Cross Country Releases 2006 Schedule

July 18, 2006

Click here for the 2006 Cross Country schedule

MILWAUKEE -- The 2006 Marquette men's and women's cross country schedule has been released and the Golden Eagles will again face some of the top regional and national competition. MU will kick off its 2006 slate on Sept. 1 in Champaign, Ill. at the Illini Open.

On Sept. 15, the Golden Eagles will compete in the National Catholic Invitational, held on the campus of Notre Dame. The following week - on Sept.23 - Marquette will travel to the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn. The Griak race consistently attracts many of the country's top teams.

"We are very excited about the schedule for the 2006 season." said head coach Dave Uhrich. "We have changed the schedule a bit and are beginning the season a week earlier at the Illinois open and are going back to the National Catholic Invitational at Notre Dame for the first time in several years. The National Catholic Invitational has always been one of my favorite meets, both as an athlete and as a coach, and I look forward to my athletes having an opportunity to compete at this meet."

After the Sept. 30 Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago, MU will travel to the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind on Oct. 14. Held on the national championship course, Pre-Nats annually attracts a strong field of nationally ranked squads.

"The Roy Griak Invitational and the Pre-NCAA meet are arguably the top two meets in the country outside of the National Championship." Uhrich said. "We will continue to use these meets as a gauge of how we sit on a national level."

Additionally, MU's "B" team will compete at the Wis.-Parkside meet on the 14th. The Loyola Lakefront meet is also a "B" team race.

The championship season begins on Oct. 27, when the Golden Eagles travel to Boston's Franklin Park for the BIG EAST Championships. A season ago, Marquette's women's squad finished third overall while the men's team was eighth.

"Franklin Park has a lot of history and we are excited to compete in our second Big East meet on such an historic course." stated Uhrich.

Marquette will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championship by racing at the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals will be held on Nov. 11 in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Golden Eagles' women's squad is one of just 10 teams to have qualified for the national championship race for the past six seasons.

"With the graduation of several of our top runners on the women's side we will be a bit younger than we have been in the past, but with Co-MVP's Michaela Courtney and Cassie Peller returning, along with several other top runners and an outstanding recruiting class, our goals will continue to be very high as we aim for a seventh straight trip to the National Championship." Uhrich explained.

"Our men's team is looking forward to bringing more experience into the 2006 season. With the return of 2004 team MVP Brent Des Roches, the addition of transfer student Scott Mueller and the continued development of our 2005 MVP Kyle Saginus, we feel that we can be one of the most improved teams in the country this fall. We will have a lot more depth on this years team, which really hurt us last season."

The NCAA Championship will be contested on Nov. 20 in Terre Haute, Ind.