Ohio State’s cross country men’s and women’s teams will host the Big Ten Championships this Saturday at the Scarlet and Gray Golf Courses.The men’s team hopes to place in the top five – an improvement over last year’s tenth place finish. The women also hope to improve on their tenth place finish last year, coach Jack Warner said.”We’ve been running faster every week so I really anticipate us being strong,” Warner said. “We’ll be on our home turf and you tend to defend your home turf a little tougher.”Despite the home advantage, competition is still expected to be vicious cautioned David Gonzalez, a sophomore from Bolingbrook, Ill. “If you let two guys in front of you, your team could lose the meet,” Gonzalez said.Michigan, Michigan State, and Wisconsin Universities – the Big Ten’s top three teams – are ranked among the top ten teams nationwide.Being mentally tough is the best way to prepare for a competition like this, senior Winston Tidwell said.Alexis Schulist, a sophomore from Muskegon, Mich., said she is eating fruits and carbohydrates, getting plenty of sleep, and drinking a lot of water in preparation.”It is not very often that [OSU’s runners] get to run in front of their classmates and parents,” Warner said. “We’re looking forward to Saturday, and we want everybody out there to support us.”The women’s race starts at 10:45 a.m. and the men’s race begins at 11:30 a.m.”We’re going to give the fans something to cheer about,” senior runner Abieda Benjamin said.