The races resume for the 2012 cross country squad, and an outlook yields hope for another strong performance at the NCCAAII Nationals at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio.

For the men, senior runner William O’Malley returns after posting a first place finish time of 27:52.12 (8,000 meters) in Division II at the Nationals.

Behind O’Malley are Michael Kluver and Jeremy McPhillips. Kluver was consistently the second runner to cross the finish line for the guys, with McPhillips right behind him. At the Nationals, Kluver and McPhillips finished 11th and 13th respectively.

Robert Truax, Andrew Domsic and Jeffrey Canterbury round out the returning runners and new faces include junior Dalton Preston, freshman Kurtis Richerson and senior Rob May.

For the women, Lauren Stephens helped her team place fifth at Nationals with a second place time of 21:05.72. Stephens progressed through the season, achieving her best time in the championship race.

Stephens is followed by returning runners Cari Cook and Anna Witan, but the team brings four new runners into the fold.

Kimberly Richerson may be a steady second runner behind Stephens, while the rest of the group looks to fill in the shoes of departed runners Cici Liu and Jessica Garrison.

Maranatha looks for continued improvement at the Nationals, slated for November 11 at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio.