LARAMIE, Wyo.  – Three weeks removed from its last competition, the University of Wyoming cross country team will travel to Louisville, Ky., for the 2017 Pre-National Invitational on Saturday. The Cowboys and Cowgirls will get a look at the site of the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships while competing in a large and challenging field that features 51 men's teams and 54 women's teams.
 
Wyoming's harriers have endured three weeks of hard training on either side of the Roy Griak Invitational and are starting to come together in terms of team camaraderie and race shape according to associate head coach Amanda Clower and assistant coach Scott Dahlberg. The Cowboys are building a solid young core despite injury trouble this season, as their top five at the Roy Griak Invitational included three sophomores and a freshman. Sophomore Christopher Henry has emerged as the team leader for the Cowboys and has posted two top-30 finishes to start the 2017 season. Henry will look to improve on his 171st-place finish from Pre-Nationals in 2016 this Saturday, while fellow sophomore Harry Ewing is looking solid after another good performance at the Roy Griak Invitational and will attempt to improve on his 76th-place finish from the 2016 Pre-National meet. Junior Ricky Faure is back in the Cowboy lineup after missing the Roy Griak Invitational due to injury and will help Wyoming compete against a number of elite teams in Louisville. Faure was 142nd at Pre-Nationals in 2016.
 
Senior leader Lauren Hamilton returned to the Wyoming lineup at Griak, finishing as the top Cowgirl in 32nd place with a 6K time of 22:40. While Hamilton and fellow senior Kerry White have provided a solid one-two punch for the Cowgirls in recent years, sophomore Ashley Bock added herself to the mix with a 66th-place finish at Griak, just five spots behind White. The trio of Cowgirls will spearhead Wyoming's efforts at the Pre-National meet, with Hamilton and White each competing at the meet for the third time in their careers while Bock's appearance will be her first. White has a solid history at Pre-Nationals, taking 69th as a freshman in 2014 and 54th as a sophomore in 2015. Kiah Leonard is the only Cowgirl besides White and Hamilton that has competed at a previous Pre-National meet, as the Cowgirls raced at the Penn State Open on the weekend of last season's Pre-Nationals.
 
Fans can watch the 2017 Pre-National Invitational and follow live results via paid subscription to FloTrack, while additional updates will be available by following @wyo_track on twitter.