The nation’s top cross country teams, including Ohio State’s men’s and women’s teams, will travel to Madison, Wis., Friday to compete in the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational.
The event will be the last meet for the Buckeyes prior to the Big Ten Championship meet.
The women’s team is looking to build on the progress made at their last event, the Notre Dame Invitational, in which they placed 11th.
“We’re really excited. Most of the girls ran personal bests last meet,” said women’s coach Khadevis Robinson. “Everything we’ve been doing is going in the right direction.
“What we have to find out is if we’re still on a peak, which we were on in our last competition, and figure out how to continue on that peak and get ready for the Big Ten championship.”
The men’s squad is attempting to replicate last year’s top-20 finish and also trying to position themselves for the future. In 2011, the Buckeyes finished 17th out of 30 teams.
The team will be running two true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen in Madison.
“(For) five out of our seven guys, this is their first look at Wisconsin,” said men’s associate coach Brice Allen.
“With this young team, we’re trying to gain experience going into the Big Ten Championship,” he said. “We’re (also) trying to be competitive at the national level. That’s why we go to the most competitive race in the country. “
Both men’s and women’s squads will be facing stiff competition as the field is stacked with top tier programs. Twenty-one of the top 30 ranked men’s teams and 20 of the top 30 women’s teams will be competing at the invitational.
“This is certainly one of the biggest meets so far,” Allen said.