BELOIT, WIS. - The Knox Cross Country teams hit the road this afternoon to head to Beloit for the Midwest Conference Championship on Saturday.

The 2026 Midwest Conference Championship will take place on Halloween at the Beloit Country Club. The women's 6K is set to start at 11:00 a.m., and the men's 8K will follow at 12:00 p.m.

Last year, Knox's men's team came in fifth place at the event, led by Lance Miller. With Miller graduated, Misha Ratner has stepped into his role as the Prairie Fire's leading runner. Ratner's best 8K this season was at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational when he ran a 27:32.7, but his best time came at the conference meet last year when he crossed the finish line at 26:46.7.

Max Lawrence has been right behind Ratner throughout the season as his best 8K marked a 30:13.0 pace. Ridesh Rokaha Chhetri and Adam Szpakowski picked up their best times of the season in the Augustana Interregional, like Lawrence did.

Elsie Conwell has led the charge for the women's team. Her best 6K time this season came at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational when she ran a 25:11.4, but her personal best performance also came at this event last year, as she finished with a 23:39.9.

Nikki Walsh, like Conwell, had her best 6K of the season at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational, but ran her personal best at last year's Midwest Conference Championship. Walsh's best mark this season was a 28:52.0 and her time at last year's event was 28:16.7.

Lanaya Kellum and Sarahi Hernandez also ran their best times of the season at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational, while Ramona Ligget ran her best time at the Augustana Interregional.

To keep up with the event, visit https://results.performancetiming.com/results.aspx?CId=16541&RId=943&EId=3 for the race results, and to view the Midwest Conference's releases use the links at the top of the page.