Skylar Forgey

MITCHELL, S.D. The 2014 Great Plains Athletic Conference season comes to an end this weekend with the GPAC Championships hosted by Dakota Wesleyan University at Wild Oak Golf Course in Mitchell, S.D.

The race gets underway at 11:15 a.m. with the women s race, with the men starting at noon. No one is allowed on the course before 10 a.m.

The 2014 Tigers will be wrapping up the season at the GPAC Championships, with cross country Coach Pat Belling expecting his team to show up and compete hard with the best teams in the conference.

I expect our team to go out and compete and give forth their best effort,” Belling said. We have several people who I believe can have a very special day. They have worked extremely hard this year. Saturday is what we have worked for all year and I expect us to win the day.”

Top racers for the Tigers include sophomore Lane Tibbs (Kenesaw, Neb.) and sophomore Jeremiah Panec (Kenesaw, Neb.) for the men, while sophomore Skylar Forgey (Colome, S.D.) and sophomore Jessica Neises (Madison, S.D.) have been leading the women this season.

Favorites heading into the competition the men s competition this weekend are No. 12 Morningside College and No. 23 Northwestern College. Dordt College and Concordia University are both receiving votes in the NAIA poll and Belling said all four team are a contender to take the crown.

Morningside most recently finished second at the Mount Marty Invitational on Oct. 25 in Yankton, S.D., finishing behind only the University of Sioux Falls, an NCAA Division II program. Junior Mark Abrams led the Mustangs with a seventh-place finish and a time of 25 minutes, 31.07 seconds in the 8k race.

On the women s side, Dordt comes in as the heavy favorite ranked second in the nation. The Defenders have run at Wild Oak once already this year at the DWU Invitational taking first with six of the top seven finishers. Junior Kayla Byl won the event earlier this season for the Dordt women.

Doane College is receiving votes in the women s poll and Belling said the team could contend for the title.

It is a great honor for Dakota Wesleyan University to host such a wonderful event,” Belling said. We are looking forward to having the conference schools here.”