Eastern is going into the NCAA Midwest regionals this weekend knowing that how they did at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship meet two weeks ago has no bearing on this meet.

“I think it is the toughest system for qualifying,” head coach Geoff Masanet said. “More than other sports because if you win conference it don’t mean anything. Anyone that wants to go to regionals can go.”

Masanet said that he is going to take the four men who he thought deserved to go and should compete.

Senior Brad Runnion, juniors Brad Butler and Jake Larson, and freshmen Eric Pedersen were the men Masanet choose to go.

Masanet is also taking the top six runners on the women’s side.

Juniors Jillian Blondell, Amy LeJeune and Nicole Flounders; sophomore Katie O’Brien as well as freshmen Erin O’Grady and Rebecca Smith make up the women’s team.

There are nine regions in the country: Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Mountain, Northeast, South, South Central, Southeast and West.

The top two teams in each region advance to nationals. Thirteen extra teams are chosen by looking at the third place teams.

If a third place team has beaten the first or second place team in the regular season, they have a chance for one of the 13 extra places.

Eastern is in the Midwest region along with other teams from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Missouri Valley Conference.

“It is going to be different; there is a lot of talent,” Flounders said. “We aren’t going to be in the front of the pack. Instead of focusing on being in the top five or ten we are going to try for 60th or 70th.”

Despite the change in the competition level, the Panthers said their mental aspect does not change.

“It doesn’t really change our mindset even though it is bigger competition,” LeJeune said. “We are still going to focus on getting out fast because you are more likely to end up getting stuck in a spot if you don’t.”

The men will be running a 10K as opposed to their normal 8K.

A dynamic that the Panthers will have to account for is the change in distance.

“We are jumping up like another mile or so; it is going to be tougher,” Pederson said. “We just want to go out there and run a good race.”

The women, who will run a 6K, have a slight advantage because they have already run one other 6K this year.

“This is new for me. All I have to work off of is Bradley,” said O’Grady about Eastern’s only other 6K meet at Bradley on Oct. 13. “We ran a 6K there and I will have to use that to my advantage, knowing how it feels.”

The meet will be held at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Minneapolis and running at Bradley helped them to get a feel for what the course will be like.

“The course is similar to Bradley,” Butler said. “It is a golf course and so we have sort of an idea of what it will be like.”