The Wildcats open their season at the Purdue Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind. Sept 9. Arizona travels to Minneapolis and the Roy Girak Invitational hosted by the Minnesota Sept. 23 before returning to Indiana for the Oct. 6 Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend. The Wildcats will see some of the nation's best a week later at the Pre-NCAA Invitational in Ames, Iowa, Oct. 14.

Arizona begins its "championship" season Oct. 28 in Seattle at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships, follwed by the NCAA West Regional, Nov. 11, in Fresno, Calif. The Wildcats' season concludes with the NCAA Championships Nov. 20 in Ames, hosted by Iowa State.

The Arizona men's team will be out to defend its 1999 Pac-10 title and improve on its 10th place finish at the NCAA Championships. Four of the teams' top five runners return to this season's team, including seniors David Lopez and Tom Prindiville.

The women's team finished fifth at last season's Pac-10 meet, and 27th at the NCAA Championships. Junior Tara Chaplin, who was 33rd at last year's NCAA meet, is a four-time All-American on the track and will be a force on the national cross country scene in 2000.

2000 Arizona Cross Country Schedule

Date      Meet                     Location              Time
Sept. 9   Purdue Invitational      West Lafayette, Ind.  10:35 a.m. (CDT)
Sept. 23  Roy Girak Invitational   Minneapolis, Minn.    11 a.m. (CDT)
Oct. 6    Notre Dame Invitational  South Bend, Ind.      6 p.m. (EST)
Oct. 14   Pre-NCAA Invitational    Ames, Iowa            11 a.m. (CDT)
Oct. 28   Pac-10 Conf. Champ.      Seattle, Wash.        11 a.m. (PDT)
Nov. 11   NCAA West Regional       Fresno, Calif.        11 a.m. (PST)
Nov. 20   NCAA Championships       Ames, Iowa            Noon (CST)