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SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State women's cross country coach Jordan Fife says his team has waited months for this opportunity, and now it's here. The Bears join the rest of their Missouri Valley Conference cohorts Saturday morning in Cedar Falls, Iowa for the MVC Cross Country Championship race.

The five-kilometer event will be run at the Pheasant Ridge Golf Course, starting at 10:30 a.m.

"The conference meet has been our main focus all year, even during our summer training," Fife said. "Everything has gone as well as it can go up to this point in terms of conditioning. Our fitness is what it should be. Now it's just a matter of going out on meet day and executing a good race."

The Bears have not seen much of their nine league foes during the regular season, but are picked seventh in the 10-team field. MSU outscored Drake at the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival earlier this month in Fayetteville, but finished well behind Wichita State at that meet. The Bradley race on Oct. 14 featured five other MVC teams, all of whom finished ahead of the Bears.

"We're tapered to be fresh for this meet so our legs are ready to go," Fife explained. "From last year, we have improved in almost every spot, and I feel like we're ready to break through a little more this year."

Missouri State has improved steadily during Fife's tenure, moving up two spots to eighth place last season after the Bears were 10th in Fife's inaugural Valley meet in 2014. Then-senior Cindy Forde was fifth overall at the conference race last season for MSU, while Jade Raynor placed 49th as the Bears' top two finishers in 2015.

This year's pre-meet coaches poll has Bradley picked to win the women's race with Northern Iowa second, followed by Wichita State, Indiana State, Loyola, Illinois State, MSU, Drake, Southern Illinois and Evansville. UNI is ranked 9th in the Midwest Region, while Bradley (10th) and Wichita State (15th) also boast regional rankings headed into the conference meet.

After the league championship, Missouri State will turn its attention to the NCAA Regional on Nov. 11 in Iowa City.