LA JOLLA, Calif. ? After a two-week layoff, the UC San Diego cross country teams are back in action this weekend with the SRU Pre-National Invitational Saturday morning in Slippery Rock, Pa. Hosted by Slippery Rock University, the event will be held at Cooper's Lake Campground and will feature six nationally-ranked programs. The meet will serve as a preview of the course for the NCAA Division II National Championships, which will also be held at Cooper's Lake on November 22. 

The 6,000-meter women's race will begin at 8:00 a.m. PT and feature five teams currently ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II national poll. The elite field includes No. 6 Cal State L.A., No. 18 Bloomsburg, No. 20 Dallas Baptist, and the 25th-ranked hosts from SRU. After posting two team victories in their first three competitions of the season, the Triton women enter this weekend's event with a No. 14 national ranking from the USTFCCCA.

The 8,000-meter men's race will follow at 8:45 a.m. PT and feature a field headlined by 21st-ranked Lock Haven. UCSD's men held a No. 24 ranking in last week's national poll, but dropped out following the off week.

The Tritons head to Pennsylvania following an impressive performance in their last competition, the Cal State Bernardino Coyote Invitational on September 20. UCSD dominated the course that will serve as the site of the CCAA Conference Championships later this month, sweeping both the men's and the women's races.

Freshman Bre Schofield propelled the women, picking up her second individual victory of the season after breaking the tape with a time of 22:09. Senior Amanda Keuhn, who has ran extremely well in her last two competitions, finished third overall at 23:17. Ashleigh Montgomery, Jessica DiMascio, and Brianna Alban rounded out the UCSD scorers in the event, finishing 6th, 8th, and 12th on the day with times of 23:42, 23:46, and 24:03, respectively.

Senior Jake LeVieux led five Triton finishers in the Top 10 on the men's side, clocking in at 25:32, which was second overall and seven seconds behind the winner. Gabe LaMothe finished fourth with a time of 26:15 and he was followed by Max Mullender, Jesse Morrill, and John Svet, respectively. Mullender was the sixth-fastest runner on the day at 26:40, while Morrill took home 7th place, finishing one second behind him. Svet capped the Triton's scoring with a time of 26:48, good enough for 10th place overall.

Following Saturday's SRU Pre-National Invitational, UCSD will return home for the Triton Classic on Saturday, October 11. The men will start things off with a 10k race beginning at 8:45 a.m. and the women's 6k race will follow at 10:15 a.m. UCSD's runners posted a sweep of Point Loma Nazarene, the University of San Diego, and UNLV on their home course to open the season August 29.