m. while the women's 5k race will start at 10 a.m.
 
"Both the men's and women's teams are excited about the upcoming C-USA cross country championships," said Stanley. "Both teams have worked extremely hard. Despite being very young teams, they have improved greatly in the last month."
 
The Bulldogs will be represented this weekend by John Barham, Ben Beard, Noah Elder, William Harrell, Conner Killian, Cooper Krenkels and Josiah Perez. Harrell has been the leader of the Bulldog pack this fall, finishing second at the Mook Four and sixth at the Watson Invitational. Perez finished 13^th at the Chile Pepper Festival which saw more than 300 competitors run in the event.
 
"The conference championship is something we have had marked on our calendars since the end of the outdoor track season," said Harrell. "We know Coach Stanley always has us in peak form when the championship season comes around. Come race day it is all about working together and fighting until the very end. Our result will not be determined by a single man's race. There is no doubt in my mind the Bulldogs are ready to run."
 
Tech finished fifth out of 13 teams at the 2018 C-USA championships held in Boca Raton, Florida. However, the Bulldogs top two finishers from a year ago – Austin Ballow and Mason Youberg – are both redshirting this season. Harrell, Elder, Perez, Killian and Krenkels all competed in last year's championships, providing some experience for the group.
 
On the women's side, Tech will be represented Saturday by Elise Bordlee, Bethanie Dunn, Callie Ezell, Brianna Hood, Riley Killian, Jacquelin Laberteaux and Emily Milbourn. Killian has led the Lady Techsters in all three races this season, recording a pair of top 10 finishes, including a 5^th place finish at the Mook Four and a 10^th place finish at the Watson Invitational.
 
She knows the challenges that the course in Bowling Green will represent for the field.
 
"The race in Western Kentucky this weekend is a notoriously very difficult course," said Riley Killian. "Our goal is to go and beat people. It is not focused on times. Personal records do not usually come from a course like this. It is going to be the coldest and hilliest race we will face all season. I'm just really excited to get out there to race hard and see how we do."
 
Killian, Dunn, Bordlee and Milbourn all competed in the 2018 C-USA Championships.