SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The nationally-ranked Augustana women's cross country team is ready to race at the NCAA National Championships in Joplin, Mo., this weekend. Also racing is Ryan Hartman, who will run as an individual. The races take place Saturday at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course course hosted by Missouri Southern University. The day will begin with the women's 6k race being slated for a 10 a.m. start, followed by the men's 10k race at 11:15 a.m..

Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the App Store or Google Play. 

The top-5 nationally ranked teams enter the race being tabbed the favorites. For the women, the favorites include No. 1 Grand Valley State, No. 2 Adams State, No. 3 Colorado School of Mines, No. 4 Western Colorado and No. 5 Winona State. 

The No. 13 Viking women head into the race following their second place finish at the NCAA Central Regional Championship. The women garnered their sixth-straight top three finish at the NCAA Central Region Championships collecting 95 points. They were led by Ella Bakken, who closed in 10th place with a finishing time of 21:06.2. At Bakken's heels was Aubrey Surage, who placed 12th in a time of 21:11.7.

The Viking women saw four named to the All-Region team with Bakken and Surage joined by the Overgaauw twins. Ashley Overgaauw crossed the finish line in 21:26.5 to close the race in 18th, while Amanda Overgaauw was the final AU runner to earn All-Region honors with a time of 21:31.1, good for 20th. Rounding out the top five Vikings was Tenley Nelson, who finished 35th with a time of 21:53.2.

On the men's side, Ryan Hartman eyes an individual National Championship following a second-place finish at the Central Region Championships to earn an automatic bid. He finished the regional in 29:51.4 after earning an NSIC Championship in October.