LA JOLLA, Calif. – After a two-week layoff, the UC San Diego cross country teams are back in action this weekend with the University of Southern Indiana Pre-National Invitational Saturday morning in Evansville, Ind. The event will serve as a preview of the course for the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championships, which will also be held at the USI Cross Country Course on November 21.  

The men's 8k race will begin at 9:30 a.m. local time and feature four teams currently ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II national poll. The elite field includes No. 5 Abilene Christian, No. 9 USI, No. 12 Stonehill College, and No. 24 Harding University. Harding's Daniel Kirwa, a two-time NCAA 10k champion in track, figures to be one of the top individual performers.

The women's 6k will follow at 10:15 a.m. and feature a field headlined by five nationally ranked programs, including No. 11 USI, No. 13 University of Tampa, No. 21 Harding, No. 22 Stonehill, and No. 23 Ferris State University.

The Tritons head to Indiana following an impressive performance against a field featuring several Division I schools at the Asics/UC Irvine Invitational on September 12. UCSD's men finished sixth out of 21 teams, while the women took eighth in a 13-team field.

Senior Mike Wright led the way for the men, finishing 32nd overall with a time of 26:09.0 in the 8k, while Brian Knight's time of 26:22.0 was good enough for 45th place. Jeremy Riley, Matt Lenehan, and John Svet rounded out the scorers for the Tritons, finishing 66th, 75th, and 85th on the day, respectively.

Sophomore Bre Schofield was the women's top individual finisher once again, placing fifth overall with a time of 17:45.0 in the 5k. Fellow second-year runner Elena Inouye was next fastest Triton to finish, placing 41st overall with a time of 18:54.30. Inouye was followed by Aaryn Kobayashi in 46th place, Catherine Crisp in 55th place, and Brianna Alban in 70th, respectively.

Following Saturday's USI Pre-National Invitational, UCSD will return home for the Triton Classic on Saturday, October 10. The women will start things off with a 6k race beginning at 9:00 a.m. , with the men's 10k following at 10:00. UCSD's runners recorded a sweep of Point Loma Nazarene and Cerritos College on their home course to open the season August 29.