Whitworth will open its first cross country season as University on Saturday when the Pirate harriers compete at the Whitman Invitational. The meet will begin at 10:45 a.m. with the women's four kilometer race, followed by the men's race over a six kilometer course.

Jacob Deitz

Whitworth will be one of seven teams competing in the meet. The Pirates will not only see fellow Northwest Conference opponents Whitman and George Fox, but Northwest Nazarene, Lewis-Clark State, Great Falls and Clackamas CC as well.

Whitworth head coach Toby Schwarz, in his 10th year leading the cross country program, is hopeful about the chances for both the men and women to be competitive at a higher level this season.

"When I compare the men to all of my previous teams, this is the strongest group I've had," said Schwarz. "We have three guys who could qualify individually for nationals, which should put us in the mix of the top teams in our conference and the region. In addition, our next five or six runners are strong as well, giving us very good depth."

The men expect to be led by the trio of Jacob Deitz (Sr., Mead, Wash.), Dusty Caseria (So., Bellingham, Wash.) and Nick Gallagher (Fr., Bedford, Iowa). Travis Huskisson (Sr., Austin, Texas), Collin Stewart (So., Carbondale, Colo.) and Damie Daroff (Jr., Clearfield, Utah) should give the Pirates a strong top six.

Jo E Mayer

Schwarz also likes the make up of his women's squad: "Jo E. Mayer will be very strong this season. The group running behind her has a lot of potential and I hope that we can realize that potential for this group."

Mayer (So., Spokane, Wash.) is the top returning Pirate from last season. Gillian Goodrich (So., Bozeman, Mont.), Emily Hurd (Sr., Portland, Ore.), Kaitlin Hildebrand (So., Gig Harbor, Wash.) and Emily Morehouse (So., Grants Pass, Ore.) give Whitworth a solid core to build around.

The Pirates hope for a strong performance this weekend to open the season.

"We are currently undefeated as Whitworth University," joked Schwarz. "But in seriousness, we don't know anything about any of the other teams at this point, so our focus will be to compete hard and know after the race that we ran well."