This Saturday will mark the most important race of the season so far for the women’s and men’s cross-country programs. West Regionals is the last step to qualifying for the National Championship and will present the toughest competition yet for the vaunted Husky harriers. Although neither team will be running at full strength, the meet will, in many ways, provide a benchmark for what’s to come at the National Championships on Nov. 23.

On the men’s side, look for Kelly Spady, Colton Tully-Doyle and Jake Schmitt to shoulder a considerable amount of the load in carrying their team to nationals. It’s estimated that a top-five finish will secure a trip to NCAAs, but if everything falls into place, a top-six finish should be adequate. The Huskies are currently ranked fifth in the West regional, behind Stanford, Oregon, Portland and Arizona State. Right behind them in the rankings are the UCLA Bruins, though, who Washington only managed to beat by 2 points (119-121) in the Pac-10 meet.

There will be an expanded field in the Regional meet, which will benefit the team with the tighter spread. The Huskies appear to have the edge in this field, with a spread of 42 seconds at the Pac-10 meet, while the difference between UCLA’s first and fifth runner was 70 seconds at the same meet. The Huskies must know that the Bruins are the team most capable of denying them their trip to Indiana; look for a race between Spady and UCLA’s Marco Anzures. Anzures, UCLA’s top runner at Pac-10s, edged out the UW’s number one, Spady, by 1 second and one place in the Pac-10 meet.

Spady is more than up to the job: Head coach Greg Metcalf selected him as the runner he’ll rely on to secure a satisfying finish.

“He’s just been emotionally invested from the last couple of years,” Metcalf said. “We finished the track season, he walked away disappointed and walked into the summer inspired.”

During the summer, Spady worked 40 hours a week and took summer quarter on top of his training. He already accomplished his goal of finishing in the top 10 at the Pac-10 championship meets two weeks ago, but in his fifth year, Spady has aspirations of being an All-American.

“On a good day, he can do that,” Metcalf said of Spady’s aspirations. “It’s never going to be perfect for Kelly — it never has, and it never will be. But he’s managed to give himself a really good shot as we roll into November.”

The women won’t be running at least two of their top seven runners at the regional meet. The battle at the top between Oregon and Washington will be a very close one, and full of interesting match-ups.

Kendra Schaaf, the Husky superstar, is coming off a disappointing Pac-10 race. She stepped in a hole while leading the pack by a large margin and backed off the pace. The chase group was able to catch up with her, and she had fallen back to fifth place overall at one point. She made a valiant effort to surge back to second, but she was unable to defend her title at the meet.

Katie Follett managed to run well through sickness, and in her senior year is sure to be emotionally invested in every race. Although she still has the track season to come, where she experienced the most success last year, she’s most inspired by the team aspect of cross-country.

“Katie’s the girl where we just know that the national meet is going to be her best race,” Metcalf said. “She’s dripping with confidence and excited to go get it done there.”

Metcalf is looking for a solid performance from Lauren Saylor, who has not yet had a fantastic race this fall. She’s primed and running fast in workouts, though, and Metcalf has every confidence that she’ll be ready when it matters.

The Ducks feature national stars like Jordan Hassay, a true freshman who has nine national prep records, and Alex Kosinski and Niccole Blood. These three all placed in the top 10 at Pac-10s, with Blood and Hassay going first and third. The Huskies managed to eke out a victory despite a series of calamities, which Metcalf feels only helped the team.

“To go be challenged — not have a great day — and still go win, it’s a great thing,” Metcalf said. “We exhibited a toughness that great teams have to have.”

This Saturday will go a long way in deciding just how great the Huskies are, but the true test will come on the 23rd.

Reach reporter Zachary Gussin at sports@dailyuw.com.