Kansas State's men's and women's cross country teams will be focused on individual accomplishments, rather than team finishes Friday at the Big 12 Championships at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence.

Liliani Mendez is expected to lead the women's team with coach Michael Smith saying, "I think she can be in the Top 10. The field is loaded with top individuals, but she can be one of them. Having a top-10 finisher would be significant."

K-State's last top-10 finisher was Amy Mortimer in the late 1990s.

Smith is also hoping for quality runs from Lindsay Pierson and Morgan Bonds.

"If Lindsay runs the way she's been running, she could be in the top 40, which would be good for her," Smith said. "Morgan has been our most consistent runner we've had all year. She's just fearless, and for being an 800 runner in outdoor track, she's done an outstanding job."

Rounding out the team will be Megan-Anne Perrin and Meg Gentry.

"How the team will finish will be hard to say. We've beaten some teams in the Big 12. We have the front-runner, but we need our fourth and fifth runners to develop to place high as a team."

Colin Swaney and Kory Cool are expected to lead the men's team.

With Swaney, Smith said, "He's done a better job of embracing the 8K or 10K distance this year. He's approached his running with more of a killer instinct.

"Kory hasn't been that far behind Colin in his training," Smith said. "What Cory needs to do is run a conservative early portion of the race. If he does, he could be in the top 45."

The rest of the team will include Tyler Fennema, Alex Umberger and Danny Schneider.

Smith points to the Colorado teams as the ones to beat, as the CU men have won 10 out of 10 Big 12 titles, while the women have run 9 out of 10, losing only to Kansas State in 1998.

The women run a 6K event at 10 a.m., while the men will run an 8K race at 11 a.m.