The Emory men’s and women’s cross country teams head North where they will compete at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational on Saturday (Oct. 15).  The meet will be held at the Lake Breeze Golf Course, site of the 2011 NCAA D-III Championships, in Winneconne, Wisconsin, with the women’s 6k race starting at 10:30 am (CDT) and the men’s 8k event at 11:15 am.

This year’s Invitational is packed with talent in both races.  A total of 51 men’s teams will be represented, 10 of which are nationally ranked, while the women’s competition will also be comprised of 51 teams, with 11 of those garnering national recognition.

Three of nation’s top-five men’s programs will hit the course on Saturday including No. 1 and defending Invitational champ North Central (Ill.), No. 3 Calvin and No. 5 Washington University.  Other ranked teams competing will be No. 8 UW-Oshkosh, No. 12 Augustana College (Ill.), No. 13 New York University, No. 15 Wabash, No. 20 UW-Stevens Points, No. 21 UW-Oshkosh and No. 29 Wheaton College.

The Emory women’s side, ranked 17^th on the national scene, will bump up against some of the country’s elite D-III programs as well.  Three of the top-10 D-III teams will be looking to take home the team title including No. 3 Washington University, No. 5 MIT and No. 7 Calvin. 

In their most recent action, the Eagles’ men’s and women’s teams captured first place at the JSU Foothills Invitational last weekend.  Junior Melanie Frank earned UAA Athlete of the Week kudos for her performance at JSU, pacing the women’s effort with a 5k time of 18:30, good for fourth place out of 111 runners.  Sophomore Eddie Mulder spearheaded the men’s team, crossing the finishing line in 12^th place out of 94 hopefuls with an 8k showing of 26:54.