This weekend marks the first big weekend of the cross country season. Gone are the weekends of training camp and time trials. Five invitationals will serve as the base for counting Kolas points and shaking up our Saucony Flo 50 rankings. We preview the five meets to watch for this upcoming weekend.


1. Roy Griak Invitational LIVE ON FLOTRACK
When: Saturday
Teams: Arizona State, Baylor (W), Boise State, Butler (W), BYU (W), Cal Berkley, Central Michigan, Colorado State, Drake, Grand Valley State, Illinois, Illinois State, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Miami (Ohio)(W), Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Naval Academy (W), Nebraska, Nevada Reno (W), North Carolina, Ohio State (M), Santa Clara (M), South Dakota, South Dakota State, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Southern Utah, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Arlington, UMKC, Utah State, Vanderbilt, Weber State
What to watch for: Boise State’s Emma Bates and Arizona State’s Shelby Houlihan will go head-to-head for the first time this season at Le Bolstad Golf Course. The No. 1 and No. 2 Saucony Flo50 ranked individuals are coming off of incredible track seasons. Bates won her first NCAA title last spring in the 10k, and Houlihan used her killer kick to take her first NCAA title in the 1500m. The #1 Michigan State squad will be the team to watch in the women’s race. The Spartans return nearly everyone from the 2013 team that finished sixth at last year’s NCAA championships, including 2012 Big Ten champ Sara Kroll. In the men’s race, #17 North Carolina will race their full A team for the first time this season, which includes five returning seniors. But senior Craig Lutz will lead the #23 Texas Longhorns to give the Tar Heels a run for their money on Saturday. 
Predictions: As the returning Griak champ, Houlihan will edge out Bates for the win, but she will have to be on her “A” game to take down the 2013 NCAA runner-up. #1 Michigan State will stomp all over the field in the women’s race, but it will be an all-out battle for second and third between #9 Butler, #8 North Carolina, and #12 Iowa State. After winning the team race in 2012 and 2011, the Cyclones will take advantage of the familiar course to edge out the Bulldogs and Tar Heels on the hills at Le Bolstad. North Carolina will easily take the men’s race, but Texas might surprise on the course. As the first major race of the season, we’re likely to see some big turnouts individually and in the team race.

2. Brooks Cowboy Jamboree
When: Saturday
Teams: Oklahoma State (M/W), TBD
What to watch for: The Oklahoma State Cowboys will begin 2014 in an unfamiliar position- as underdogs. After losing three All-Americans in Tom Farrell, Shadrack Kipchirchir and Joe Manilafasha from last year’s 3rd place team, the Pokes face an uphill climb if they want to overcome the talented squads of Colorado, NAU, and Stanford in November. The Cowboys are ranked #5 in our Saucony Flo50 rankings, and will kick off the season with their home meet, the Cowboy Jamboree. OSU is led by All-American Kirubel Erassa, who took 2nd at last year’s Jamboree. Expect a big group of orange jerseys to dominate up front on Saturday, as Erassa will be followed closely by teammates Shane Moskowitz, Craig Nowak, Vegard Oelstad (transfer from DII Western State) and Brian Gohlke. On the women’s side, the Oklahoma State ladies will also be dominant on Saturday. Led by All-Americans Monika Juodeskaite (#18 in Flo50) and Natalja Piliusina (1500m champ ’13), the Cowgirls are the #23 team in our Saucony Flo50 rankings. Dave Smith’s ladies missed out on Terre Haute last season, so expect them to make a statement on their home course on Saturday.
Predictions: Erassa and Juodeskaite will pull away from their teammates late to lead their respective squads to dominating victories.

3. Boston College’s Coast-to-Coast Battle in the Beantown
When: Friday
Teams: Boston College, Connecticut, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke (W), Eastern Michigan (W), Fordham, Georgetown, Hartford, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Lipscomb, Massachusetts, Michigan (W), New Hampshire, Northeastern, Oregon (M), Providence, Rhode Island, Stony Brook, Syracuse
What to watch for: The battle for the team title on the  women’s side will be arguably the most intense in the nation this weekend in Boston. With 5 teams ranked in the Saucony Flo50’s top 25 (#2 Michigan, #4 Georgetown, #15 Providence, #18 Dartmouth, #25 Syracuse), Kolas points are up for grabs and we will see a true battle in Beantown. On the men’s side, King Cheserek returns with his Duck comrades as Oregon looks to defend their team title. The men of Oregon scored a dominating 22 points last year, but the #11 Syracuse men are seeking revenge after their runner-up finish.



Predictions: This meet will show how good #2 Michigan really is. Last week at the Big 10 Preview, the Lady Wolverines scored a nearly perfect 16 points, spreading a 6 second gap between their top three. Erin Finn is a strong front runner and she will push the pace, controlling the race and putting the rest in the hands of her teammates. However, with targets on their back and #4 Georgetown on their heels, don’t be surprised if we see some tactical mid-pack racing. For the men, #4 Oregon should have this one in the bag. However, Coach Andy Powell is smart, yet patient when it comes to racing. He knows that winning in November is more important than stressing in October, so don’t look for any jaw-dropping performances from the Oregon men. We should see a smooth and controlled flock of Ducks throughout the race with maybe a hard last 1000m from the lead pack. We saw Syracuse try to throw in an upset last year, and this year’s #11 team will be fun to watch. Junior Martin Hehir is back after a great outdoor season and will lead his team well. With 13:50/29:10 10k strength and 4 flat mile speed, he should be a very strong low-stick for the Orangemen.

4. Virginia Panorama Farms Invitational
When: Friday
Teams: Auburn, Arizona, Bucknell, Clemson, Duke (M), Furman, High Point, Iona (M), Liberty, Virginia, Wake Forest, William & Mary
What to watch for: The Iona men will assemble their top squad for their first big test of 2014. Ranked #8 in our Saucony Flo50 rankings, they’ll have to fight off Virginia’s Kyle King (18th at 2013 NCAAs) and Auburn’s Ty McCormack (40th). On the women’s side, the home squad Cavaliers (#13 Saucony Flo50) will mix it up with the ladies from Arizona (#10) and William and Mary (#17). The Tribe’s Emily Stites (#9 Saucony Flo50) is the field favorite after throwing down stellar track times last season (15:43 indoor 5k, 32:41 10k).
Predictions: King will latch on to the Gaels and pull ahead for the win on his home course. Stites takes the women’s title, but will have a challenger in Arizona transfer Kristina Aubert. Aubert is 2 for 2 in her new Arizona uniform and a 2x NCAA individual qualifier from Arkansas State.

5. Stanford Invitational
When: Saturday
Teams: Academy of Art, Azusa Pacific, Cal Poly, Cal St. Monterey Bay, Cal St. Northridge, Cal St. Stanislaus, California, Chico State, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Dominican (Cal.), Fresno State, Hawaii (W), Humboldt State, La Verne, Lewis & Clark, Long Beach St., Loyola Marymount, Notre Dame de Namur, Occidental, Pacific (W), Pepperdine, Pomona-Pitzer (M), Sacramento St., San Bernardino Valley (M), San Diego St. (F), San Francisco, San Jose St., Santa Clara, Seattle Pacific, Simon Fraser, Southwestern, St. Mary’s (Cal.) (M), Stanford, U. of Victoria, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, USC (F), Washington St., Whittier 
What to watch for: The Stanford Cardinals are the class of the field on both men’s (#2 Saucony Flo50) and women’s (#7 Saucony Flo50) side. Hopefully we get to see the debut of the newly minted Cardinal Maksim Korolev (#2 Saucony Flo50) the 5th-year transfer from Harvard who looks to be a top finisher at NCAAs. Also newly minted pro Alexa Efraimson is entered as an unattached athlete in the women’s race. Alexa racing the college women on the xc course will be our chance to watch what could’ve been had she decided to go to college in 2015.
Predictions: With the fields not very deep look for the Cardinal women and men to cruise to victories with half-strength squads. The wildcard team to watch though is D2 powerhouse Chico State who will be trying to make a statement as one of the better distance schools in the state of California.