BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — The NCAA Atlantic Region Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships are set for this Saturday, and nine Mountain East Conference programs are set to compete.

The races will take place at the West Branch Cross Country Course at Stern Atlantic Complex in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. The women’s 6K race will take place first, starting at 10:30 a.m., with the men’s 10K event to follow at 11:45 a.m.

Participating teams and individual runners can compete for the NCAA Division II National Championships at the event. The top three teams from each regional meet automatically advance to the championship (24 teams total). Individually, the top two student-athletes who are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance (16 runners). All competitors who finish in the top five at the regional meet and are not part of a qualifying team will also advance to the NCAA Championships.

The D-II National Championship event will be held at Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Monday, Nov. 10.

The men’s and women’s teams competing from the MEC on Saturday will be Charleston, Concord, Davis & Elkins, Fairmont State, Frostburg State, Glenville State, West Liberty, West Virginia Wesleyan, and Wheeling.

On the women’s side, Davis & Elkins is coming off its second consecutive MEC team title. The Senators had five of the top 11 finishers at the 2025 MEC Women’s Cross Country Championships, which were held on the Crispin Course at Oglebay Park in Wheeling, West Virginia, on Oct. 25. Davis & Elkins’ Lauren Twyman, Lydia Falkenstein, Rebecca Tellez, and Savanna Hardman earned All-MEC first team recognition.

The Senators captured the Atlantic Region championship and qualified for the NCAA Championships a season ago. In 2024, Twyman finished sixth at the regional, and Falkenstein came in 10th.

On the men’s side, the University of Charleston enters the Atlantic Regional coming off a dominant performance at the 2025 MEC Men’s Cross Country Championships. The Golden Eagles had the top four finishers on the Crispin Course at Oglebay Park in Wheeling, West Virginia: Hugo Hewitt, Thomas Crockett, Harry Witt, and Jules Geffroy-Remot. Hewitt was named the MEC Runner of the Year, and Witt earned MEC Freshman of the Year honors.

Last season, Davis & Elkins finished first at the Atlantic Regional and Charleston placed third, both earning NCAA team bids. Among returnees, Geffroy-Remot finished 16th at the 2024 regional competition.