DAYTON – The regionally-ranked University of Dayton women's cross country team will compete against some of the nation's best teams at the Pre-National Invitational hosted by Louisville this Saturday, Oct. 14 at E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park.

The Flyers, ranked No. 8 in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Great Lakes Region poll, are No. 7 in the seeded race and No. 4 in the open race. The Women's Red Seeded 6K race will start at 10:45 a.m. and the Women's Black Unseeded 6K will start at 12:15 p.m. There are 54 women's teams competing in the race.

"The Pre-National meet will be our first chance to compete against a large field comprised of many of the best teams in the country," said head coach Jason Ordway. "We should leave with great racing experience to carry our early season success into the postseason. The team is excited and ready to compete to defend our position in the region and find out how stack up nationally."

Several teams ranked in the latest NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Coaches' Poll will be racing in Louisville: No. 4 Michigan, No. 9 Arkansas, No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 19 Utah State, No. 25 Georgia, No. 29 Mississippi State
 
NOTES

• The Pre-National Invitational is being streamed live on FloTrack.org, powered by FloSports.
• It is the 80th annual men's competition and the 38th annual women's competition.
• The 2017 cross country championships will feature slightly modified men's 10K and women's 6K courses. The course enhancements will improve overall athlete flow/movement on the course and increase spectator viewpoints for both championship races.