Oct. 5, 2005

SAN MARCOS - Texas State Cross Country will host its second meet of the season on Saturday at the Gary Job Corps facility. Collegiate races begin at 8 a.m., followed by high and middle school races.

Last month, the Bobcats hosted the Texas State Invitational. St. Edwards, Palo Alto College and Western College attended the Invitational.

The Classic will feature more competitive teams including Texas-San Antonio, SMU, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Sam Houston State and more. This field will allow the Bobcats to gauge themselves against the region's best before the Southland Conference meet on Oct. 31.

"There will be many more universities at this meet [than at the Invitational]," said assistant coach Greg Zarate, "This will allow us to see where we are at this point of the season."

The men's team ran last weekend at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree. Senior James Ortiz finished 60th in the meet that boasts one of the largest groups of college competitors every year.

Assistant track coach Blaine Wiley told the Bobcat Athletic Foundation on Monday that he is happy with how the team performed at the Jamboree.

"It was great because of the high caliber athletes competing in the race," he said, "Our guys stuck together and finished in the top 70 of over 400 racers."

Look for athletes from both the men and women's teams to compete for the Bobcats on Saturday.

For the women's team, freshmen Elizabeth Alexander, Tiffany Chandler, Sam Evola, Whitney Perkins, Veronica Rodriguez and Kristina Viniar will race. Sophomores Marina Andruzzi, Tenley Determan, Stephanie Flores, Shanitra Garrett, Brittany Rosen, Claudia Vera and Kirby West will also compete.

On the men's side, athletes representing all classes are set to participate. Freshmen David Fuentes, Mason Larkin, Andrew McCartin, Eric Pedrosa and Brett Shepherd will run for the second time at home. Sophomores J.D. Klimczyk, Matt Renner and Jacob Wells, juniors Frankie Flores and Paulo Sosa, and seniors Paul Archer and Ortiz will also represent Texas State.

West, Determan, Rosen, Vera and Flores are expected to be the top finishers on the women's side, while Fuentes, Wells, Ortiz, Flores, Shepherd and McCartin should finish near the top for the men. The first five Bobcats to cross the finish line will be scored so that final team standings can be figured.

The collegiate races will again be followed by high school and middle school events. Those races will begin at approximately 9 a.m. after the women's teams clear the course.

The Bobcats will run in next weekend's Chile Pepper Invitational and the USTA Short Course on Oct. 24 before competing in the SLC Tournament on Halloween.