SEWANEE, TN - It is finally that time of year for Trinity Cross Country, as they head to Sewanee for a chance to defend their Conference titles. Expectations will be high heading in, as the Tigers come off a strong season and will hope to continue their high level performances. Last year saw them take home trophies in both races, with both sides putting nearly 30 points between them and the respective second place finishers, a performance that they would be happy to perform an encore of. 
 
The women will get the chance to defend their crown first, taking to the course at 10:00 am. They will once again have the opportunity to fully stretch their legs on Sewanee's 6k course. With their full squad assembled and healthy, they will look to take the course by storm. They will go into this race as heavy favorites to once again emerge with the championship trophy. Rhodes is projected the closest to the Tiger women, but even they sit a full 50 points back from the favorites. This race will offer a prime opportunity to ascend the national rankings, as the women's team look towards bigger things. All the same, this race could prove a vital stepping stone along the path back to nationals, as the women look to repeat history. 
 
Though the competition is projected to be stiffer on the men's side of things, when they take to the course at 11:00 am, they will no doubt go in expecting to perform a repeat of last year's success as well. With 3 runners projected within the top 5, the Tigers will look for some combination of Kyle Fix (Wilmette, Illinois / New Trier), Sivin Naik (Austin, Texas / Westwood), Nicolas Hutchinson (Houston, Texas / Westside) and Brady Piefer (Odessa, Fla / Steinbrenner) to close out the scoring and seal the deal for the Tigers. Berry, the Tiger's principal competition in this race, have a top three of their own that has potential to break up the fun, and the Tigers will rely on their strong depth to edge out the back half of Berry's scoring members as the finishers begin to come in. 
 
While nothing is ever guaranteed in sports, the Tigers will expect to come away with full honors again this year. Coming in as the projected favorites in both races, this will be the final test for the Tigers heading into Regionals, which will be run in two weeks time, and potentially, Nationals, in 3 weeks.