The Rockhurst men's and women's cross country teams return to action Sunday (Oct. 11) at the NCAA Pre-Nats at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas.

The meet will give the Hawks an opportunity to compete on the NCAA Championship courses. The men's 8K is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by the women's 6K at 10:15 a.m. The women will race on the national championship 6K course, while the men's course follows the national championship layout minus 2,000 meters.

Rockhurst enters the weekend after a strong showing at the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Missouri, where junior Carrington Hessen and freshman Elijah Smith led the squads. Hessen won the women's 6K race at Gans Creek, finishing first among 255 runners with a time of 20:48.2. Her performance helped the Rockhurst women place ninth out of 23 teams. Smith led the Rockhurst men with a 32nd-place finish among 257 runners, completing the 8K course in 25:49.8. The Hawks finished 11th out of 21 teams.

Their performances earned both runners Great Lakes Valley Conference/Athletic Solutions Runner of the Week honors on Sept. 29. Smith became the first Rockhurst men's cross country runner in program history to earn the award, while Hessen collected the honor for the second time this season. The pair also gave Rockhurst its first sweep of the GLVC men's and women's Runner of the Week awards in program history.

Sunday's meet begins at 9:30 a.m. with the men's 8K, followed by the women's 6K at 10:15 a.m. Live and final results will be available through Black Squirrel Timing.