OMAHA, Neb. – Sophomores Kara Muller and Carly Henderson are in elite company.

For the second straight season, the College of Saint Mary standouts will represent the school in the 46^th-annual NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship on Friday at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.

The Flames duo is among 36 teams and 84 individuals who have qualified for the event. The women's 6,000-meter (3.73 mile) race will begin at 7:30 a.m. Central time and can be viewed live for free at the Urban Edge Network or naianetwork.com.

Muller and Henderson have taken different paths to arrive in Tallahassee this season. An Oakland, Iowa, native and Riverside High School graduate, Henderson was injured for the first month to six weeks of the season.

"Carly's journey was a lot longer,'' CSM Coach Derek Fey said. "Lots of hours in the training room. It's quite remarkable that she turned it around, having lost a good five, six weeks of her base.

"So for her, it comes down to being competitive and gutting it out. What she lacks in aerobic capacity right now she makes up for with sheer competitiveness.''

Muller, a Bellevue, Neb., native and Bellevue West alumna, had a more consistent regular season. However, she battled a sinus infection in the last three meets but is now healthy.

"I'm excited to see what she can do healthy,'' Fey said. "She's running a minute faster than she did last year.''

Muller is a vocal leader on the team, often offering words of encouragement to teammates before and after races.

"Kara has turned into quite the leader,'' Fey said. "She also hates to get beat. Those are two good qualities to have.''

The Florida trip isn't without some heartache. For the second straight year, the Flames firmly believed they had a team worthy of competing at the national level, only to be denied.

Knowing how badly their teammates would love to be joining them will serve as inspiration, Fey said.

"They're running for the team,'' he said. "That gets them motivated, gets them going, because they love their team. The fact that they're so team-oriented I think gives them an extra little boost of confidence.''

Both women are now 4 for 4 in qualifying for national championships, as they reached nationals in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track as freshmen. Fey said a good goal for the duo on Friday would be to finish within the top 100.

"I think for both of them it's going to be a good experience,'' he said. "It's just getting in the mindset of, 'Hey, not many people get to do this and you've got to take advantage of every opportunity that you get.'''