The women's cross country team at Wayland Baptist didn't perform up to expectations during the opening meet of the season last weekend, and this Saturday the competition doesn't get any easier.  The Pioneer women will be competing at the Southern Stampede, hosted by Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo.

"I think our team is capable of a lot more," said Brian Whitlock, who is in his eighth season as head of the WBU cross country programs.  "The girls just aren't in the shape that I expected them to be at this point in time."

Other teams scheduled to run in Missouri include Friends University, ranked ninth in the first NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll of the season, and Sooner Athletic Conference favorite Oklahoma Christian University, which was ranked 29th.

Only one of the seven women on the Pioneer roster has experienced more than one full cross country season.  Junior Milca Villegas is a two-time All-Conference selection and ran at the NAIA National Championships in each of her first two seasons. 

Kristy Hannah showed early promise last year, but then suffered a stress fracture that derailed her season after the second meet.

"Milca and Kristy have the ability.  If they are good, then this team has a shot to win conference."

Another 2010 All-Conference honoree, Jennifer Secrest, was unable to compete at nationals last year because of an illness in her family.  She is coming off an injury suffered during the track season last spring, but Whitlock fully expects the sophomore to regain her previous form before the end of the fall, however.

The final four roster spots belong to four newcomers to Wayland.  Denette Fang is a freshman from Kenya.  Melissa Cejas was a 2010 Honorable Mention All-State honoree at Castleberry High School in Ft. Worth.    A 2011 graduate of Dickinson (Texas) High School, Amber Bellamy holds two school track records, and another freshman, Megan Robinett, lettered in cross country and track at Frenship High School in Wolfforth, Texas.

The Pioneer women have three more meets on the schedule before the conference championships the first Saturday in November.  After Saturday, they have a couple of weeks off before heading to Stillwater, Okla. where they will compete at the Cowboy Jamboree on Oct. 1. 

A week later, the WBU runners will perform closer to home when they run at the South Plains Invitational in Levelland.  They conclude the regular season portion of the schedule on Oct. 22 at the NAIA Mid-States Classic in Winfield, Kansas.

The SAC Championships will once again be held in Shawnee, Okla., and the 2011 NAIA National Cross Country Championship returns to Vancouver, Wash. on Nov. 19.