What?s Up

The Cats will travel to State College, Pa. to compete at the Penn State National Invite this Saturday at the Penn State Blue Course. The women will run a 6K race at 10 a.m., followed by the men with a 5.2-mile trek at 10:45. UK expects to be led by junior John Richardson and senior Allison Grace, both of which have paced the Cats in the first two meets of the season.

The Details

Close to 1,000 men and women are expected to compete at this year?s meet. Last season, the UK women finished 13th out of 41 teams. Leading the way was Grace, who placed 14th out of 346 runners. The men placed 16th out of 38 squads and were led by sophomore Andre Silva (37th) and Richardson (61st). Five of the nation?s nine regions will be represented at the year?s event. On the women?s side, No. 1 Duke, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 20 Providence and No. 29 Maryland will compete. For the men, No. 25 American is the only ranked squad set to race.

By the Power of Grace

Senior Allison Grace has been a catalyst for Cats ever since arriving on campus. The Marble Cliff, Ohio native has been the Cats? top finisher over the last eight races dating back to last year, including a first-place finish at this year?s Woodford Trials and a 26th-place finish at the prestigious Notre Dame Invite.

Looking Ahead

The Cats will use this weekend?s Penn State meet as a springboard to the SEC Championships, Oct. 29th, in Columbia, S.C. The meet was originally set for Baton Rouge, La., but due to the damage from Hurricane Katrina, the race was moved.