Oct. 7, 2005

BEAUMONT, Texas - After a strong showing at the Crimson Classic in mid-September, the Lamar University cross country team has been forced to wait patiently on their next cross country meet. Now the Cardinals get back into action as they head back to the state of Alabama for the 13th annual Auburn Invitational at Indian Pines Golf Course.

A twenty-eight team field has been compiled for the meet, with Lamar being a late addition due to rescheduling from Hurricane Rita. The men get things started with an eight kilometer run at 9:30 a.m., while the women will start a five kilometer jaunt at 10:30 a.m.

The women's and men's teams finished second and third respectively, at the meet hosted by Alabama on September 17, but were not able to compete in the Cowboy Classic in Stillwater Okla., on October 1, due to the effects of Hurricane Rita.

In their last meet Renee Graham led the way for the Lady Cardinals with a fifth place finish, completing the 5K race in 17:48. Clerc Koenck also posted a top 10 finish, placing ninth in 18:06. On the men's side the Cardinals were paced by Danny Shaw, who took seventh place, finishing the 8K race in 25:42, while Jake Champagne posted a top 20 finish in 26:16.

With the longer than expected wait between competitions, LU cross country coach Sita Waru is anxious to see what the teams will do on Saturday.

"We came back together this week and had some really good workouts at Blinn Junior College," she said. "We haven't raced in three weeks, so this meet is going to be a good measure to see what we have or haven't lost in that time. There is a really strong field for this meet, so it's going to be a good test."