LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State cross country teams travel to Seattle for the 2018 Western Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 27. The women's 6k is set to begin at 11 a.m. MT while the men's 8k is slated for noon from the Jefferson Park Golf Course.
 
In the pre-championship poll, as voted on by the leagues head coaches, the NM State women's squad was pegged to finish fourth after claiming the conference title on a tiebreaker in 2017. WAC newcomer California Baptist was favored to take the women's crown, earning seven first-place votes for 63 points. Utah Valley (55) and UT Rio Grande Valley (45) were picked to finish in second and third, respectively, with each program grabbing a first-place pick. Following NM State (44) was Grand Canyon (37) in fifth and UMKC (34) in sixth. Host Seattle U picked up 23 points for seventh and CSU Bakersfield followed closely behind in eighth with 15 points. Chicago State rounded out the poll in ninth with eight votes.
 
On the men's side, the Aggies finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the coaches' poll. Utah Valley was selected to win the WAC Championship, receiving 46 points and four first-place votes. CBU was pegged as second with 40 points and three first-place votes and UTRGV took third with 38 points and the remaining first-place vote. GCU, UMKC and the New Mexico State received 26 points apiece for a fourth place tie. Seattle U (15) and Chicago State (7) rounded out the poll.
 
Jess Dominguez and Julia Yescas look to lead the NM State women's squad after picking up all-conference honors following the championship run during the 2017 meet. For the men's team, senior Abel Ketema hopes to repeat his all-conference run from last year during his final league race.
 
Fans can catch live coverage from the event on the Facebook Live. The awards presentation is set to take place following both races at 1:15 p.m.