McLean County Times

After a two-week break, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's and women's cross country teams are set to compete in the Augustana Interregional Invitational. The event will take place this Saturday, October 17, at the Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, Illinois. This venue is also the site for the upcoming 2024 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional race.

A total of 57 schools are expected to participate in the competition. Among them are six members of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin: host school Augustana, Carthage, North Central, North Park, Wheaton, and Illinois Wesleyan.

Last year's invitational saw participation from 21 nationally-ranked teams and 47 regionally-ranked teams from five out of ten regions. In recent regional rankings by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Illinois Wesleyan's women were ranked sixth. Nine of the top-10 Midwest region women's teams will be present on Saturday along with nine of the top-10 men's teams.

In their most recent outing at DIII Pre-Nationals, junior runner led her team with a personal second-best time finishing 18th overall in 22:02.05. On the men's side, senior finished as his team's top runner in 102nd place with a time of 26:08.64.

The IWU women's team will start their race at 11 a.m., followed by the men's race at 11:45 a.m. Live results can be accessed through links available on the cross country schedule pages.