SPEARFISH - Black Hills State returns to some of its favorite turf today when the Yellow Jackets take part in the 2007 NAIA Cross Country Championships.

The national meet returns to the Dr. Wayne E. Dannehl Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wis., after four years of being run at Tom Sawyer State Park near Louisville, Ky.

BH head coach Scott Walkinshaw has hopes for a happy homecoming on a course that saw his 2000 Yellow Jackets win the national combined team point championship.

"We like going back to Kenosha," Walkinshaw said. "Kenosha epitomizes what a cross country course is. The course, it's challenging. The weather can be a factor; the hills can be a factor. It's a true cross country course."

Black Hills State enters the men's meet, which opens competition at 9:30 a.m. MST, ranked in a tie for fifth with Lindenwood, Mo., in the NAIA top 25 released Nov. 5. The BH women were ranked 22nd the same week.

The drop came days after the Yellow Jacket men placed four runners in the top six on their way to winning the Region III meet. Black Hills State, led by the 1-2 finish of Allen Wood and Trent Waage, finished with 36 points. Concordia, Neb., was next with 74.

The BH women, running without junior Alicia Verhulst, placed third behind Concordia and Northwestern, Iowa.

Surprisingly, both teams lost spots in the top 25 from the previous week. Walkinshaw feels that will fuel his team's efforts today. The Yellow Jacket women dropped 10 spots after sitting at No. 12 on Oct. 31.

"It's interesting because (the men) were ranked third going into regionals. I thought we ran a good meet, but then we fell to a tie for fifth in the rankings," Walkinshaw said. "The women ended up falling to 22nd.

"I feel we have nothing to lose going into the national meet. We've really been under the radar all season long."

Black Hills State should be in the mix near the front of the men's meet, though Walkinshaw views Malone, Ohio, as a heavy favorite to win the team title.

Backing up Wood and Waage are junior Cody Bordewyk and fifth-year senior Mike Nekuda, who placed fourth and sixth, respectively, at the region meet. Sophomores K.C. Fiedler, Birch Haraden and Tyrone White, a transfer from Dakota Wesleyan, provide depth to a talented men's team.

The Yellow Jacket women's team has three potential All-Americans in Kerry Washburn, Wendy O'Lexey and Verhulst.

Washburn was an All-American in 2005 when she finished 26th. She missed the 2006 season because of a foot injury. O'Lexey was an All-American in indoor track after finishing fourth in the 3,000-meter run in March. Verhulst finished 38th at the national cross country meet in 2006, just eight spots from All-American.

Backing up the three BH frontrunners are sophomores Shelli Scheffler, Katie Cook and Kayla Ferguson, and freshman Kaila Ivers.

Walkinshaw feels the return to Kenosha will help his team's chances when the gun sounds on the races today.

The Dannehl course, which the NAIA claims is the only true cross country course in the United States, is a challenge because of its varying terrain. It's a stark contrast to the Louisville course, Walkinshaw said.

"When we got to Louisville, we saw it was at Tom Sawyer State Park and that it was flat," the BH coach said. "It was basically a road race on grass. I thought, 'This caters to the middle distance runners, the speed runners, and the guys and gals that run in warmer weather.'"

Black Hills State trains on terrain that mirrors Kenosha and hosts a meet at Spearfish Canyon Country Club that some coaches claim is tougher than the Dannehl course used for nationals.

Thus, Walkinshaw is hoping for high finishes today.

"We always go in hoping we can

finish higher than we're ranked," he said. "And in this case, we'd like both to finish quite a bit higher."