The Fighting Scots women made history two weeks ago at the Midwest Conference Championships by winning their first team title in school history. This week, they’ll try to qualify their first woman for the NCAA national meet.

      Two-time all-conference sophomore Mary Kate Beyer (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) and three-time all-MWC junior Katie Staab (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) are the Scots’ top hopes for a trip to nationals. Taryn Tang, Amy Aghababian and Whitney Dider ran strong races at the MWC meet to earn their first all-conference honors and will lead the rest of the pack using a race plan similar to the one that earned the Scots a league title.

      “We’ll use the same formula as the conference meet,” said Roger Haynes of his team, which has no seniors on the roster. “We should have scoring runners not too far behind our top two, so our pack will be strong, too. I’m hopeful we can finish in the top half of the region. It would be a big step forward for our women’s program.”

      The Scots compete in a region that is traditionally one of the strongest in the nation and may have as many as six strong contenders for the five team spots which will be considered for the national meet. Three of those teams are ranked in the top seven nationally. Only seven runners not affiliated with a qualifying team will advance to next weekend’s national meet in Hanover, Ind.

      The men’s field will not be any easier, as four of the nation’s top six teams will be competing.

      Three-time all-conference junior Clay Staley (Hanna City, Ill./Illini Bluffs) is Monmouth’s best hope for the Scots’ first national qualifier since Zach Barr in 2004. The distance veteran has steadily been improving his performances and hopes to make his national debut next week.

      “He’s running better,” reported Haynes. “It’s about what we do to prepare for this type of race experience. We’re looking for everyone to run season-best times.”

      The Scots got a look at the relatively fast course in September, but Haynes doesn’t see that as a huge advantage in what will be the final race of the season for many runners.

      “The rhythm of the race will have more to do with how we run,” said Haynes of his men’s and women’s teams. “It will be the last race of the year for many athletes, so there will be that element of excitement and everyone will be anxious to run their best.”

            The men’s race begins at 11 a.m. and the women’s start is scheduled for noon.