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The Boston University women's cross country team will compete at the 2018 Patriot League Championships on Saturday at Bucknell. The women's race is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
 
BU finished seventh a year ago, although the team ran well and posted its fastest average of the year in that race. Head coach Paul Spangler is confident that the Terriers can record a better result on Saturday, and one reason is the emergence of freshman Jessica Kellar. A two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week this year, Kellar enters the weekend having just posted a personal-best 6K time of 21:47.9 at NCAA Pre-Nats on Oct. 13.

"I think the team really bought in this year," Spangler said. "Having Jessica come in as a freshman and be our number one has helped. That was something we were lacking last year. We had a lot of depth last year but did not really have a front-runner. Now we have both, so it's a matter of just moving that depth up. The team has had some success this year and they've got the right mindset going into Saturday."

In addition to Kellar, the Terriers will look to sophomores Corinne Batsu and Laura Parkinson to help lead the charge on Saturday. Like Kellar, Batsu is coming off a personal-best performance at Pre-Nats, while Parkinson posted the best 6K time of her collegiate career at last year's conference championship. Senior Dominique Betterbed, who did not compete as a junior last season, also ran a PR at Pre-Nats.

"With having a lot of depth, it's a great opportunity for someone to step up," Spangler said. "For us to achieve our goals we need production in the three, four and five spots. Looking at Pre-Nats, our one and two did a good job. Our three ,four and five need to be there with our number tw"o. We do it in practice, so we just need to do it in the race and take advantage of the opportunities."

The last time BU trekked to Pennsylvania, the Terriers took third at the Paul Short Run that was hosted by Lehigh. Senior Alicia Huerta and junior Coco Ocker both raced well at Lehigh, and they along with the rest of the team will look to once again leave the Keystone State with some hardware.

"We've got to do what we've done in practice and do a little of what we've done in past meets to put ourselves in a position to have a chance to win what will be a fun and competitive meet," Spangler said. "It's going to come down to executing the race plan and fighting 6,000 meters."