ANDERSON, S.C. -- Jennifer Hitt of Anderson College will participate in the NCAA Division II national cross country championship meet Saturday afternoon at the University of Southern Indiana cross country course in Evansville, Ind. "This will be just the third 6K race I have run, so I'm trying not to think about it," said Hitt, a freshman from Fountain Inn, S.C. "I've been running as hard as I can on my hard workout days and as easy as I can on my easy workout days." In eight meets this fall, Hitt recorded six top-10 finishes and won one individual title. She won the CVAC Championship on Oct. 29 at Anderson's Pine Lake Golf Course and was named the league's runner of the year and freshman of the year. "To win the CVAC championship this year really exceeded my expectations, but the win really boosted my confidence for the regional meet," she said. Hitt earned her ticket to the nationals by finishing fourth in the regional meet at Wingate on Nov. 6. Her time of 23:01 in the 6K regional was more than a minute faster than the time she ran in the regular-season 6K meet at Wingate on Sept. 18. "My goal at the regional meet was to run 23 flat, so I missed it by one second," she said. "Ashley (Smoak) told me if I ran 23 I would qualify for the nationals. Wingate was a difficult course. The start was flat but there were sharp turns and creeks with dips. The footing was difficult. You really had to watch where you were going." Smoak, a senior at AC, is the only other Anderson runner ever to participate in the national cross country meet. As a freshman, she qualified for the 2001 national meet. "Ashley has run with me every day," Hitt said. "She has really helped me a lot." Hitt's goal on Saturday is to finish in the top 50. "I'm not expected to do anything, so I can relax and run," she said. "I don't have any pressure on me. I'm going to jog the course and analyze the turns to find the shortest routes."