By Steve Holt, Staff Writer

The women’s cross country team and two individuals from the men’s team will participate in the Texas A&M Cross Country Invitational in College Station Saturday. The university men’s race, which will cover 8,000 meters on the TAMU Golf Course, will begin at 8:30 a.m., while the university women’s 6,000-meter race will begin at 9 a.m.

Over 20 teams, the majority of which will be Division I, are registered to compete Saturday. The defending women’s champion is Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, while Texas is the reigning men’s champion.

Head coach Jon Murray said experience is the thing he hopes his women’s team brings away from College Station Saturday.

“We just need to get them ready for a few of the bigger meets coming up,” Murray said. “And it’s just to experience the team-it’s still a relatively young group of ladies.”

ACU’s leading runner will be freshman Yuliya Stashkiv, who along with junior Bernard Manirakiza of the men’s team, was named Runner of the Week in the Lone Star Conference for her victory at the ACU Classic Sept. 12. Murray said the Division I competition will be a positive aspect of the race for Stashkiv.

“There will be more people who can push her,” Murray said. “It will be interesting to see how she handles a little faster competition.”

The first year runner said she has one main goal for Saturday’s meet.

“I hope to be in the Top 10,” Stashkiv said. “I heard this is a good meet with lots of Division I talent.”

Two from the men’s team also will be competing in Saturday’s race: senior Justin Thompson and freshman Seth Patterson.

“These two guys are a little younger race experience-wise, so we are going to try to give them one more race experience before Oklahoma State,” Murray said.

After the Texas A&M Invitational, both the men’s and women’s team will have a week off before traveling to Stillwater, Okla., for the Cowboy Jamboree.