CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois hits the road on Friday to compete in the Illinois Intercollegiate cross country meet hosted by Illinois State. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. and will feature a women's 5K and men's 8K race.

EIU is coming off a solid showing in its season opening win at the Panther Invite with Matt Feldhake placing first overall in a field of 81 runners. The Panthers won the double dual scoring on the men's side while the women's team was only outscored by North Dakota. Olivia Klaus led a strong contingent of EIU women's runners placing fourth overall.

This week's event will encompass many schools from the state of Illinois as 40 schools ranging from junior colleges to NCAA Division I will compete. Other NCAA Division I school's in the field include Bradley Chicago State, Illinois, Illinois State, Illinois-Chicago and the Northwestern women's team. Both the Illinois and Illinois State men's teams enter the weekend ranked in the USTFCCCA Regional rankings while the Illinois, Illinois State and Northwestern women's teams are all ranked.