WINFIELD, Kan. – Oklahoma City University's nationally-ranked cross country teams return to action this Saturday at the Southwestern College Mid-States Classic at the Winfield Veterans Home.

It will be the final tune-up for both teams for the Sooner Athletic Conference Championships, which will be hosted by OCU on Saturday, Nov. 6 at Eldon Lyon Park in Bethany, Okla. 
The Mid-States Classic women's 5K starts at 10:15 a.m. Saturday, and the men's 8K at 11 a.m. OCU's men are ranked seventh in the NAIA National Rankings, and the women are ranked 20th going into the meet.
 
Approximately 30 teams are expected to compete in each race on Saturday. Joining OCU from the Sooner Athletic Conference will be squads from John Brown, Panhandle State, Science & Arts, Southwestern Assemblies of God, Texas Wesleyan and Wayland Baptist.
 
OCU has garnered NAIA Runner of the Week honors twice this season on the men's side, with sophomore Shimales Abebe taking the honor for week two after an outstanding outing at the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree and junior Zouhair Talbi earning the honor for week four for his performance at the Chili Pepper Festival at the University of Arkansas.
 
With a field of mainly NAIA opponents, OCU head coach Frezer Legesse says the Mid-State Classic is a great measuring stick for his teams in multiple ways.
 
"This weekend will give us a good indication of how we rank with team in our division and around this area. We are right around the corner of the championship season so we will be using this meet to finalize some racing strategies to get us prepared for the SAC and NAIA meets" Legesse said.