LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The Kentucky cross country teams face their first true tests Saturday when they travel to Bowling Green, Ky., to compete in the Old Timer?s Classic at Kereiakes Park. The women?s 5K run begins at 11 a.m. ET, while the men?s 5-mile run commences at 11:45 a.m. ET.

?We are looking forward to this meet and using it as part of our journey to peak and perfect our performance in time for the SEC Championships,? said Pat Tyson, assistant coach for distance and cross country. ?We are building on the confidence we gained in our last meet and looking forward to having each individual on our team collectively do their part to get Kentucky to the highest possible level based on their ability.?

The Wildcats are coming off a strong showing at the Eastern Kentucky Invitational on Sept. 1. On the women?s side, four Kentucky runners finished in the top five of the 2-mile race with senior Georganne Way (Lilitz, Pa.) leading all Wildcats with a time of 11:15. Way was named the Southeastern Conference Female Cross Country Athlete of the Week for her performance. The men, who ran two separate 2-mile races, were led by redshirt John Thompson (Owensboro, Ky.) who finished in fourth place with a combined 4-mile time of 19:18.

The Old Timer?s Classic, the second of three meets that the Wildcats will run within the Bluegrass State this season, is hosted by Western Kentucky University. The Cats last competed in the Old Timer?s Classic during the 2003 campaign. In that race, five UK women crossed the finish line among the top 10.

Complete results and a recap will be available at ukathletics.com.