DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's and women's cross country teams continue their seasons on Friday at the Grand View Invitational at Des Moines' Ewing Park. The women's 5-kilometer race is scheduled to start at 5 p.m., followed by the men's 8-kilometer race at 5:45 p.m.
The Bulldogs return to action following a week off from competition as the teams continue their early season training.
“The focus is on training for the next several weeks and this meet is a good chance to see where we're at,” head coach Dan Hostager said. “The teams won the title last year, so we want to defend that if possible.”
Last season, the Drake women easily won the meet behind Celeste Arteaga's (Rock Island, Ill.) first-place finish on the 5-kilometer course while the men's team took the top four spots to cruise to the title as well.
However, as the was case a season ago, Hostager will be holding many of Drake's top runners out of the meet to continue their training while giving the younger runners another opportunity to compete. This is especially critical on the men's side as many of the freshman will be competing in their first 8-kilometer race.
“It'll be our first 8k of the year, so it will give our younger runners the chance to gain valuable experience at that distance,” Hostager said. “For some of them it's their first time at the distance and we just have two more 8ks before the MVC Championships. That is our goal this season to build up to the championship portion of the season.”
The Grand View Invitational promises to fill that need for the Bulldogs in gaining experience at that distance and preparing the team for the upcoming championship season. While Hostager and the Bulldogs are eager to defend their Grand View Invitational titles, the coaching staff's focus remains dedicated to the training and progression of the team, not immediate race results.
“We've had some outstanding workouts, so we've focused on that,” Hostager said. “If those are going well, the race results will come. We're not race fit yet by any means, but we want to use this weekend as a good springboard for next weekend's meet.”
That meet next weekend is the annual Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn., which has become one of the premier cross country meets in the Midwest.
