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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville cross country teams will return to the course on Friday afternoon in one of the biggest meets of the year, as the Purple Aces will take part in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships at Weibring Golf Course in Normal, Illinois.  The women's 6-K race will begin the meet at 1 p.m., with the men's 8-K race scheduled for 2 p.m.  Friday's races can be seen live on ESPN3 from the links above.

Weather could play a major factor in Friday's MVC Championship meet, as rain is expected for two-straight days in Normal, Illinois prior to meet day.  On Friday, the forecast calls for more rain and a high of 56 degrees, with north winds howling between 10 and 20 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

"This is going to be a very different kind of race, and I say that for every school involved," said UE cross country head coach Don Walters.  "The weather is going to be a factor, and the ground could be very soft and muddy, especially by the time we get to the men's race.

"We're just going to go out and try and set as many personal-best times that we can on Friday.  If we can do that, especially given the expected conditions, it will be a great day."

The women will be competing in the longer 6-K event for the first time in MVC Championship history on Friday.  Graduate student Anna Lowry (Taylorville, Ill./Taylorville) will be trying to become the first three-time, first-team all-MVC selection in UE women's cross country history, as she has placed in the Valley's Top 10 in each of the last two conference meets.  Only UE Hall of Fame male runner Nick Waninger (2004-06) has earned first-team all-MVC honors three times on the men's side.

Lowry posted the third-fastest 6-K time on record at UE the last time out, as she clocked in with a time of 22:02.3 to place second at the UE Invitational.  Senior Sam Weldon (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger) also placed in the Top 10 with a personal-best 6-K time of 24:14.3 at the UE Invite.

On the men's side, sophomore Peter Epur (Eldoret, Kenya) will look to pace the Purple Aces for the fifth time this year, after posting a top-10 individual finish at the UE Invitational with an 8-K time of 26:29.4.  Freshman Adam Oulgout (St. Paul, Minn./Central) has been a consistent #2 runner for UE on the men's side this year, and they will be aided by graduate student J.J. Pedersen (Milford, Conn.) who will be competing in his final race for the Purple Aces.  Pedersen has run third for UE in his two meets competed in this year, as he currently splits time between Evansville and Northwestern University, where he is doing clinical work for UE's Master's in Athletic Training program with the Northwestern football program.