The Belles will travel to Anderson, Ind., this weekend for the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regionals at Anderson University.
Seven Belles will participate in the regional meet. Junior Jessica Biek has paced her team in many meets this season. Seniors Emma Baker, Sarah Copi, Julia Kenney, and Elizabeth Majewski will also compete for Saint Mary's this weekend, as well as junior Colette Curtis and freshman Allie Danhof.
"We have been preparing for this race in a very similar fashion to how we prepared for our [MIAA] Championship meet [on Oct. 27]," Belles coach Jackie Bauters said. "I expect that the team will run very well."
The Belles will compete in a field of between 35 and 40 other teams, along with some additional individual competitors. Bauters said she expects her squad to run a good race and to hopefully peak individually.
"I am looking to see some more personal records after our championship race, as I feel like [my team] is even more finely tuned now than before," she said.
Majewski said she and her teammates are prepared to perform at a high level this weekend.
"We are all very excited and ready for this big race," she said. "Our entire season of training, especially these past two weeks, has prepared us all for the potential to run great races."
She also echoed Bauters' hope that the Belles set more personal records at the regional meet.
"We are hoping to break many personal records as well," Majewski said. "We need to run together as we have been all season and be mentally tough on the course."
Bauters said she is also hoping for overall team improvement from last year's regional, in which the team placed 22nd.
"There is a lot of great competition in our regional," Bauters "I would like to see us improve upon our place from last year in the region," she said.
The Belles are set to race for the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals at 11 a.m. at Anderson on Saturday.
Contact Laura Coletti at lcoletti@nd.edu
