The women’s cross country team has the potential to upset the Ohio Valley Conference championship race Saturday as the underdogs of the league.

After finishing third last year on their home course, Eastern travels to Eastern Kentucky to battle the conference. Eastern Kentucky enjoyed an 18-year string of OVC titles until last year when Morehead State upset the Colonels, who finished the race in second.

“If I had to pick it, I’d have to say Eastern Kentucky and Southeast Missouri are a little ahead of us,” head coach John McInerney said. “But our women are completely focused on winning the thing.”

With seniors Beth Martin and Lauren Rapacki leading the young team throughout the season, the new faces on the team have advanced as collegiate athletes and have the potential to prove that this weekend.

“Our young girls have come along slowly, but now they have formed an intense strategy and have experienced a big change,” McInerney said. We went to the Pre-Meet because we knew we’d get pounded, but it gets us ready for races like this.”

Martin finished sixth last year and looks to be among the front runners again at Eastern Kentucky.

“Beth has been our lead runner and Lauren and Steph (Bone) have been chasing her well,” McInerney said. “Nicole Milici knows she’s capable of being up there and Angie Simone and Krissy Peters, two freshmen have been running well too. Katie Springer will be there and has always run well at big meets for us.

“They’re going to go there with a chip on their shoulder to win it.”

The question for the women’s team will be whether the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh runners will be able to latch onto the group of three (Martin, Rapacki and Bone) to improve Eastern’s score.

“They know they can do it,” McInerney said. “We’ve got a real good shot to pull the upset.”

Eastern has never won a conference title in the five years the Panthers have been in the OVC, but they hope the sixth year is their year.

“The girls are tired of seeing the men bring home all the trophies,” McInerney said. “We’re definitely not one of the top two favorites, but hopefully SEMO and Eastern Kentucky will be looking for each other and not pay attention to us.”

If the two teams can distract each other out on the course, Eastern is hoping to sneak the five scoring runners into a position to seal a crown.

Martin is in a position to take the conference title, but she will be facing Karen Lutes of Morehead State, Kaci Pilcher and Amy Arteme of Southeast Missouri and Tiffany Cartwright of Eastern Kentucky.

“Beth has come on nicely, but she’s going to see Lutes, who won the 5,000 and 10,000-meter runs at the track outdoor championship where Beth took second,” McInerney said. “Karen has been running real well and her times are right in the same ballpark as Beth.

“Beth’s really looking forward to it. Hopefully this will be a springboard for her.”

No matter who walks away with the OVC title, it won’t be before a brutal battle out on Eastern Kentucky’s course.

“The home course advantage always helps,” McInerney said. “But it will be a matter of which team can pack together out there.”