The University of Nevada cross country team will compete at the Dellinger Invitational Saturday at the Springfield Country Club in Springfield Ore. The meet is hosted by the University of Oregon.
The women’s 5,000-meter race will begin at 10:30 a.m. In addition to Nevada, other participating schools include No. 3 Oregon, Portland, Gonzaga, Seattle, Southern Utah, Idaho and UC Riverside.
“The Dellinger Invitational is going to be a good challenge for our team,” head coach Kirk Elias said. “The host Ducks are ranked third nationally, while Southern Utah is ranked eighth in the Mountain Region, while Gonzaga and UC-Riverside are ranked No. 12 and No. 15 respectively in the West Region. We also get to tangle with last year’s WAC team champion, Idaho.”
Nevada enters the Dellinger Invitational after a second place team finish at the Nature’s Bakery Nevada Twilight Classic on Sept. 8. Nevada junior Samantha Diaz won the individual honors, finishing first and setting a new Twilight Classic course record with a time of 14:32. Diaz broke the previous record of 14:41 that was set by Utah’s Alyssa Abbott during the 2011 season. Sophomore Demerey Kirsch also finished in the top five with a time of 14:51 to take fourth.
“Our training has been good the past three weeks,” Elias said. “We are ready to take a step up as a team. I am excited to see the team run on Saturday.”
