The NCAA cross-country championships take place Saturday at the LaVern Gibson course outside Terre Haute, Indiana. It’s a familiar venue, having played host to the meet 11 of the previous 14 years. The women’s 6K race goes off at 11:00 a.m. eastern with the men’s 10K at noon. Here are five key questions that will get answers on Saturday:

1. Can anyone stop Oregon’s Edward Cheserek from winning a fourth-straight title? 

Three years ago in Terre Haute, over a muddy, wind-swept course in sub-freezing conditions, Oregon freshman Edward Cheserek unseated defending champion Kennedy Kithuka of Texas Tech to claim his first NCAA victory. Now a senior, Cheserek has amassed 13 individual NCAA titles in cross country and track during his three years in Eugene. Cheserek can become the first four-time cross-country champion with a win Saturday.

But there will be a handful of challengers, each of whom would be a legitimate title contender in a season lacking an athlete of Cheserek’s caliber.

Villanova’s Patrick Tiernan, also a senior, was runnerup in Louisville last year but hasn’t found a way to defeat Cheserek in cross country or on the track. A year ago, he pushed the pace, but Cheserek dropped him on an uphill section a little past five miles, and Tiernan had no response. Lacking Cheserek’s finishing speed, Tiernan’s only hope of winning is to try to tire Cheserek over the first 8K. His efforts may be aided by the Terre Haute course, which is more difficult than Louisville’s. But wearing down the Oregon star is something no one has perfected.

Major Changes Hit Northern Arizona Elite, Justyn Knight of Syracuse and Northern Arizona’s Futsum Zienasellassie. Knight has won four significant races and possesses finishing speed close to that of Cheserek. He was fourth a year ago in leading Syracuse to the team title. And Knight outkicked top U.S. pro Galen Rupp to win last June’s Stumptown Twilight 5,000 meters in a personal best 13:26.36. He has looked sharp in every outing this fall. 

Zienasellassie ran in Indiana as a prep and feels at home on the LaVern Gibson course. A three-time cross country All-American (31st in 2012, fourth in 2013, third in 2014), he took a redshirt last fall so NAU would be at peak strength this season. Although edged by Knight at Wisconsin five weeks ago, Zienasellassie rolled to victory at the Big Sky conference meet and also won the Mountain regional. He’ll be doubly motivated on Saturday given NAU is the meet favorite.

2. Will the women’s individual race come down to the wire?

Although the women’s race lacks a clear favorite, the final mile is likely to be a battle among a quartet of competitors. New Mexico’s Alice Wright, Notre Dame’s Anna Rohrer, and Boise State’s Brenna Peloquin finished fifth, sixth, and ninth, respectively, a year ago and are the top returnees. But experienced Michigan senior Erin Finn is determined to run for the win. Out most of the summer with a stress fracture, Finn cross-trained relentlessly to begin the season surprisingly fit. She sustained a narrow early-season loss to Peloquin at the Roy Griak Invitational but has been flawless since.

At the Pre-Nationals meet on October 15, Finn ran the 13th-fastest 6K time ever recorded on the LaVern Gibson course in 19:44.7. She next rolled to an easy 25-second win at the Big Ten championships before coming out on top at last Friday’s Great Lakes regional, where she dropped Rohrer in the fifth kilometer and won by eight seconds. The Michigan senior says she has never approached a championship race as fit and confident as she is the month. But at least three challengers should make things interesting.

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NAU has held the No. 1 ranking for seven weeks. Coach Eric Heins’s squad validated their top spot on October 14 by claiming a 40-point victory over Stanford in a field of 18 ranked teams at the Wisconsin Invitational. Heins, who is leaving NAU to be with his family in Houston at the end of the season, has guided a consistently strong program that finished a close runnerup to Colorado in 2013. But beside Zienasellassie and his senior teammate Nathan Weitz, none of the Lumberjacks have significant nationals experience. So, should NAU falter, several strong teams appear poised to step up and claim the championship.

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Colorado, currently No. 2, lost several key members of last season’s runnerup squad. But the Buffaloes will bring a very solid top five to Terre Haute, led by three-time All-American Ben Saarel Pro Runners Ask: Is My Agent Worth the Fee John Dressel. A decisive Pac-12 win over current No. 3 Stanford demonstrated this team’s potential. Stanford, No. 4 BYU, and No. 5 Syracuse are all podium-worthy teams capable of challenging for the championship. 

4. Can anyone challenge the Colorado women?  

The Colorado women haven’t won a national title since 2004, when they claimed a lopsided 81-point victory over Duke. This year’s Buffalo lineup is so good they might eclipse that margin. Out front is a pair of All-Americans in Erin Clark and Kaitlyn Benner, USATF to Elect New President Amid Budget Deficit Dani Jones, 49th in Louisville a year ago, has improved significantly and took third at the Pac-12 conference meet, just a second behind Clark. CU outpaced current No. 7 Washington, 33–74, at Pac-12s, with No. 4 Stanford third at 83. The Buffaloes inflicted a 35–109 drubbing on 2015 national champion and current No. 6 New Mexico at the Mountain regional.

A few of the remaining teams are convinced they can topple Colorado. North Carolina State, currently ranked No. 2, cruised to easy wins at the ACC championships and Southeast regional. Led by senior Erika Kemp, Coach Laurie Henes’s team is deep, but several of her key runners have dealt with injuries at different points this season. The Wolfpack top five must run flawlessly to challenge Colorado.

No. 3 Providence, second in 2012 and champions in 2013, made the podium with a fourth-place finish last fall. This year they are running without standout Catarina Rocha (39th at nationals in 2015), who is redshirting the season. 

5. John A. Kissane? 

A few freshmen make a real difference at the NCAA championships most years. Last November, in the women’s race, Boise State firs-year teammates Allie Ostrander Health - Injuries Sharon Lokedi 20th. In 2013 Cheserek won as a freshman while Colorado’s Saarel finished eighth and Tiernan of Villanova was ninth. It’s doubtful either of this year’s races will see three freshmen in the top 10, but a pair of first-year collegians with world class runners for parents should do well.

Oregon has been led this fall by freshman Katie Rainsberger, whose mother, Lisa, won the Boston Marathon in 1985 and is the last American to triumph in the event. Competing as Lisa Larson Weidenbach, she also placed fourth in three consecutive U.S. Olympic marathons trials (1984, 1988 and 1992). Katie Rainsberger finished sixth at Pre-Nationals, fifth at the Pac-12 championships and 11th at the West regional. 

Colorado redshirt freshman Joe Klecker, the top finisher for the Buffaloes at last Friday’s West regional, also boasts impressive distance running lineage. His mother, Janis, won the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials marathon and finished 21st at the Barcelona Olympics. Barney Klecker, Joe’s father, set a world record for 50 miles on the roads in 1980, and his mark of 4:51:25 remains the American record. If Colorado is to make the podium and challenge No. 1 Northern Arizona for the team title, they’ll need another strong run from Klecker.