SFA Set For A&M Invitational
9/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 18, 2008
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin cross country teams will be back in action Friday when they head to College Station, Texas, for the Texas A&M Invitational. SFA was originally scheduled to compete in the Rice Invitational this weekend, but the meet was called off due to damages suffered by the Houston area during Hurricane Ike. In turn, the Texas A&M meet was initially set for last weekend, before being postponed due to the threat of the hurricane.
The meet will be the first traditional-format competition for SFA this season. SFA hosted the dual, relay-format Lumberjack Opener on Aug. 29 and recorded a solid showing against Northwestern State.
"I think it's going to work out well for us," SFA head coach Lou Snelling said of the scheduling change. "We'll see a little bit more competition at A&M than we might have at Rice. Most of the top teams in the region will be there, and we'll get to see a few of the other conference schools, as well."
Friday's A&M Invitational includes some of the premiere teams in the South Central Region. The original announced field consisted of 23 university squads and included Baylor, Rice, SMU and Texas, as well as Southland Conference teams Sam Houston State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UTSA and Texas State.
"This meet will give us a little peek at our fitness level, both individually and on a team basis," Snelling said. "It will also allow us to get out and race for the first time in a while. Most of us haven't raced since May, so it will be good to get back in the swing of our pre- and post-race routine. It also allows us the chance to get out and turn that switch that you only turn on race day."
The men's 8,000-meter race is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. The women's 5,000-meter run is set to begin at 7:10 p.m. Both races will be held at A&M's Penberthy Intramural Fields.
-- SFA --
