GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay men's and women's head cross country coach Mike Kline has announced the meet schedule for the 2009 season, one that features seven races, highlighted by a trip to the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 3. Each of Green Bay's seven races takes place outside state lines, marking the first year in program history the Phoenix will not compete in Wisconsin.

The Green Bay runners open the new campaign on Aug. 29 when they travel to Chicago for the UIC Home Opener. The women will compete in a 2-mile race, while the men's course is 4.1 miles long. The following Friday, Sept. 4, the Phoenix men and women head to Valparaiso, Ind., for the Crusader Open where the women will participate in a 5K race and the men will scale a 6K course.

On Saturday, Sept. 12, the Phoenix squads compete in the Huskie Invite in DeKalb, Ill., hosted by Northern Illinois University. The men's team will run in its first 8K race of the season, while Green Bay's women will compete in a 5K.

Following the Huskie Invite, the cross country teams face nearly three weeks off from competition before heading to South Bend, Ind., on Oct. 2 for one of the nation's most prestigious meets – the Notre Dame Invitational.  The meet, which hosts a number of the country's top teams, features a 5K course for the women and a 5-mile track for the men.

Two weeks later on Oct. 16, the Phoenix striders travel to Peoria, Ill., for their final tune-up before the Horizon League Championships – the Bradley Classic. The men's squad will run on an 8K route around Newman Golf Course, while the women will compete on a 6K course.

The 2009 Horizon League Championships are set for Oct. 31, hosted by Detroit at Kensington Metroparks in Milford, Mich. The women will run a 5K race, while the men will compete in an 8K event. The meet will mark the first time in 10 years that Detroit hosts the conference championship meet.

Following the league championships, the Phoenix men and women have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 14, hosted by Indiana University at the Hoosier Hills National Cross Country Course. Widely recognized as one of the top cross country courses in the country, Hoosier Hills features a tough, 10K course for the men and a difficult 6K event for the women. The regional serves as the qualifying meet for the NCAA National Championships, held two weeks later in Terre Haute, Ind.

“I'm very excited about the schedule this year,” Kline said. “We get to go back to Detroit for Horizon League Championships for the first time in 10 years and run on what I'm sure will be a great new course. We are also back at Hoosier Hills for regionals, which is probably my favorite cross country course for our team to compete at. It's very challenging, a true test for runners and just great for the sport of cross country.”

The men's and women's cross country teams will report to campus in mid-August to begin two-a-days in preparation for the 2009 season.

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