25th USF Cross Country Invitational:
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SAN FRANCISCO – The nationally-ranked San Francisco women's cross country team sets out on the 2017 season on Saturday, hosting the 25th USF Cross Country Invitational at Golden Gate Park during the first weekend of competition.
 
The Dons will host top regional talent on the Hellman Hollow and the adjacent polo field. The women's will complete three circuits around the course, while the men take on a fourth loop to finish the 8K race.

"We are always look forward to kicking off the cross country season with our home invitational in Golden Gate Park," said USF head coach Helen Lehman-Winters. "We have a great 2000m loop so the course is spectator friendly and provides us with an opportunity for us to get in an early season practice race with local competition."
 
Along with the Dons, St. Mary's and Santa Clara will represent the West Coast Conference on the day. Joining the WCC teams will be, most notably, first-time invitational competitors, Alaska Anchorage. Both the Seawolves' cross country teams are nationally ranked in Division II, the men are No. 5, and on the women's side No. 7.

The women will kick off the day's action at 10 a.m., while the men toe the line at 10:45 a.m.

USF's women currently sit at No. 10 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches of America (USTFCCCA) preseason poll, its fourth preseason ranking in the last five years. The Dons are coming off a No. 6 finish in 2016 and return a roster full of depth and experience at the national level, as well as a strong group of incoming runners.

"We have a lot of new faces on our team so it is always exciting for them to them to put on the jersey for the first time and there is not a better place for us them to do that in our own backyard," said Lehman-Winters.
 
Along with the addition of Lizzie Bird, a transfer from Princeton University, she will be joined a whole host of freshman. Freshman including Valerie and Victoria Almanza, Lea Meyer and Ellie Wallace will compete in their first collegiate race on Saturday. Not running this weekend but will sure be making their marks this season are seniors Charlotte Taylor, All-American last year, and Marie Bouchard, All-WCC.

While unranked nationally, the men hold down the No. 11 slot in the West Region. The West is very strong with three teams ranked in the top-15 nationally, including Stanford, Oregon and Washington State. Sliding in just above San Jose State in the region, the Dons also return a solid core from last year's squad, including Ben Alcock and Hugh Nickalson.

After the tuneup at the USF Invitational on Saturday, USF enjoys a three-week hiatus before heading to Minnesota for the Griak on Sept. 23. Following that,  the Dons will head to Wisconsin for the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Oct. 13 for both men and women.

The next marquee weekend following the Nuttycombe for the Dons is the WCC Championships on Oct. 27. There, USF will face off against top national and regional competitors on the women's side, Portland, and on the men's side, Portland and Gonzaga, along with the full slate of WCC squads.

Spectators are welcome and encouraged to watch the Dons begin the 2017 campaign at Golden Gate Park on Saturday morning at the USF Invitational. Hellman Hollow stretches out along the south side of John F. Kennedy Drive – just west of Transverse Drive (off of 25th Avenue), and free parking for Speedway Meadow is found along JFK Drive.