SOUTH BEND, Indiana - A squad of 21 Aggies will compete in the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday at the Burke Memorial Golf Course as Texas A&M faces an early challenge of ranked teams from across the country.
"This will
be a great opportunity for us to see where we stack up with some of the top
programs in the country," Aggie assistant coach Wendel McRaven said. "This is
the type of competition we need to be in to prepare for the championship
portion of the season."
The Notre Dame Invitational will feature 14 teams (8 men, 6 women) currently
ranked in the national top 30 poll from various regions. Headlining the men's
field of 26 teams over a five mile course is No. 3 Stanford and No. 10 Florida
State. Leading the field of 28 teams in the women's field on a 5,000-meter
course is No. 2 New Mexico and No. 7 Florida State.
"There is a lot of history and tradition to the Notre Dame meet," noted McRaven. "I ran the meet when I was in college and we have run there at every school at which I have coached. Nothing says cross country like a fall day in the upper Midwest. This is the type of meet and atmosphere that the athletes get excited about."
Race time is 4:15 p.m. (EST) for the women and 5 p.m. (EST) for the men. Updates following each race will be available through @aggietrk on Twitter.
Both Aggie squads enter the meet ranked third in the South Central region. The A&M men's crew will be led by Henry Lelei, the 2010 NJCAA champion, along with C.J. Brown and James Hodges, who have each won meets over 6,000 meters in Waco this season. For the Aggie women Katherine Devlin, who won the second Baylor meet A&M competed in, leads a group that includes Tara Upshaw, a 2010 NCAA qualifier, and Itzel Cetina.
Also competing for the Aggie men are Will Barry, Kevin Burnett, Stephen Curry, MacLean O'Donnell, Nathan Parker, Jake Roberts, Isaac Spencer and Dylan Williams. Completing the A&M women's crew are Sophie Blake, Shawn Dalglish, Grace Fletcher, Colbea Harris, Hillary Montgomery, Haley Parsons, and Gabby Salazar.
Following a pair of team victories in Waco this season, the Aggie men have been receiving votes for the top 30 national poll. Texas A&M will be one of four squads at the Notre Dame who received votes and will have the potential to earn some national scalps among the eight nationally ranked teams in the men's field.
In addition to Stanford and Florida State the other ranked men's squads competing in South Bend include Princeton (12), BYU (14), New Mexico (21), Notre Dame (23), Ohio State (25), and Eastern Kentucky (26).
For the Aggie women the national ranked teams in the women's field in addition to New Mexico and Florida State include Arkansas (18), Princeton (22), Penn State (28) and BYU (29). Within the South Central region the No. 3 A&M women will square off against four teams ranked among the top six in the latest region rankings - Arkansas (2), Baylor (4), SMU (5) and Rice (6).
The Notre Dame Invitational field also includes numerous teams who are ranked among the top half of their respective region polls. Others squads competing in the meet include Air Force, Alabama-Birmingham (w), Auburn, Butler, Clemson, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State, Georgia, Indiana State, James Madison (w), Missouri, Santa Clara, Stony Brook (w), Toledo (w), UCLA, UTEP, Utah State, Washington State and Weber State.
NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL
MEN's FIELD
National Top 30:
        3.   Stanford
      10.   Florida State
      12.   Princeton
      14.   BYU
      21.   New Mexico
      23.   Notre Dame
      25.   Ohio State
      26.   Eastern Kentucky
Region Rankings
   Great Lakes:   3. Ohio State, 4. Notre Dame, 7. Eastern Michigan, 9. Butler, 10. Indiana State
    Mid-Atlantic:   1. Princeton, 4. Penn State
       Mountain:   2. BYU, 4. Air Force, 5. New Mexico, 6. Weber State, 7. Utah State, 12. UTEP
             South:   1. Florida State, 3. Georgia, 13. Auburn
South Central: Â Â 3. Texas A&M, 8. Baylor
      Southeast:   3. Eastern Kentucky
              West:   1. Stanford, 5. UCLA, 8. Washington State
WOMEN's FIELD
National Top 30:
        2.   New Mexico
        7.   Florida State
      18.   Arkansas
      22.   Princeton
      28.   Penn State
      29.   BYU
Region Rankings
   Great Lakes:   3. Toledo, 5. Notre Dame, 8. Ohio State, 10. Butler
    Mid-Atlantic:   3. Princeton, 4. Penn State
         Midwest:   14. Missouri
       Mountain:   1. New Mexico, 3. BYU, 12. Air Force, 13. UTEP, 15. Utah State
             South:   1. Florida State, 5. Georgia, 12. Auburn, 15. Alabama-Birmingham
South Central: Â Â 2. Arkansas, 3. Texas A&M, 4. Baylor, 5. SMU, 6. Rice
      Southeast:   4. Clemson, 6. James Madison
              West:   14. Washington State