WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue cross country teams are back in action on Friday as the team's head north for the 59th annual Notre Dame Invitational. The Boilermakers are one of 23 schools that will compete in the Division-I Blue races.
The women's gold division race, which features Division I, II, III, and NAIA teams, begins at 2 p.m. ET followed by the men's gold division race at 2:45 p.m. The women's blue division race starts at 4:15 p.m., with the men's blue division race rounding out the day at 5 p.m. In between the gold and blue races is an open division race that will have women running a 5k and men racing for five miles. That race is scheduled for 3:30.
The Boilermakers will travel 12 women and 12 men for Friday's races. The women's race has three of the nation's top-30 teams, according to the most recent United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, or USTFCCCA, poll. New Mexico leads the way at No. 12 in the country, followed by Butler at No. 29. Big Ten foe Penn State is scheduled to compete and the Nittany Lions are ranked 30th.
The men's field has six top-20 teams and 10 of the nation's best 25. BYU makes the long trip to South Bend with its No. 10 national ranking, followed by New Mexico, which is 15th. North Carolina State is 16th in the country and Tulsa is 18th. The 19th-ranked Michigan Wolverines are scheduled to be in Friday's field, as are the No. 20 Princeton Tigers. Southern Utah, Eastern Kentucky, Florida State and Colorado State round out the competing teams in the top 25, with No. 22, No. 23, No. 24 and No. 25 rankings, respectively.
The Purdue women will be led by the usual suspects, Katie Hoevet, Kiara McIntosh and Hope Schmelzle. Abigail Hostetler will be back in action after winning the open race at the Indiana Intercollegiates, and fellow freshman Gabrielle Broschard will also look to score, after doing so two weeks ago. Kristin Fritts also looks to be among the team's top five.
On the men's side, Matthew McClintock will look for his first win of the season, after picking up third and second place finishes in the first two races of the season. Freshman David Dalton looks to continue his impressive rookie campaign, after finishing second on the team at the Indiana Intercollegiates. Tyler Wynn, Caleb Kerr and Harlow Ladd will also compete after being in the Boilermakers' top five two weeks ago.
The races will be held at the University of Notre Dame's nine-hole golf course on campus. The women's Blue Race, the top race for women's teams, is a 5,000-meter run, while the men's Blue Race is five miles.
While there isn't any live scoring, full results will be posted to PurdueSports.com following the completion of Friday's event.