CEDAR CITY, Utah - Sept. 30 - Southern Utah cross country will be back in the national spotlight this weekend when the team travels to South Bend, Indiana to take part in the Notre Dame Cross Country Invitational. The meet will be split into four races, with the Thunderbirds racing in the two faster heats.
“This is a tough position for us to be in the fast heat, but it shows a great deal of respect for SUU and our program and it is definitely what we are trying to accomplish,” head coach Eric Houle said of the race. “We have the talent and it will be great for the physical and emotional development of our athletes.”
Southern Utah's women will be running in a field of 23 teams with 16 of those squads ranked in the top five of their respective region. Included in the group are South Region No. 1 Florida State, Mountain Region No. 1 New Mexico, Mid Atlantic Region No. 1 Princeton and Northeast Region No. 1 Providence.
The men's field is equally as deep with 13 top-five regionally ranked teams in a 25 team race. Two teams at the top of their respective regions in the race include Mid Atlantic No. 1 Georgetown and Great Lakes No. 1 Michigan.
Southern Utah has already faced many of the teams at the meet after a ninth-place finish for the men and seventh-place finish for the women at the Iona Meet of Champions. The Thunderbird posted finished ahead of Northeast No. 2 Providence, while the women also out paced Northeast No. 1 Providence and Northeast No. 3 Stony Brook. The men were only 12 points outside of a fifth-place finish that would have put them ahead of Southeast No. 8 Kentucky.
Sophomore Cameron Levins will be looking for his third individual victory in as many races after beating out all-Americans from Iona and Michigan in a 24:24 finish on the 8k course at the Iona Meet of Champions.
The women's race is scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m. with the men taking to the course at 5:00 p.m. in the final race of the day.
For the complete release with the latest times and marks, please click on the link at the top of the page.
