Wichita, Kan. - On Friday evening at the Lake Afton course near Goddard, the Friends University Falcons will host their annual fall cross country invitational.  The women's race will begin at 6:00 p.m. and the men's race will begin at 6:45 p.m. 

As in past years, many KCAC teams will compete in these races along with other teams from throughout the Midwest.In 2009, 128 women and 117 men competed in the event, making it the largest field in Friends Invitational history. This season, the field is expected to be even larger, with many more teams entered to compete.  

With these large amounts of teams competing, both the men's and women's races should be exciting as teams continue to prepare for the KCAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 6 in Salina.

The Lake Afton course is the most commonly raced cross country course in Sedgwick County as it hosts a minimum of five meets per year.  The 5k Women's Race and 8k Men's Race will take runners on top of the dam two times during each race to run alongside the lake.

One spot where the runners will be challenged is "The Narrows," which will take the competitors into the woods, then up a challenging uphill portion of the course.

For the atttending fans, the race ends with a ¾ mile stretch where the runners can be clearly seen as they push for the finish.

A combined five total points separated the top two teams in each race. Fort Hays State put four runners in the top 10 to edge the Cowley County women by two points. Southwestern's Amy Pierson captured the individual title last year.

In the men's race, Southwestern College placed three runners in the top 10 and edged Fort Hays by three points. Matt Ditzler, a sophomore from Friends University, won the individual title.