Oct. 16, 2008

The USC women's cross country team will travel to Bakersfield, Calif. tomorrow (Oct. 17) to take part in the five-team 5K Roadrunner Classic hosted by CS Bakersfield. USC is hoping to build off the momentum it gained from winning the Pepperdine Invitational on Oct. 4, the team's first title since the 2001 season. The race is set to begin at 5:10 p.m. and the Trojans are joined in the field by CS Northridge, CS Fullerton, Fresno State and host CS Bakersfield.

"This is a good chance for us to see how we stack up against the No. 9 team in the West (CS Fullerton) and they are expected to have all of their top runners at this race," said USC cross country coach Tom Walsh. "It is a good chance for some of the girls to get a fast time and compete. There should be some good races within the race. The favorites are Carolyn Ellis and Grace Gonzales of Fullerton and they should be battling our dynamic duo of Zsofia Erdelyi and Sarah Cocco, so it should be very competitive at the top four."

Erdelyi and Cocco finished 1-2 at the Peppedine Invitational respectively and one of the two has won four of the five regular season meets in which they have competed.

Trojans making the trip to Bakersfield for Friday's race on the Roadrunners' flat and fast course are: Cocco, Erdelyi, Bridget Helgerson, Christine Greer, Chanel Fischetti, Katherine Ellis, Zara Lukens, Leah Gaeta, Jessica Lundin and Liz Gill.

"We really want to build off the Pepperdine win and continue in the right direction," added Walsh. "We've had a couple of good weeks of practice and we are becoming more consistent as a team."

This is USC's last major race before the Pac-10 Championships to be held on Oct. 31 in Eugene, Ore. USC, however, will send some runners to the Titan Invitational in Fullerton, Calif. on Oct. 24.