This weekend, the women’s cross country team will race in one of the largest meets of the season, the Pre-Meet in Greenville, S.C.

The Pre-Meet is a preliminary race for the NCAA championship race Nov. 19, which is held on the same course that Eastern will run on this Saturday.

“Basically we know this competition is going to be really tough, but we want to go out strong,” senior Lauren Rapacki said. “This is a good opportunity to race some good teams and improve our racing state.”

With such a large field of competition headed to Furman University, the women’s race has been divided into two races. The purple 6K race will feature 37 teams, 12 of them ranked in the top 25 nationally.

No. 1 Colorado is the favorite in the purple race, but No. 4 Arizona State, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 9 Arizona and No. 11 Georgetown will all be hunting for a better finish than the Buffalos. Eastern’s squad will be joining battle in the purple race.

“We’re trying to gain some experience through racing at this caliber,” head coach John McInerney said. “We’re going to worry about individual races to prepare us for the OVC meet.”

The silver race will hold 38 teams, 15 of whom hold national rankings. No. 4 Brigham Young, No. 3 North Carolina State, No. 6 Boston College and No. 12 Colorado State will contend to lead the pack this weekend.

“We’re going to try to get out early because we know it’s going to go out fast,” Rapacki said. “Basically, we have to run our own race and work together as a team.”

Senior Beth Martin has been among the top competitors this season at the various invitationals Eastern has raced in, and this weekend she will look to be a strong finisher at the Pre-Meet.

“It’ll be interesting,” McInerney said. “I think she’s getting to the point of testing herself at different levels. I haven’t seen her pushed that completely. She hasn’t run her best race yet.”

With the Ohio Valley Conference championships at Eastern Kentucky Oct. 27 before the NCAA Regional meet Nov. 10, this meet will mark an important race for the Panthers to gain experience among a large field of national competition.