By Paul Bressler Sept. 3, 2014

Students are running out of time to prepare for the new school year as summer quickly approaches the final leg to the finish line, so  does the UW-Whitewater men’s and women’s cross country teams.

The last three years have seen the Warhawks struggle to consistently put up the best times in the WIAC.

Neither the men nor the women have placed higher than sixth in the conference in those last three years.

The ’Hawks will look to rebound this season from seventh and eighth place finishes respectively.

Cross country is by no means considered to be one of the Warhawks’ top athletic programs.

All of that could change, however, with an impressive season, but more importantly a run at the top of the WIAC.

If a changing of the guard were to happen, it would most certainly take place on Nov. 1 in La Crosse.

This marks the WIAC cross country championships for both the men and the women.

In order for this to happen, the team will need to start the season strong and build their confidence along the way.

The Warhawks’ first chance to execute this will be when they host their alumni/intrasquad meet on Sept. 6 to prepare for the upcoming season.

The women are scheduled to start a 5K (3.1 miles) at 10 a.m., while the men are set to follow with a four mile run at 10:45 a.m.

Following the practice run, the ’Hawks will surely have their calendars marked for Sept. 13 as they are set to host the Warhawk Invitational.

The men will look to build on their second place finish at last year’s invitational while the women have their work cut out for them as they try to improve on their disappointing fourth place finish.

Either way this will be an opportunity for both teams to prove they belong at the top.

The women begin the annual event with their 6K at 10:45 a.m., and the men will start their season with an 8K an hour later.

Two runners that head coach Jeff Miller won’t have to worry about are seniors Dawson Miller and Amanda Brom.

Miller’s two strongest runners will look to put the finishing touches on their collegiate careers after impressive junior seasons.

Among Warhawk runners, Miller finished with the fastest time in all five of the events he competed in last season.

Brom placed first in all but one of the events she competed in, among Warhawk runners, including a personal record at the NCAA Regionals last season.