The meet features seven Pac-12 schools: Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, Utah, UW, and WSU. Other schools competing at the meet will be Boise State, Indiana, Northern Arizona, Oklahoma, Portland, Villanova and Virginia.

This will be the first time this season that the Cougs have run a full-length race. At the first meet of the season (Clash of the Inland Northwest), both the men and women’s teams ran shortened distances. The women will race a full 6000-meter course while the men will look to tackle the 8000-meter course. The course consists of flat 2000-meter loops.

Coming off a three-week break shouldn’t mean that the Cougs will be rusty. In the weeks leading up to the race, head coach Wayne Phipps called the break between the first two meets, “perfect.”

“We’re looking for the correct volume, intensity, and a ton of work in between,” Phipps said.

On the women’s side, the team looks to improve on last season’s sixth place finish. The Cougs will rely on seniors Abby Regan and Ruby Roberts, the team’s top runners in its last meet. Preseason standout junior CharLee Linton also looks to bolster the Cougs’ chances of securing a win over the stiff competition.

High finishers at the Sundodger Invite last season, junior Forrest Shaffer and senior Lee George will support the Cougar men. The pair finished back-to-back at the 11 and 12 spots in last year’s race.  The men’s team looks to carry its dominance from the Clash of the Inland Northwest meet where it swept the dual-scoring meet and places five through nine into the Sundodger Invite.

This year, the men’s team looks to gain some ground and topple their in-state rival Washington, who came out ahead at the Sundodger last year.

The women’s 6000-meter race starts at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 20, while the men’s 8000-meter race starts at 11:45 a.m. Results can be found online at wsucougars.com following the race.

Following the weekend, the Cougars will get back to work in preparation for next weekend’s Stanford Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 27^th.