By Daniel Johnson, Sports Editor

Before each cross country meet, junior Julius Nyango and his teammates begin the meet with a team tradition.

They say, “Together we win,” in Swahili to remind them that cross country is about the team, not the individual.

“The best thing is if one goes ahead it’s okay because we are one,” Nyango said.

Head coach Derek Hood said the cross country teams’ goes deeper than the sport.

“It is a strong Kenyan concept,” Hood said. “A runner finishing third place is just as happy as one that finishes first, because they all trained together and were successful.”

The ACU men’s and women’s cross country teams will carry that team mentality to Missouri Southern State University Cross Country Course in Joplin, Mo., to defend their respective NCAA Division II South Central Region championships on Saturday.

The men will be without three-time national champion Nicodemus Naimadu as Naimadu rests in preparation for the NCAA national championships, where he will attempt to become the first NCAA athlete at any level to win four consecutive national championships in cross country.

Even though Naimadu will not at regionals he will still be able to run in the national meet. He only has to be eligible to run at the meet and on the roster.

But even without Naimadu, Nyango said the team should step up in Missouri.

“We are going to do it well,” Nyango said. “We can see we are in good shape.”

The men have to finish in the top three at Saturday’s meet to qualify for nationals, but head coach Derek Hood shared Nyango’s confidence and said that even without their top runner the men’s team’s talent is so deep they should not have problems.

“Other than Nic not being 100 percent everyone is training well,” Hood said. “In cross country it’s all about the team and not being the one to let the teammates down.”

The men, who are ranked No. 1 in the region and nation, did not let Naimadu down and won the Lone Star Conference championship on Oct. 20. Now the men are seeking their eighth-straight regional title.

“We’ve all paid the price and all will enjoy the success,” Hood said.

The women will defend a title they haven’t held since 1997. The women are also coming off of a LSC championship and will be led by two-time LSC champion Loice Cheboi.

And Hood said that all the practice and work of both teams should bring success Saturday.

“We’ve all paid the price and all will enjoy the success,” Hood said.