The University of Evansville cross country teams will reach the mid-point of their season on Saturday morning, as the Purple Aces will travel to Carbondale, Illinois to take part in the six-team Saluki Invitational.  The women’s 5-K race will begin the meet at 10:00 a.m., with the men’s 8-K race set to follow.

Saturday’s meet will be the fourth race of the year for the Purple Aces, who are coming off of seventh and tenth-place finishes at the Indiana Intercollegiate Championships on the men’s and women’s sides respectively.  With just over a month left until the annual State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championships, Saturday’s race will begin an important stretch run for the Purple Aces.

“When you think about it, we only have two meets left after Saturday’s race before the MVC Championships, so it is time to start tightening things up and getting ready for the post-season,” said UE head coach Don Walters.  “I thought that we ran pretty well last week all things considered, and our grouping has been getting better at the front of the pack.  Now, it is time to tighten that pack even more on Saturday.”

Evansville will race against traditional MVC power Southern Illinois on Saturday, as well SIU-Edwardsville, Murray State, Culver-Stockton, Washington University-St. Louis, and Missouri Baptist.  It will mark the second time this year in which UE has faced both SIU and SIUE, as all three teams took part in the Eastern Illinois Panther Open in early September.  Southern Illinois got the better of UE on both the men’s and women’s sides at the Panther Open, however, both UE teams were able to knock off SIUE.