For the second straight year, Texas will be running in the National Championships and trying to improve on last year’s 20th-place finish, the best finish in more than 20 years for the Longhorns.

Texas has come in second in its last two races, finishing behind Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship and behind Arkansas in the South Central Regional a little more than a week ago. After reaching its highest ranking in history, Texas slid from No. 12 down to No. 17 for the National Championship.

The Longhorns have employed a conservative attack this season, which calls for a steady run through the whole race, with a window for a closing kick at the finish. One of the main challenges presented in the National Championship is the size of the field.

“The big issue is that there are 31 teams, and it is very crowded. Nobody is ready for that,” coach Steve Sisson said. “No one has been in a race of that size. It is hard to move up throughout the course of it. That is our challenge, to get them in a good spot, allow them to move up and hopefully, they can execute that.”

Starting will be a challenge. With so many runners in one area, advancing and getting a good position becomes crucial to get off to a good start and get out of the crowd.

“People get vicious, they do. They can elbow you, spike you, cut you off, not let you through. You just have to fight through it,” sophomore Megan Siebert said.

The race will begin at approximately 11:58 a.m., with coverage beginning at 11 a.m. at NCAA.com. The 6K race will be at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.