BYU Men's Cross Country Competes in Griak, Women at Stanford

The BYU men's cross country team will finally get a chance to see how they match up with the rest of the nation when the team travels to Minnesota to compete in the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 29.

The Cougar men's team is ranked No.15 in the nation this week in the national polls, the same position it held in the preseason poll.

The race will be a chance for BYU to gain national recognition and improve their position for a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.

"This is the first weekend when races finally count towards at-large points at the end of the season," head coach Ed Eyestone said. " We are going to have the opportunity to go head-to-head against some of the top teams in the nation. We'll be able to see whether or not our No. 15 ranking is justified but I think it is."

The women's cross country team will also be on the road this weekend, traveling to Palo Alto, Calif. to compete in the Stanford Invitational.

The squad traveling to Stanford will be split between a 4K race and a 6K race to allow more athletes to compete and give the team a chance to get ready for the rest of the season.

"Some teams will be dividing their runners between races and some will be putting all their runners into one race," women's head coach Patrick Shane said. "This meet will mostly be a preparation for our athletes. I expect us to do well but the race won't tell us much about other teams."

Next weekend both the men's and women's teams will take a week off from competition to prepare for the Pre-National Invitational in Greensville, S.C. on October 13.