Five of the top Golden Eagles seven runners return from last year and seven newscomers provide more depth.

"We have a large squad this season," Head Cross Country Coach Deb Osteen said. "This first meet is a short course, but we will have a more challenging course when we host our meet next week. We will get a good measure of where we are."

Friday’s women’s race will cover a two-mile course and will start at 5 p.m., while the three-mile men’s race will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. (after the women’s contest).

Nine schools will send men’s and women’s teams to the event. Joining Tulane will be the Xavier, Loyola, LSU, Southern Miss (women), Louisiana Tech, Southeastern Louisiana, Nicholls State and UL-Lafayette.

In last year’s contest, Tulane’s women won the event with 51 points, just ahead of UNO's 57 points.   Southern Miss finished fifth.