PORTLAND, Ore. - - - The University of Portland women’s cross country varsity team will run at the 2010 NCAA Pre-National 6k meet, hosted by Indiana State University at the Laverne Gibson Championship course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Pilots will be competing in the women’s 6k “Blue Race” which begins at 11:00 AM eastern time this Saturday, October 16.
The Blue Race features a field of 39 teams, nine of whom are currently ranked in the top 30 nationally by the USTFCCCA. The ranked teams include No. 3 Florida State, No. 6 Arizona, No. 11 Iowa State, No. 13 Washington, No. 15 Princeton, No. 16, Providence, No. 18 Michigan State, No. 25 Arkansas, and No. 29 BYU.
The Pilots did not participate in the 2009 NCAA Pre-National meet.
The Pilots, coming off a 12th place finish at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, will be put to the test against tough competition. “We are looking forward to this meet and making up for our mediocre performance in Wisconsin,” said Head Coach Ian Solof. “Training has been excellent since our last meet and this is still a team with a ton of potential. The Pre-Nationals is the biggest, toughest meet in the nation, and it is always exciting to compete at the highest level possible.”
The ‘B’ team will also be in action this weekend as they will run at the Bill Dellinger Invitational hosted by the University of Oregon in Eugene this Saturday, October 16.
Live coverage of the NCAA Pre-National meet is available on flotrack.org. Results will be posted on portlandpilots.com after the races conclude on Saturday.