Oct. 11, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's and women's cross country teams return to action on Friday at the Penn State National Invite. The meet will be the Demon Deacons' final tune-up prior to the ACC Championships on Oct. 27.

The Penn State National Invite will take place at the Blue/White Golf Course in University Park, Pa. The meet will kick off with the women's 6k race at 10 a.m., and the men will follow with a 8.3k race.

The 18-team men's field includes Akron, Bloomsburg, Cornell, Cortland State, George Mason, Guelph, Kentucky, LaSalle, Lehigh, Lock Haven, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Quinnipiac, Rider, St. Francis (Pa.), Slippery Rock and Syracuse.

The 26-team women's field includes Bloomsburg, Brown, Clarion, Connecticut, Cornell, Cortland State, Duke, Guelph, Kentucky, LaSalle, Lehigh, Lock Haven, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Quinnipiac, Rider, St. Francis (Pa.), Slippery Rock, South Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova and West Virginia.

The Wake Forest men are coming off a sixth-place finish at the Greater Louisville Classic on Sept. 29. Jeremy Fisico led the Deacs with a 14th-place finish out of 310 runners.

The Deacon women took eighth place at the Bill Dellinger Invite in Oregon on Sept. 29. Nicole Schappert and Caitlin Chrisman placed 14th and 18th respectively at the meet.

The women's team is currently ranked sixth in the Southeast Region in the latest USTFCCCA poll. The men's team is 10th in the Southeast Region.

The Deacons will be off next weekend before returning to action at the ACC Championships on Saturday, Oct. 27, in Charlottesville, Va.