July 31, 2009
WACO, Texas - The Baylor cross country teams' 2009 fall schedule includes the Bear Invitational and the NCAA South Central Regional meet, both hosted by the Bears, head coach Todd Harbour announced on Friday.
"We have a good schedule that allows us to get out and compete against the top teams in the country throughout the year," head coach Todd Harbour said. "Every meet gives us a chance to see where our teams are at that point."
The Bears open the season right at home with the Bear Invitational on Sept. 4, before traveling down Texas Highway 6 to College Station, Texas, for the Texas A&M Invitational eight days later.
"Our home meet is a good, low-key meet for us to start out the year," Harbour said. "We can take a look at possibilities for red-shirting, and it gives us a good early season barometer of our teams."
After two weekends off, the men's and women's teams will split up on the weekend of Oct. 2-3. On Oct., second the Bear women will travel to the University of Oregon for the Bill Dellinger Invitational. The following day, the men will be in Auburn, Ala., for the Tiger Invitational.
Both meets will help prepare the Bears for the weekend of Oct. 17, which features the Chile Pepper Festival at Arkansas, as well as the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute on the course where the 2009 NCAA Championships will take place.
The Pre-National meet will also serve as the final tune-up before the Bears' stretch run with the Big 12 Championships in Columbia, Mo., on Oct. 31. Two weeks later, Baylor will play host to the NCAA South Central Regional field at Waco's Cottonwood Creek Golf Course on Nov. 14.
"Columbia (Mo.) is a great place to have our conference meet," Harbour said. "They have a great venue. Then we come back to Waco for regionals at Cottonwood. The city of Waco and Cottonwood have always been great in allowing us to run a meet at this great course."
The NCAA Championships, scheduled for Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind., are the prime target for the Bears, with the women looking for their seventh consecutive trip.
