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WEBSTER CITY - Say hello to the underdogs.

It's a role that is altogether foreign to the Webster City cross country teams when it comes to the North Central Conference meet, but that's exactly what the Lynx will be on Tuesday when they host the annual get-together at the Webster City Links.

Racing will get underway at 4 p.m. with the middle school girls' race. The middle school boys will go off at 4:30, followed by the JV girls (5:00), varsity girls (5:25), JV boys (5:50) and varsity boys (6:15). The awards ceremony will be held minutes after the final race.

Patrons will be charged $5 per carload at the front entrance to the golf course.

Webster City has not left the NCC meet without at least one of the championship trophies since 1995. In the 12 meets since then the Lynx boys have won 10 titles and the girls own six.

But head coach Tony Bussan's teams will need to pull off a major upset on Tuesday if they want to keep the trend intact.

"I think we're going to get a very good effort out of both squads because the attitude is there," Bussan said. "But we're not going to be favored in either race."

The Class 3A sixth-ranked Algona boys' team will be the predominant favorite to win for the second straight season. Led by defending individual champion and second-ranked sophomore Ryan McMahon, the Bulldogs will need to fall flat on their faces not to hoist the gold trophy after the sun has set on Tuesday.

Chad Rutledge, an Algona junior, was the runner-up in 2007.

"Everybody knows going in that Algona is a strong favorite to repeat," Bussan said. "But it's always fun to be in the chase position. We just get to go out and lay it on the line and have fun because there are no expectations on us to win it."

Webster City, 2A No. 4 Eagle Grove and 1A No. 11 St. Edmond are expected to battle for the second slot. The Lynx have gotten the better of both teams on several occasions this season and Bussan says a runner-up finish would be phenomenal for his team.

"The surprise is that our boys are strong contenders to finish in the top two," he said. "To be in that position is a huge positive."

Lynx senior Ben Lambert - fourth a year ago - will be in search of his third all-conference accolade. Also back in contention are Eagle Grove's Mitch Hill and Zach Thompson, who were third and fifth last season.

Alex Lamp, Mason Powers, Matt Severe, Colin Ryan and Austin Elm fill out Webster City's roster.

The Lynx girls return five members off last year's conference champion, but injuries have taken a huge toll on the team this fall and they are not labeled as a contender. But that doesn't mean they will give up.

"Physically we're not where we were last year, but our girls are not going to back down," Bussan said. "It's our home course and we are the defending champions. We can choose to defend it or we can just give it away and our girls want to defend it."

Webster City junior Mikaela Pruismann won the individual title last October and teammates Breanne Wagner and Sarah Perin also finished in the top 10. All three will run on Tuesday.

Humboldt, 12th-ranked in 2A, and St. Edmond, No. 14 in 1A, will take the course as the pre-race favorites.

Individually, Iowa Falls-Alden senior Kate Price will go after her first title after finishing second on two occasions. She was the runner-up to Pruismann in 2007.

But Price - the No. 7-ranked individual in 2A - will be pushed by Katrina Even (No. 13 in 1A) of Bishop Garrigan and Lexie Ronconi (No. 23 in 1A) of St. Edmond. Ronconi won the girls' race at the Lynx Invitational on the same course earlier this season.

Alicia Long, Caitlyn Finucan, Erin Hunt and Bailey Bergman will also compete for Webster City.

Bussan also noted that the race course has been changed for Tuesday's meet. Both races will now begin near the clubhouse in the No.9 fairway. The finish line has not changed.