LARAMIE, Wyo. – The University of Wyoming cross country teams are set to open the 2018 season this Friday, Aug. 31, when they host the Wyoming Invite at the Little America Golf Course in Cheyenne, Wyo. The women's 5-kilometer race is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m., with the men running the same distance at 6:30 p.m.

Wyoming will welcome some of the top teams in the nation to the event. On the men's side, No. 7 Colorado, No. 9 Colorado State and No. 16 Air Force will join the Brown and Gold, as will regional foe Northern Colorado. On the women's side, No. 2 Colorado will enter the field, as will Air Force, Northern Colorado and a Colorado State squad that is just outside the top 30 in the country.

The Cowboys return their top six runners from the 2017 season, including junior Christopher Henry, who was the Cowboys' top finisher in four of the five races last season. Also returning is junior Harry Ewing, who paced the UW men at the 2017 Mountain West Cross Country Championships with a 26^th overall finish. The Cowboys also bring back redshirt senior Jonah Henry, who was UW's top finisher at the 2016 MW Championships, and Ricky Faure, who only raced once last season before suffering an injury.

The Cowgirls will look to replace their top two runners from 2017, as Lauren Hamilton and Kerry White both graduated last year. However, they bring back junior Ashley Bock, who is UW's top returning finisher from both the MW Championships and the NCAA Mountain Regional, as well as seniors Kiah Leonard and Emily Person, who each scored points in three races last season. Additionally, senior Regan VanDePol was UW's third finisher at the prestigious Pre-Nationals meet a season ago.

Fans can stay up to date on race action by following @wyo_track on Twitter.