The 2011 Sun Belt Cross Country Championships are being hosted by Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky.

All events will take place at Kereiakes Park in Bowling Green. The women's 5k race will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the men's 8k race at 11 a.m.

The Cajuns are coming off one of their better performances of the 2011 season. Last weekend, the women saw all eight runners finish in the Top 15 en route to the team title at the Northwestern State Demons Invitational. On the men's side, five Top 20 finishes led to a runner-up finish at NSU.

Track and Field/Cross Country head coach Lon Badeaux was pleased with the results and felt both squads now know where they stand heading into the Sun Belt Championships.

"We are excited to get the opportunity to measure ourselves up against the rest of the conference," Badeaux said. "We are optimistic that if we run to the best of our abilities that we can field a competitive team."

Zach France has been the Cajuns top male runner, taking team-high honors in three of the four meets including a first place finish in the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational (21:36.4 in 4 mile course).

On the women's side, Petrona Layne has consistently been one of the squad's top performers highlighted by a Top 20 finish at the LSU Invitational.

"We need our top two male runners (Zach France and Adam Kendrick) to be competitive up front and our number 3-8 runners to run as a pack and push each other, and for our top 5 women to run within a minute of each other," Badeaux mentioned. "If we can do those things, we will have a shot to be competitive and beat some teams."

The SBC championships mark the final team event of the season for Louisiana. Should the Cajuns send individual runners, the NCAA South Central Regional Championships is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 12 at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco, Texas.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --