The Marquette men's and women's cross country teams are preparing for their run at the 2005 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships this Saturday, held at the IU Golf Course in Bloomington, Ind.

The men's 10-kilometer race is set to begin at 11 a.m., while the women's six-kilometer race is slated for 12:15 p.m. The top two teams in each of nine regions around the country will earn an automatic berth to the Nov. 21 national championship race, held in Terre Haute, Ind., while 13 additional teams will be selected at-large.

Last time out, the Golden Eagles raced at their first-ever BIG EAST Championship, held at historic Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, N.Y. The No. 23 ranked women's squad placed third overall, with 105 points. Notre Dame, the No. 5 ranked team nationally, captured the team title with 34 points while No. 13 Providence was second, with 59 points.

Leading the way for MU was Cassie Peller, who finished 14th overall in a time of 21:49 for the six-kilometer course. By virtue of her top 15 finish, Peller was named to the all-conference team.

The Golden Eagles will be without one of their top runners, as Jodi Jakubek will miss the rest of the season due to injury. But head coach Dave Uhrich is still confident that Marquette will among the top teams.

“We will obviously miss not having Jodi compete for us this weekend, but our strength all year has been our depth and I think that will really help us out at regionals." Uhrich said. "There will be several teams battling for the top spots, including us."

On the men's side, the Blue & Gold finished eighth at BIG EAST's two weeks ago, having run one of their best races of the 2005 season. David Henderson was MU's top finisher, crossing the line in 35th place in a time of 25:55. For more information on the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, click here.