• Map & Directions To The UE Cross Country Course (PDF)

The curtain will go up on the 2009 cross country season on Saturday morning, as the University of Evansville cross country teams will welcome Big East Conference power Louisville, the men’s squad from Missouri Valley Conference rival Indiana State, and a group of alumni to the UE Cross Country Course to take part in the sixth-annual Mid-America Opener.  The men’s 6-K race will open the meet at 10 a.m. central time, with the women’s 4-K race set to follow.

Evansville will enter the 2009 season with one of the largest teams in head coach Don Walters’ 10 years as head coach, as 37 runners will take to the trails this fall for UE.  Saturday’s meet will provide an early test to those 37 runners, as Louisville placed a program-best sixth place in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships last year on the women’s side, while the men placed ninth, and Indiana State is predicted to finish second in the MVC this season.

“Saturday will be a great meet to show where we are at after the summer workouts,” said Walters.  “Louisville and Indiana State will provide a tough challenge, but I am more interested in seeing how our runners have improved through their summer workouts and the first few weeks of practice. 

“I have been looking forward to this year for quite some time, as I think that this team has a chance to be one of the best and deepest teams in my tenure as head coach.  I can’t wait to get started on Saturday.”

On the men’s side, Evansville returns its top eight runners from a squad which posted the school’s best State Farm MVC Championship finish in UE’s 15 years in the league last fall.  At the forefront of that veteran pack include two-time team Most Valuable Runner Greg Pulscher (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) and senior Academic All-American Brian Joyce (Evansville, Ind./Central).

On the women’s side, a relatively young, but experienced group of harriers will take to the course for UE, led by seniors Arrena Svoboda (Katy, Texas/Cinco Ranch) and Courtney Heller (Montgomery, Ind./Barr-Reeve) and 2008 Outstanding Freshman award winner Lauren Schaftlein (Milltown, Ind./Crawford County).  Overall, nine of UE’s 14 female runners will be in their first or second year of collegiate competition, however, the Purple Aces do return five of its eight competitors from last year’s State Farm MVC Championships.

The UE Cross Country Course is located at 20404 Barton Road in Evansville.  Admission to Saturday’s meet is free to the public.