Oct. 13, 2011

BEAUMONT, Texas - The Lamar University men's and women's cross country teams will head their separate ways up north for Friday competitions.

The Lamar men will compete in the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational in Madison, Wis., at 1 p.m. Friday, while the Lady Cardinals head to the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Ill., at 4 p.m. Friday. Friday's races will be Lamar's last competitions until the Southland Conference Championships on Oct. 31.

The Lamar men's team captured team titles in each of the first three races this season, but coach Trey Clark knows the Cardinals will be hard pressed to make it four-for-four.

"The Wisconsin meet will probably be the toughest field outside of the national championships," Clark said. "Texas and Texas A&M, two teams that are ranked ahead of us in our region will be there, as will a number of other strong teams. A good finish in this field is exactly what we need."

Lamar's Matt Johnsen is coming off a first-place finish at the Grass Routes Relay, and leads a strong Lamar contingent that includes Joe Wade, Tom Wade, Bob Ahimbisibwe and Chris Jones.

"We're very deep," Clark said. We don't have to count on just one or two runners.

The Lady Cardinals, who finished fifth in their last outing at the Grass Routes Grand Prix, could make some noise Friday.

"The women have had two great weeks of training," Clark said. "I'm very happy with the improvement they've shown. The team has really come along."

The Lady Cardinals are led by Sam Walkow, Taylor Cloy and Angela LaBorde.

"Sam, Taylor and Angela are our leaders, but we're getting contributions from Claire Miles and Becky Gough," Clark said. "It should be a good test for us."