This weekend, NCAA Division II programs are getting one final tune-up ahead of NCAA Regionals next month. 

But the stakes are now higher with conference titles on the line. 

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Gulf South Conferences are two of the 22 conference championships taking place this weekend across the U.S.

Featuring among them will be the No. 2 ranked GVSU men (GLIAC) and the No. 13 Lee (GSC) and No. 21 Alabama-Huntsville (GSC) men's programs, while the No. 1 ranked GVSU women's squad will look to secure the sweep between both the men's-women's teams. The No. 5 ranked Lee women and No. 24 Mississippi College will also be among those vying for top placements, along with No. 27 Wayne State (GLIAC) and No. 28 Saginaw Valley State (GLIAC).

The GLIAC will head to Houghton, Michigan, home of Michigan Tech; while the Gulf South will go south to John Hunt Park and Huntsville, Alabama. 

---

Grand Valley State Is The Prohibitive Favorite

Less than 60 miles from the tip of Michigan's peninsula, the GLIAC will head to Michigan Tech's course on the Recreational Forest and Tech Trails. 

Conditions are looking to be overcast and cool, which should make for perfect racing.

Since 2000, the Lakers of Grand Valley State have simply dominated the GLIAC. In fact, the last time the Lakers didn't sweep the team titles was in 2001. Since that fall, the men have won 20 straight conference championships, while the women have won 21 straight, dating back to the fall of 2000. 

A year ago, led by Natalie Graber, the GVSU women went 1-2-3-4-5, making it just the third time a program had earned a perfect score. On top of that fact, it was the second consecutive time for GVSU. 

While Graber won in 21:04, Lauren Kiley, Klaudia O'Malley, Abby Vanderkoi and Taryn Chapko quickly rounded out the team's scoring, running 21:25, 21:27, 21:39 and 21:44 to post a brief 40-second spread.  

Behind them, Wayne State and Saginaw Valley put up 66 and 91 points for second and third.

On the men's side, it was Laker senior Tanner Chada who won his fifth and final GLIAC title and his second cross country title. Chada clocked 23:56 for a 30-second win, leading the charge in a 1-3-7-8-9 GVSU finish, as the men won with 28 points over Saginaw Valley and Michigan Tech. Grand Valley State sophomore Caleb Futter was third overall in 24:30. 

In 2023, it'll be a tough go-around for anyone looking to de-throne GVSU.

On the women's side, the 21-time defending champs return their top eight returners from a year ago, including the defending champion and All-American Graber. So far this season, she's placed fifth and second at the Auto-Owners Spartan Invitational and the Live in Lou XC Classic. 

Both of her teammates -- Lauren Kiley and Klaudia O'Malley -- are also contenders for the individual win. 

It won't be all Grand Valley State, though. Wayne State's Reagan Justice, Michigan Tech's Hannah Loughlin and Wisconsin-Parkside's Katja Bauerle are also among the names to watch. 

In the team race, the favorites are far and away the defending champions, which  happen to be the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Both Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State will be jockeying for spots on the podium, with each team ranked 27th and 28th in the latest poll. 

On the men's side, there will be a new individual champion since Chada has graduated, but there is a strong possibility that it could be another Laker. 

After finishing third as a sophomore, Caleb Futter has a chance to win, but it'll be a tough matchup between Wayne State's Ransom Allen. 

In 2023, the pair have yet to matchup head-to-head, but each have had strong build-ups heading into tomorrow's race. Allen has won two out of his three races this fall, including the men's Maroon race at the Roy Griak Invitational. Futter finished 17th and 23rd at the Auto-Owners Spartan Invitational and the Live in Lou XC Classic.

Other non-GVSU contenders to keep an eye on are Zac Truman of Wayne State, Tucker Ringhand of Michigan Tech and Saginaw Valley State's Dominic Suliman.

The team race will look nearly identical as the women's, with the reigning champions currently ranked No. 2 in the country, while Saginaw Valley and Wayne State sit in 24th and 25th. 

---

Just How Good Will Lee Be This Weekend? 

Since 2010, there have been a handful of programs on the women's side that have claimed a Gulf South Conference title, with West Alabama, Union, West Florida, Alabama-Huntsville and Lee all having won a title in that 12-year span. 

However, since 2017, the women of Lee have been the top dogs, winning the last six. 

For the men, just a trio of programs -- West Alabama, Lee and Alabama-Huntsville -- have won since 2010. 

Last fall, it was Lee which took down Alabama-Huntsville, securing its fifth title in program history.

The 2023 edition will be just as fun, as Lee (No. 5) and Mississippi College (No. 24) ranked nationally on the women's side, while the Lee (No. 13) and Alabama-Huntsville (No. 21) are the top programs on the men's side. 

Aiming for the individual crown is the conference's top-returner, Jazmin Hernandez of Mississippi College. She's the first of four returning top-five finishers. Last year, Hernandez ran 17:54.7 for a runner-up finish, but she'll be followed closely by the Lee duo of Aria Hawkins and Liza Kellerman, along with Alabama-Huntsville senior Emily McMurry. 

Keep an eye particularly on Hawkins, who has run 17:27 for 5,000 meters this season. That's 30 seconds faster than any other athlete from last year's top-five. The team race will focus primarily on defending champions Lee, but Mississippi College will be another program jockeying for a conference title. 

For the men, the entire podium is back for more, led by reigning champ Jan Lukas Becker of Mississippi College. Until further notice, this is Becker's race to lose as he's looked unstoppable this season. 

He owns four top 10 finishes and a 23:29.8 win from The Watson Collegiate Cross Country Classic. Plus, he already held off much of the anticipated field at the Live in Lou XC Classic. Behind him, Alabama-Huntsville's Sam Wilhelm and Lee's Aaron Himes have also run well so far, with Wilhelm clocking 24:01 a few weeks ago. Himes went 24:16 in September. 

Additionally, the Oklahoma Christian transfer Owen Pearce will be a factor, sporting a 23:55 from almost exactly a year ago. Lee's Matthew Fowler has also gone sub-24:00 recently.

The team race will most likely come down to Lee and Alabama-Huntsville, but Lee has the upper-hand -- with its low-stick scorer and the team's pack running style. 

---

Both races will be streamed live on FloTrack. You can find the GLIAC stream here, and the GSC stream here. 

In Michigan, the women will race at 10:00 a.m., with the men following at 10:45 a.m. Down in Huntsville at John Hunt Park, the GSC racing is slated to begin 8:30 a.m., and the men at 9:30 a.m.