Golden Gopher Cross Country This Week:

Women
Pre-NCAA Meet
Saturday, Oct. 14 — 11 a.m.
Terre Haute, Ind. — LaVern Gibson Course

Tori Neubauer Invitational
Saturday, Oct. 14 — 11:30 a.m.
West Salem, Wis. — Maple Grove CC

Men
Jim Drews Invitational
Saturday, Oct. 14 — 10:30 a.m.
West Salem, Wis. — Maple Grove CC

Golden Gopher Watch List — Oct. 10, 2006
• Minnesota Women to Run Pre-NCAA Meet - The Minnesota women’s cross country team will head to Terre Haute, Ind., and the site of the NCAA Championships, to compete in the Pre-NCAA Meet on Saturday. All 11 Big Ten teams are expected to compete.
• Gopher Men Head to Jim Drews Invitational - The Gopher men’s cross country team will compete in the Jim Drews Invitational in West Salem, Wis., on Saturday. The meet features a clash with border-rival Wisconsin, even though neither team will likely run at full strength.
• Gopher Women Compete in Second Meet - While the Gophers’ top 12 runners compete at the Pre-NCAA Meet, the remainder of the squad will compete at the Tori Neubauer Invitational in West Salem, Wis., on Saturday.
• Gophers Consistent in the National Polls - Both the Gopher men and women have been ranked in their respective national coaches polls throughout the season. The men have been ranked No. 12 since running to a second-place showing at the Griak. The women inched up to No. 18 this week after spending a couple weeks at the No. 19 position. The Pre-NCAA Meet will likely cause a shake-up in the polls next week.

Golden Gopher Women

Season Heats Up as Gophers Head to Pre-NCAAs
The Minnesota women’s cross country team will send its top 12 runners to the Pre-NCAA Meet on Saturday, Oct. 14, while also sending a squad to Wisconsin-LaCrosse’s Tori Neubauer Invitational. The Pre-NCAA meet will serve as the Gophers’ final tune-up for the championship portion of the season, starting with the Big Ten Championships in two weeks.

Sizing Up the Competition and the Course
The Gophers will use the Pre-NCAA Meet to accomplish two goals: sizing up the competition and checking out the national championship course. The Pre-NCAA Meet is hosted by Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind., and is contested on the course that will host the NCAA Championships in November. The meet features two seeded races with the strength of teams equally split between them. All 11 Big Ten teams are expected to compete in the Pre-NCAA Meet this weekend. In addition to the two seeded races, an open race is run.

Top Seven Gophers to Run in Seeded Race
The Gophers’ top seven runners will run in the seeded Pre-NCAA race. The fields for the seeded races will be announced on Friday.
     Minnesota’s top seven consists of All-Americans Emily Brown and Ladia Albertson-Junkans, sophomore Gabriele Anderson, redshirt freshmen Jamie Cheever and Heather Dorniden, and true freshmen Amy Laskowske and Elizabeth Yetzer.
     Competing in Pre-NCAA open race will be junior Katie Howery, sophomores Ariella DePrenger-Gottfried and Kristin Johansen, redshirt freshman Megan Duwell and freshman Sally Paulson.

Gophers No. 18 in This Week’s National Poll
Minnesota moved up a spot to No. 18 in this week’s Finish/Lynx Women’s Cross Country Coaches poll. Stanford remained at the No. 1 spot.

Golden Gopher Men

Gophers Back in Action This Week
The Minnesota men’s cross country team returns to action this Saturday, when the Golden Gophers travel to the Jim Drews Invitational at the Maple Grove Country Club in West Salem, Wis. The meet, run in conjunction with the women’s Tori Neubauer Invitational, is hosted by Wisconsin-LaCrosse. The men’s 8-kilometer race begins at 10:30 a.m.

An Annual Clash with the Badgers
The Jim Drews Invitational field always includes a majority of NCAA Division III teams, however, the Drews once again will feature a battle between the Gophers and the Wisconsin Badgers. Neither team is expected to run at full-force this weekend, yet the competition remains a fierce rivalry.

The Final Tune-Up for Big Ten Championships
The Jim Drews Invitational will serve as the Golden Gophers’ final tune-up of the Big Ten Championships in two weeks.

Minnesota Remains at No. 12 in National Poll
The Gophers remained at No. 12 in this week’s USTFCCCA Men’s Cross Country Coaches Poll. Minnesota has been ranked at No. 12 since its runner-up finish at the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 23. The ranking is also the highest during Steve Plasencia’s 11-year Minnesota coaching tenure.
     Minnesota is the second of four Big Ten schools ranked with Wisconsin at No. 1, Michigan at No. 14 and Ohio State at No. 22. Michigan State and Iowa and received votes.