EVANSVILLE, Ind. ---The first conference championship of the 2011-12 season will be up for grabs this weekend as the Bellarmine University men's and women's cross country teams look to race to victory in the GLVC Championship hosted by the University of Southern Indiana.

Bellarmine's women's team, ranked No. 17 in the coaches' poll, is the defending conference champions after winning the crown last season by just two points over Southern Indiana. They are led by Angela Musk and freshmen Emily Frith, who have both been named GLVC Runner of the Week this season.

Although the highest ranked team in the conference, Bellarmine will get plenty of pressure from host USI, as the Screaming Eagles are ranked just behind BU in the polls at No. 18. Bellarmine finished in front of Southern Indiana at the Greater Louisville Classic earlier this month, the teams only prior meeting this season.

On the men's side, Bellarmine will look to win their first ever GLVC Championship behind a deep stable of runners. Robert Sandlin, Jr., Jordan Parayil, Alex Jones, and Dominic Perronie have all recorded times in a 8K race that rank in the top ten conference wide.

Also ranked No. 17 in the country, the men will look to run down sixth-ranked Southern Indiana, who won the conference championship last season.

The women's 6k race will start 10:30 a.m., while the men's 8k race is scheduled for 11:30 a.m,