Babson Park, FL - The Webber International University men's and women's team will take on The Sun Conference's elite programs at the 2011 conference championships, hosted by Ave Maria University, Saturday November 5^th.  The men's race will start at 8am followed at 9am with the women's race; both events will be held on campus and will conclude with a conference awards banquet at 11:30am in the AMU Student Union Ballroom.

The 2011 Sun Conference Championship course consists of a variety of surfaces including low cut grass (soccer fields), trails, and a dirt road. The start and finish will be located on the athletic fields across the street from the field house on AMU's campus. There is currently no course record.

Embry-Riddle will look to defend both their men's and women's titles at the meet. The Eagle men have captured six straight Sun Conference titles, dating back to 2005, while the women have won five consecutive conference crowns.

On the men's side, SCAD Savannah, ranked No. 24 in the final regular season NAIA Coaches' Poll will look to upend the Eagles. Led by Ignacio Fernandez, the Bees, who have finished second in the previous two Sun Conference Championships, hope to topple two-time defending Sun Conference Runner of the Year Evans Kirwa and the Eagles.

For the women, 20th-ranked Embry-Riddle has been led all season by sophomore Ellie Staker, while the Blue and Gold has not finished behind a Sun Conference school all season long.

10 total teams will compete in the meet, including Ave Maria, Embry-Riddle, Florida Memorial, Johnson & Wales, Northwood, SCAD Savannah, St. Thomas, South Carolina-Beaufort, Warner and Webber International.

The top team in both the men's and women's race will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships in Vancouver, Wash. on Nov. 19. The top five individuals not associated with the winning team will also qualify for the National Championships.

The Warrior men's team head into the conference meet ranked 4^th behind defending champions Embry-Riddle, SCAD Savannah, and USC-Beaufort.  The men are led by freshman Gabriel Barron and sophomore Brandon Scott who will lead the push for the Warriors to make the podium.  The Lady Warriors are currently ranked 3^rd in the conference behind defending champions ERAU and SCAD Savannah.  Freshman Lauren Nygren has been the top finisher throughout the season for the Warriors and has company with seniors Katheana Jean-Baptiste and Stephanie Lucas on her heels to keep the Warriors fighting for the podium.

Head coach Dr. Peter Ormsby had these thoughts on the Warriors entering the conference tournament, “everyone has gone above and beyond what has been asked of them this year; from the weight room to workouts and they look forward to this time of the season.  They've raced really well through the hard training cycles, so I'm excited to see how they perform!”

Results for the meet can be found on www.webberathletics.com or www.thesunconfrence.com