Women's Cross Country Unveils 2016 Schedule

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - Sue Parks, head coach of the Eastern Michigan University women's cross country team, announced the team's 2016 schedule today, August 19. The Eagles will compete in six regular season meets before beginning the postseason with the Mid-American Conference Championships in late October.

"I feel that this is a very good schedule for our team," remarked Parks. "We will use every meet to work on some of the things that we need to improve on from last year. We start out with two smaller in-state meets and then move on to some challenging competition at the Commodore Classic, a new meet for us. After that, we will face some of the top ranked teams in the country at the Notre Dame Invitational and the Pre-NCAA meet. The big meets should help to prepare us to be at our best at the MAC Championship and the NCAA Regional."

The 2015 MAC Champions begin the season at the George Dales Invitational, Sept. 2, marking the ninth consecutive year in which the Eagles will be in attendance at the meet hosted by Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich. The following weekend, the squad remains in Michigan, heading to Northville for the Titan Invitational, Sept. 10.

The Green and White will then hit the road and travel south to Nashville, Tenn. to compete at the Commodore Classic, Sept. 17. This is the first time that the Eagles have competed in the meet hosted by Vanderbilt University. As this will be the first national-level meet for the Green and White of the season, it will allow the Eagles to gain early season experience against some of the best harriers from around the country.

After a weekend off, the squad returns to action in South Bend, Ind. at the Notre Dame Invitational, Sept. 30. Attending the meet for the fifth straight year, the annual meet hosted by Notre Dame will give the Eagles another opportunity to race against many of the top universities from around the nation.

Following another free weekend, Eastern picks up action back in Indiana, this time heading to Terre Haute, Ind. for the Pre-National Invitational, Oct. 15. The meet, hosted by Indiana State University, serves as an opportunity for teams to run on the NCAA Championship course before the postseason begins. The field of teams, like the Notre Dame Invite, includes some of the top teams from around the country, including last season's NCAA runner-up, Colorado.

The regular season then concludes with the annual EMU Fall Classic, Oct. 21, held in Dexter, Mich. The meet gives the Eagles one final opportunity to tune-up any issues before heading into the postseason.

The postseason kicks off with the MAC Championships, Oct. 29, held in Kent, Ohio. The Eagles will look to defend their first-ever MAC title after placing three harriers within the top-six last year to edge out second-place Bowling Green. The team will then regroup with a free weekend, after which the squad heads to Madison, Wis. for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, Nov. 11. Last year, the Green and White had their best regional finish since 1996, taking sixth with 216 points.

If the team secures a top-two regional finish, they will automatically qualify to the NCAA Championships, Nov. 19, at the same location as the Pre-National Invitational from earlier in the season. Should the team finish outside the top-two at the regional, the squad would need to receive an at-large bid to punch their tickets to the national championship.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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