While many students will be preparing their Halloween costumes this afternoon, the UW cross country runners will be getting into outfits of their own. Clad in purple and gold, the Huskies look to earn conference titles in Springfield, Ore., where they will race in the Pac-10 Championships.

Defending their No. 1 national ranking and aiming to bring home the conference title for the first time since 1989, the women’s squad faces high expectations entering the event. For freshman Christine Babcock, however, the pressure is not a factor.

“My goal is just to go out there, have a good race and have fun,” she said. “Ultimately, I can’t really control how other people do, so I just have to go out there and do my best.”

Babcock does know something about her competition, though — they’re good. The Pac-10 is arguably the most competitive cross country conference in the nation. Opposing women’s teams will include No. 18 Stanford and No. 15 Arizona State. Then, of course, there’s Oregon.

Oregon is the No. 2 team in the country, and hopes to take the top spot from the Huskies. The Huskies and Ducks have developed quite the rivalry in recent years.

Though Babcock and her fellow freshmen have yet to experience the intense rivalry, men’s team junior Jake Schmitt is excited to head south and square off against the Ducks. Despite his excitement, Schmitt’s experience has taught him patience.

“We’re going to see Oregon this Friday, in two weeks at the Regional Championships and then again at the National Championships, so really it’s all about controlled aggression,” the men’s leading runner said. “We’ll let out a little of our fire this weekend, but then save a lot of endurance for the later events. It’s more important to beat them then.”

With impressive performances throughout the year, the men’s team has finally received national recognition with a top-30 ranking.

Schmitt is more than willing to accept that challenge this weekend and is putting it upon himself to lead his fellow Dawgs to success.

“I want to have my best race of the year,” he said. “I would love to lead my team to a top-three finish so we can set ourselves up for that elite national stage.”

While coach Greg Metcalf would most definitely love to see his teams win this afternoon, he is more concerned about his teams’ improvement with each event.

“Winning a couple Pac-10 titles would be great,” said Metcalf. “But ultimately my goal is to continue to progress.”

If Metcalf’s goal is met, the Dawgs will be celebrating Halloween night in style. Each of them will be wearing the costume of a champion.

Reach reporter Ben Foutz at sports@dailyuw.com.