MADISON, Wisc. - A loaded field of 40 teams awaits Texas A&M this Friday as they compete in the third annual Wisconsin adidas Invitational on the manicured Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course. The women will cover a 6,000-meter course starting at 1 p.m. while the men race over an 8,000-meter distance with a start time of 1:40 p.m.
The Aggie men, nationally ranked 27th, are one of 21 teams currently in the top 30 who are entered to compete at the Wisconsin meet. The men's field is led by the host Badgers, currently No. 2 in the nation, and includes six programs ranked among the top 10 this season - No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 BYU, No. 7 Indiana, No. 9 North Carolina State, and No. 10 Oregon.
The women's field features No. 1 Villanova among 19 nationally ranked teams, six of which are currently among the top 10 nationally. Also competing are No. 2 Providence, No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 New Mexico, No. 8 Syracuse, No. 9 Iowa State and No. 10 California.
"This is another great opportunity for us to travel to different part of the country and see teams from around the nation," A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven said. "With 21 nationally ranked men's teams and 19 nationally ranked women's teams in the field, we know we are going to get tested. It is as close to a preview of the national meet as you can get during the regular season."
Texas A&M will field a crew of 23 runners in the meet, 13 men and 10 women. Henry Lelei, who placed eighth in the Notre Dame Invitational, leads the Aggie men while Katherine Devlin paces the A&M women.
Also competing for the Aggie men are Will Barry, C.J. Brown, Kevin Burnett, Stephen Curry, James Hodges, Ryan Miller, MacLean O'Donnell, Nathan Parker, Jake Roberts, Isaac Spencer, Dylan Williams and Bobby Zeller.
For the A&M women the group includes Sophie Blake, Itzel Cetina, Shawn Dalglish, Grace Fletcher, Hillary Montgomery, Haley Parsons, Natosha Rogers, Kate Mohr and Tara Upshaw.
"I want our athletes to keep the meet in perspective, it's a chance to see great competition and test ourselves, but it's really just another stepping stone towards the championship season," noted McRaven. "It's another opportunity to learn about ourselves and see where we are right now and what we need to work on for the future."
Ranked men's teams also include Northern Arizona (13), Princeton (14), Georgetown (16), Minnesota (17), Columbia (18), Villanova (19), Syracuse (21), UCLA (22), Arizona State (23), Providence (24), New Mexico (25), Michigan (26), Florida (28), and North Carolina (29).
Other squads in the race include Air Force, Arizona, Cal, Clemson, Georgia, Harvard, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Lamar, Marquette, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, Texas, Washington, and William & Mary.
Top 30 ranked women's teams also include Oregon (12), North Carolina (13), Arizona (14), Michigan State (15), Minnesota (21), Florida (22), Iowa (23), Washington (24), Notre Dame (25), BYU (27), Princeton (28), and Clemson (30).
Other teams in the field include Air Force, Arizona State, Boston College, Georgia, Harvard, Illinois, Indiana, James Madison, Kansas, Nebraska, Northern Arizona, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, San Francisco, Stony Brook, Toledo, UCLA, Vanderbilt, William & Mary and Wisconsin.
Following their trip to Wisconsin, the Aggies will play host to the Big 12 Championships on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Pebble Creek Country Club. Start times that weekend are 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.