The menís and womenís cross country teams make their second trip of the season to Ypsilanti, Michigan to compete in the Central Collegiates meet.
The meet, originally scheduled for Saturday, has been moved up to tonight. The womenís race is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., followed by the menís race at 5, and then at open race at 6.
Coach Cami Wells is happy to be returning to Eastern Michigan University, where her harriers last competed on August 31st.
ìIt will give them an idea of how they have improved over the last month,î Wells said.
Unlike last monthís meet, tonightís meet will be scored. The harriers are coming off an idle weekend, and are for the most part injury-free. Nicola Viljoen, who sat out the Mel Brodt invitational with back pain, is back to 100 percent and will participate in tonightís race. Briana Killian, who has been suffering from bronchitis, is questionable for tonightís race and will most likely be a race-time decision by coach Wells.
On the menís side, there have been a few minor injuries. Junior Phil King has been a little bit under the weather this week but should be ready to go. Team captain Troy Stiles has been suffering from tendonitis in his knee, for which he has been undergoing daily treatment. This injury will not stop him from competing in tonightís race either.
Both squads are eager to get back out on the track after a two-week layoff. They will both be looking to improve upon their performance at the Mel Brodt invitational as they continue on the road to the culmination of the season, the MAC championships, which will take place November 2nd in Oxford, Ohio.
Tonightís meet will be the first of five consecutive weekends that the harriers will be in competition, which will end with the MAC Championships.
The next idle weekend they will have will be the weekend between the MAC Championships and the Great Lakes Regional Championships, which will take place in West Lafayette, Indiana on November 16th.
The Harriers have been looking to improve upon their low rankings in the preseason polls. These next few weeks will give them the chance to build up the momentum they need to go into the MAC Championships and surprise some people and turn some heads.
Tonightís race is an excellent opportunity for both the menís and the womenís squads to start building that momentum. They have an almost completely healthy squad going into a race on a course they have already run this season, and with the MAC championships just a little over a month away, this is a perfect opportunity for them to show how far they have come thus far this season.
