Similar to their last competitions, the WSU cross-country teams will be divided and sent to two different competitions this weekend.

Part of the team will head to the Eighth Annual Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, while the remainder will compete at the Inland Empire Championships, hosted by Lewis-Clark State, in Lewiston, Idaho.

The invitational is hosted in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course today.

The men will compete in an 8k race. Competing for the WSU men are sophomores Paul Ryan, Nathan Tadesse, and Chandler Teigen; juniors Sam Levora and Michael Williams; and senior John Whelan.

Look for Whelan and Williams to push the pace for this team and lead the pack. Whelan is riding momentum from an impressive eighth overall finish in the Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational. Williams also finished in the top-25, placing 16th.

The women will compete in 6k race and will face some highly competitive teams, as there are 18 top-30 teams competing in Madison. This includes No. 1 Providence and rival school No. 4. Washington.

Competing for the Cougar women’s team are freshmen Morgan Lash, Desi Stinger and Melissa Hruska; redshirt freshman Jenaya Pynn; sophomores Josie Brown and Katherine Dittmann; junior Devon Bortfeld; and senior Morgan Willson.

Bortfeld has been the top finisher for the WSU team for the first two races. If Bortfeld can rally the Cougs to another high finish, it could be a confidence boost for the team.

The Inland Empire Championships takes place tomorrow at Lewiston’s Community Park. The men will run an 8k, and the Cougs competing are freshmen Cameron Dean and Justin Janke; sophomores Jake Finney, Kyler Little, Reid Muller and Isaac Wadhwani; redshirt junior Jackson Haselnus; and senior Alex Simpson.

In an interview via WSUCougars.com, cross-country director Wayne Phipps called Janke the “top newcomer,” and it seems he could be an x-factor to a high team finish for this race.

The men’s teams are hoping to recover after falling in the rankings from 24th to 31st. The Cougars had a good performance at the Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational on Oct. 4, finishing seventh but still dropped in the rankings.

The women’s team will compete in a 5k race and will feature Cougar freshmen Marie Gaudin, Elizabeth Perez-Bossut and Alexis Redfield; redshirt freshman Tracy Myers; junior Mallori Lindberg; and seniors Alexys Garcia and Steffie Pavey in the race.

The Cougars can climb back into the top-25 with good performances from both squads on these challenging courses.

Results for each event can be found at WSUCougars.com.

Reporting by James Loss