PROVIDENCE, R.I. – All 12 American schools will run their final regular season races this weekend preceding the American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship, which takes place October 28 in Philadelphia, Pa. The conference will be up against the best in the country this weekend, running in a combined eight meets to prepare for the postseason ahead.
Highlighting the weekend action is the Pre-National Invitational in Louisville, Ky. on Saturday, Oct. 14. Four American schools, including Cincinnati, Houston, SMU and Tulane will run the ‘Tom’ Sawyer State Park course, which will be the host site of this year’s NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Four out of the seven American teams running are regionally ranked in the latest USTCCCA poll, while SMU is receiving votes in the national poll.
The Pre-National Invitational fields the best in the country with over 70 teams, featuring numerous nationally ranked opponents on both the men’s and women’s side. All teams will test the course with hopes to run it again on Nov. 18 in the national championship.
The Tulsa men’s and women’s teams, as well as the UConn men’s squad will compete at Wisconsin for the Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday, Oct. 13. The prestigious Nuttycombe race is run at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison, Wis. and is widely regarded as a premiere collegiate cross country event. The meet will feature 35 teams in the men’s field and 33 in the women’s. The men’s race includes 20 nationally ranked foes, while the women’s has 14 tabbed in the latest national poll.
The Tulsa men’s team received votes in the most recent national poll, as the women’s team is listed at No. 6 in the Midwest region. The UConn men, who improved to ranking No. 6 in the Northeast region, will be sending its top seven runners to compete in Wisconsin, while the rest of the team will participate in the in Rothenberg Run at Goddard Park in Warwick, R.I. The Huskies’ women’s team finished in the top-20 at the New England Championship last weekend and will join the men in running in Warick this weekend.
Both The American Sunshine State teams will stay local on Friday, with USF hosting its invitational and UCF traveling to Tampa to compete in it. Both teams ran last weekend too, as the Knights finished fourth at the Disney Cross Country Classic, and the Bulls ran at the Florida State Invitational.
ECU will also be welcoming teams to its course, as it hosts its Pirate Invitational on Friday after taking a week off. Memphis will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala. for Friday’s Crimson Classic at the iconic Harry Pritchett Running Course, which will host this year’s NCAA South Region Championships on Nov. 10. Each field will feature several regionally ranked foes.
Wichita State will head to Bradley to run in the Pink Classic on Friday, and Temple will head to New Jersey for the Princeton Invitational. Both the Owl squads are ranked No. 8 in the Mid-Atlantic region, while the Shockers’ men’s team is currently listed at No. 13 in the Midwest region. The Temple men have posted first place finishes in its three scored meets, and the women have two first place titles and a second place finish this year.
Cross Country Schedule
Friday, October 13
Pirate Invitational (Greenville, N.C.)
- ECU
(Men’s and Women’s)
Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational (Madison, Wisc.)
-Tulsa
(Men’s and Women’s)
- UConn
(Men’s)
USF Invitational (Tampa, Fla.)
- USF
(Men’s and Women’s)
- UCF
Bradley Invitational (Peoria, Ill.)
- Wichita State
(Men’s and Women’s)
Crimson Classic (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
- Memphis
(Men’s and Women’s)
Rothenburg Run (Warwick, R.I.)
- UConn
(Men’s and Women’s)
Saturday, October 13
Pre-National Invitational (Louisville, Ky.)
- SMU
- Houston
(Men’s and Women’s)
- Cincinnati
(Men’s and Women’s)
- Tulane
(Men’s and Women’s)
Princeton Invitational
- Temple
(Men’s and Women’s)