The cross country team has their first big meet on the horizon this weekend.

Luckily for the Falcons, it will be ran in their own back yard here in Bowling Green when the Falcons host the Mel Brodt Invitational.

And coach Cami Wells promises that excitement will be in the air around the track.

“The excitement level for the Mel Brodt meet is always very high,” she said. “We have a large number of alumni return every year and a lot of family support at our home meets.”

The Invite will host 14 teams that include the likes of Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio, and the Central Michigan women’s team.

“We’re looking forward to facing Central Michigan and Ohio,” Wells said. “It is important for us to perform well against other MAC schools as we prepare for the conference meet.”

For the women, it will be the usual suspects leading the team to the track, as team captain Amber Culp will lead a strong women’s team that Wells hopes will provide the Falcons with a long-awaited Mel Brodt victory.

“On the women’s side we are looking for a team title,” she said. “It has been a number of years since our last Mel Brodt team championship so we have our sights set on accomplishing that goal this weekend.”

And Wells is hoping for the 17 runners on the women’s team to turn in the same performance they showed last week against Toledo.

“The women had a very strong pack last week with the top five runners finishing within 34 seconds of each other,” Wells said. “We will need that type of team effort again this week.”

The men’s team will have different issues in mind as they await news on the status of team captain Mario Rothmund, who has still not received word from the NCAA about his medical hardship bid.

The team will also be awaiting the paper work of Vivien Briard. Both Rothmund and Briard will run if positive news is sent their way.

As if medical hardship and NCAA clearance isn’t enough to worry about, the Falcons also have the race to be concerned about.

“This will be our first 8K for the men’s team this year,” Wells said. “And the first 8K for several of the freshmen.”

The opening race for the weekend is slated for 1:15 p.m. Saturday with the men kicking off festivities with the 8K race. They will be followed at 2 p.m. by the women, who will be running a 5K race.