Sept. 28, 2011

CHICAGO - The UIC cross country team is set to compete in the Notre Dame Invitational Friday. The women's five- kilometer race begins at 2:00 p.m. (CT) and the men's five-mile race begins at 2:45 p.m. (CT) at the Notre Dame's nine-hole golf course in Notre Dame, Ind.

"The race will be a conference preview of what we can expect to see at the end of October," head coach Jim Knoedel says. "It is a flat course, so I expect to see good times. I want to see the athletes compete and respond to the competition more than just race fast."

The women's team looks to junior Tess Ehrhardt (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) to pace the Flames against the competition. Ehrhardt finished first in 18:39 last Saturday at the Forester Invitational.

On the men's side, the team looks to senior Brian Denk (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) to lead the team against Horizon League rivals Milwaukee and Green Bay. Denk finished in fourth in 24:46 at the Illinois Intercollegiate to lead the Flames.

UIC is running in the gold division. The women are part of a 20-team field including Horizon League foes UW-Milwaukee, UW-Green Bay, Valparaiso, Youngstown State, and also Bradley, Northwestern, and Indiana State. The men are running in a 21-team field that includes UW-Milwaukee, UW-Green Bay, Valparaiso, Youngstown State, Western Illinois, and Grand Valley.

Be sure to check back to UICFlames.com for complete results and a recap of the UIC cross country team's results at the Notre Dame Invitational.