Cal State San Bernardino's women's cross country team will host the university's first-ever invitational meet on Saturday morning at Glen Helen Regional Park in nearby Devore. 
    The challenging 6,000-meter course for women and 8,000-meter course for men will be the same course that the California Collegiate Athletic Association conference championship meet will be contested on Oct. 25.  The women's race begins at 9 a.m. and the men's race at 9:45 a.m.
    “It will be challenging,” said CSUSB Head Coach Tom Burleson. “I think it's a great course.” 
    Joining the Coyotes in the field for the women's race will be fellow CCAA conference members UC San Diego, Cal State L.A., Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Stanislaus and Cal State Dominguez Hills. Also competing in the women's race are Riverside Community College and University of Redlands. 
    UCSD is ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Div. II West Region while Cal Poly Pomona is No. 8 and Cal State Stanislaus is No. 9.  Bre Schofield of UCSD is this week's CCAA cross country runner of the week after running an 18:02 for 5K at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego to finish seventh. Pomona's Tiffany Turner was the CCAA runner of the week last week.
    The men's race features UCSD, Cal State Stanislaus, Cal Poly Pomona and a club team -- LA Reconquis. UCSD is ranked No. 4 in the West Region while Pomona is No. 6. Pomona's Michael Najera was the CCAA runner of the week two weeks ago.
    The Coyotes team has competed in three meets already this season – finishing fourth in a seven-team field at the University of Nevada-Reno Twilight Meet in August, ninth in a 16-team field at the UC Irvine Anteater Invitational and eighth at the University of Redlands Invitational this past weekend. 
    Freshman Nikki Chesnut has been the team's top performer thus far, finishing first among Coyote runners in all three events. Chesnut ran just over 25 minutes in her first 6K run at Redlands and was among the top 30 runners in the race.

COYOTE INVITATIONAL MEET COURSE

Sept. 20, 2008

Women's race – 6,000 meters (3.78 miles)
Men's race – 8,000 meters (4.99 miles)

General description of course at Glen Helen Regional Park.

WOMEN'S RACE

Start/finish line on Pavilion Parking Area.
Course features hills at intervals and starts from Pavilion parking north to pathway adjacent to Glen Helen Parkway, left up Mormon Hill and circling back to Coyote Road to the last Main lake parking lot, then right to road behind the pavilion itself, left on loop behind the Pavilion seating area and back to center road, left to Main Entrance Road, then right to pathway adjacent to Glen Helen Parkway and right to the Pavilion parking lot and right to the finish line.

MEN'S RACE

Same as above. Adding an extra loop around Pavilion stage and seating area.