Oct. 16, 2003

WACO, Texas - The Baylor cross country squads are preparing to compete in the Pre-National Cross Country meet this weekend (Sat., Oct. 18) at the Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course in Waterloo, Iowa. The University of Northern Iowa is hosting the event, where 146 teams are competing. The race is being held on the same course as the 2003 NCAA Cross Country Championships which will be contested on Monday, Nov. 24.

Overall there are 72 women's teams competing on the 6,000-meter course. The Baylor squad was selected to run in the Purple Race, which begins at 12:20 p.m. on Saturday. Among the 34 teams competing in the Purple Race are 10 teams ranked in the latest FinishLynx/NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country National Poll, including Baylor ranked 14th nationally. Competing for Baylor will be Lisa Cornelius, Brittany Brockman, Angela Marvin, Erin Dixon, Monique Ortega, Jessa Chance, Megan McCoin, Brittany McGuire and Katherine Duncan.

The Baylor women are hoping to build on their success as they face top ten competition. They will be going head-to-head with tough competitors No. 1 Brigham Young, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 8 Georgetown, and No.11 North Carolina.

There are a total of 74 men's teams competing in the 8,000-meter race. The Baylor men will be competing in the Purple Race, which is scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. Eleven of the 35 teams competing in the men's Purple Race are ranked in the latest Mondo Poll. They will be matched up against No. 1 Stanford, No. 4 Brigham Young, No. 6 Michigan, and No.10 Iona. Running for the Bears will be Bo Price, Matt Chance, Rob Morrow, Kyle King, Jason Baker, Cody Wells and Chris Boley.

"This will be another good test for our teams," said head coach Todd Harbour. "Our women performed well at the Griak Invitational and moved into the national rankings, we're hoping the men do the same this Saturday. I think if the women finish in the top five, we'll feel like we've done well."