When the starting gun goes off at the 2010 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Cross Country Championships, the 250 student-athletes will not be navigating through a bit of green set within a bustling city. Instead, the harriers will be traversing the terrain of Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, Conn. and Fairfield University will be hosting the event.

All 10 MAAC teams will be converging for the Championship on Friday, October 29. The men's 10K race begins at noon while the women's 6K race will go off at 1pm. Iona College is the defending men's and women's team champions. Iona's Ryan Sheridan and Anna Holm-Jorgensen were the men's and women's individual winners, respectively. For more information about the event, visit MAAC Championship Central.

For the Stags, they are determined to continue their push to the top of the MAAC. Last season, the men's team placed fifth, moving up two spots from the previous year. The women's team finished sixth, moving up one spot from 2009. Senior Benjamin Heslin, who will be running in his final MAAC Championship, was the Stags' top-finisher last season, placing 16th overall in the men's race. In the women's race, junior Lauren Londregan was the first Stag across the line, placing 21st overall.

Fairfield has had a strong season building up to the MAAC Championships. The men's team won both the Fairfield and Leeber Invitationals this season. They also placed second at the Marist College Mini Meet, took 10th of 40 teams at the very competitive Paul Short Invitational, and closed out the season with a fourth place finish at the Connecticut College Invitational.

The women's team won the Fairfield Invitational, finished second at the Marist College Mini Meet, took third at the Leeber Invitational, and had a solid fifth-place finish among some very strong teams at the Connecticut College Invitational.

Fairfield returns to Hammonasset on November 13 as it co-hosts the NCAA Northeast Regional with Yale University.