LARAMIE, Wyo, (October 2, 2019) – The Wyoming men's and women's cross country teams will head to South Bend, Ind., this weekend for the Notre Dame-hosted Joe Piane Invitational on Friday, Oct. 4. The No. 18-ranked Cowboys will battle 11 other nationally-ranked programs, while the Cowgirls will go up against non-traditional opponents. The men will race at 11:45 a.m. (MT), and the women will race at 1:15 p.m. (MT).
 
Joining Wyoming in the loaded Blue Division race will be No. 4 Colorado, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 13 Colorado State, No. 14 Ole Miss, No. 15 NC State, No. 16 Michigan, No. 19 Indiana, No. 21 Purdue, No. 26 Eastern Kentucky, and No. 29 Alabama. Additionally, Southern Utah, Florida State and Gonzaga will be running, and they are receiving votes in the national poll.
 
"It's a great opportunity for the Cowboys to beat some very good teams," said head cross country coach Scott Dahlberg. "There's a lot of ranked teams in the race and a lot of teams ranked high in their regions. If we take care of business, we should be able to receive a lot of at-large points and make our trip to nationals look pretty good."
 
The Cowboys got off to a great start to the season, competing at the Wyoming Invite and finishing in first as a team. Senior Paul Roberts was the race winner, while seniors Christopher Henry and Harry Ewing all put up top-10 efforts. After the race, Roberts was named the Mountain West Athlete of the Week.
 
The Cowgirls will race against 26 other teams in the Gold Division race. Most notably, Wyoming will square off against Clemson, Eastern Kentucky, Illinois State, Indiana State, Kansas State, LSU, Southern Utah and Western Michigan.
 
"The women are in a race with a lot of teams that are ranked very similar in their regions," "It's a race where we can be competitive, run toward the front and try to beat as many teams as possible. This should be a good transition into the next race, which they're familiar with, and then on to the championship season."
 
The Cowgirls placed third as a team in the season-opening Wyoming Invite. Senior Kacey Doner led the way with a seventh-place finish, while sophomore Katelyn Mitchem placed ninth to join her teammate in the top-10. Sophomore Kaylee Bentley had a strong race, placing 14^th overall, while classmate Addi Iken was 28^th overall.
 
Fans can follow @wyo_track on Twitter for updates, as well as a link to live results for the races.