After a strong opening to its 2016 season in Idaho, the Eastern Washington University cross country team prepares for its largest meet of the 2016 season at the 31st annual Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, Sept. 24.

Hosted by Minnesota on its Les Bolstad Golf Course, the meet is one of the largest in the country, including six collegiate races and four high school races.  Eastern opens with the Men's Gold (Division I) competition at 12:20 p.m. central time and then finishes with the Women's Gold (Division I) competition at 1:35 p.m. The invitational features high-level Division I competition, with last year's champions including Michigan State (Men) and Boise State (Women).

The men's race will be held on an 8,000-meter course and the women's race is 6,000 meters.

"The Roy Griak Invitational is the biggest meet in the country this weekend and is always a proving ground for the top teams early in the season," said head coach Chris Shane.  "We are looking forward to measuring ourselves with all the power five schools and seeing exactly where we stack up. We also get a chance to see some in-conference teams, and that gives us a barometer of where we are at early on this season."

The Eagles opened its cross country season on Thursday, Sept. 1, at the Clash of the Inland Northwest hosted by Idaho. The women's team finished second, just behind Idaho, while the men's team finished in third.

The EWU women's team is on the verge to being ranked regionally for the second year in a row after it beat Gonzaga in the opener. This season the Bulldogs are the No. 15 team in the west region, and finished last year ranked No. 25 in the nation. Senior Sarah Reiter and senior Paula Gil-Echevarria both finished ahead of all but one GU athlete.

Sarah Reiter's performance at the season opener was recognized by the Big Sky Conference, awarding her the first Athlete of the Week honor for the 2016 season. Reiter was the top Big Sky Conference finisher and second overall at the event, running the 4,000 in a time of 13:45.9, earning her a new personal best.

Freshman Colton Johnson was the top men's finisher for the Eagles, placing ninth with a time of 18:51.3 on the 6,000-meter course in his first collegiate meet.

"What I most want to accomplish this weekend is running our own race, staying disciplined and moving well throughout the course," said Shane.  "If we can do that, I think we will end up with a solid result."

Live video of the event can be watched on Flotrack with a membership.