SAN ANTONIO—The time has arrived for the biggest meet of the year.

After the week off, the NSU cross country teams head to the Southland Conference meet, which takes place Friday morning on the campus of Incarnate Word.

The women's 6k race begins at 8:30 a.m., while the men's 8k starts at 9:30. The event will be broadcast on ESPN+.

"I'm super excited for the meet," second-year head coach Dillon Dawson said. "This is the meet we've worked toward all summer and throughout the cross country season. This is the meet everyone has had their eyes set on, so we're real excited. It definitely came faster than I thought it would, but we're ready for it."

Ceyda Bayur and John Klein have led the charge for the cross country teams, as both athletes have paced their respective teams throughout the season.

A sophomore, Bayur is coming off a successful last meet, placing 20th in her first 6k as a collegiate at the Watson Collegiate College Classic on the campus of Mississippi College, running a 24:05.1.

Klein also posted a strong meet at Mississippi College, placing 40th in the meet with a season-best 27:00.2 in the 8k.

"The meet at Mississippi College was a good one," Dawson said. "The course had a few hills in it and a few of the kids weren't used to the hills. That week off gave everyone time to relax and get their minds and their bodies right as we gear up for this meet."

Leah Thompson is the only woman and one of just four members of the cross country teams who have competed in the SLC championships. Despite competing in races as a freshman in 2022, Bayur did not compete in them.

Thompson is coming off a meet in which she finished 68th in the 6k at Mississippi College with a season-best time of 26:05.7.

"An advantage to have some experience is while the conference meet isn't large with only 10 teams, it is important to stay engaged throughout the entire race," Dawson said. "When you're running it, it can feel like a long time, so one thing I will preach as we head toward this meet is just staying focused. I hope my returners can echo my sentiments as we get closer to the race and lead the way."

Thompson finished 54^th as a freshman in 2021 and 61^st in 2022. On the women's side, four freshman are running in their first conference meet. Conner Mackie and the Norton twins are also making their first appearance at the conference meet.

NSU aims for a better finish in 2023 than it had in 2022, as the men finished in ninth place out of 10 teams with a score of 274, while the women placed in 10^th place with 304 points. The lower the score the better.

"As a team, I just think we want to finish better than we did last year," Dawson said. "I think both teams are better than they were last year, so the main focus is out-doing last year's performance, which I am confident we can achieve."