DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's and women's cross country programs will travel to Kenosha, Wis., on Oct. 10 for the Lucian Rosa Invite, hosted by Wisconsin Parkside. The women's team will participate in the 6K race, while the men will take on the 8K.
QUOTING COACH LOFDAHL
"Wisconsin Parkside has one of the greatest cross country courses in the U.S., and we're excited to pay a visit there this weekend. Last year, Parkside hosted the NCAA Championships, so this meet was basically pre-nationals and was the biggest and most competitive meet we attended. This time it is back to "normal" for the Lucian Rosa Invite, which means 15-20 teams, mostly Midwest D2 and NAIA teams.
"It definitely will still be competitive, and will be a great way for our freshmen women to get in their first 6K race on the regional course. Cedarville and Northern Michigan are two of our Midwest regional rivals who will be competing, along with Cornerstone which is a top-ranked NAIA squad. We will hold out most of our top men, and they'll get in a good workout on the course, while a lot of our younger guys will get a taste of the hills and trails of Parkside on Saturday. This is the Midwest regional course in 2027 as well as this year, so we really wanted to give our youngsters in particular a chance to race on it. Hopefully that will pay off with some great regional performances in the near future!"
Men's Squad
The men's squad competed in the Louisville Classic on Oct. 3, where they placed 14th out of 24 teams.
Sean Pettis (Fremont, Mich.) paced the WSU men with a 34th-place finish of 24:47.1.
Women's Squad
The women's program is coming off a successful trip to Louisville, Ky. with a seventh-place team finish.
Ava Peters (Livonia, Mich. / Franklin) led the Warriors with a time of 18:15.0 and a 30th-place overall finish.
USTFCCCA Regional Rankings
The WSU women's cross country program stays in sixth in the week three USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings after back-to-back team victories to open the season and a seventh-place team finish at the Louisville Classic last weekend. GLIAC opponent Grand Valley State remains at No. 1 in the regional poll, while Saginaw Valley State (5), Michigan Tech (7) and Northern Michigan (8) hold down spots in top 10 rankings. The Warriors are continuing to receive votes in the NCAA DII Women's Cross Country National Poll.
On the men's side of the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings, WSU still sits outside of the top 10 schools after claiming the No. 10 spot in the preseason rankings. League opponents Grand Valley State (1), Saginaw Valley State (3) and Michigan Tech (9) continue to sit among the top 10 in the regional rankings.
UP NEXT
The Warriors will host the Warrior Challenge in New Boston, Mich., at Willow Metropark on Oct. 24. The women's race will begin at 11 a.m. with the men's shotgun start set for 11:45 a.m.
