By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University men's and women's cross country teams continue to be ranked in the West Region of NCAA Division III. This week, the Bearcat men's team is ranked #3 in the Region, while the WU women are ranked #5.

Both teams will host the 36th Annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 2 at Bush's Pasture Park in Salem, Ore. The action will begin with the Men's Cardinal 8-kilometer race, featuring teams and runners from NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III, at 9:30 a.m. (PDT). The Women's Cardinal 5-kilometer race, also showcasing runners from all three divisions of the NCAA, will follow at 10:15 a.m.

The Men's Gold 8-kilometer race, with runners from the NAIA, junior colleges and club teams, plus unattached runners, is set to begin at 10:50 a.m. The Women's Gold 5-kilometer race, which also will include NAIA, junior college and non-collegiate runners, is slated to get underway at 11:35 a.m.

Each cross country season, the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational is one of the largest meets on the West Coast. This year, the event will showcase a total of over 1,140 runners in the four races. Teams from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Hawaii, Alaska, Tennessee, Texas, Nebraska, British Columbia, and Montana are scheduled to compete.

Willamette Dean of Campus Life David Douglass will be the honorary starter for the Cardinal Races.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) is the #1 team in this week's West Region men's rankings. Whitworth University is ranked #2 and Willamette is #3. Lewis & Clark College holds the #4 spot, with Colorado College listed at #5.

Also ranked in the West Region are the men's teams from Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) at #6, Whitman College at #7, Linfield College at #8, University of La Verne (Calif.) at #9 and University of Puget Sound at #10.

In the West Region women's rankings, the top team also is Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Lewis & Clark is listed at #2, with Whitworth following at #3. Pomona-Pitzer is ranked #4 and Willamette owns the #5 ranking.

Completing the Top 10 women's teams in the West Region are Whitman at #6, Occidental College (Calif.) at #7, Whittier College (Calif.) at #8, University of Redlands (Calif.) at #9 and University of California-Santa Cruz at #10.