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After both the men and women took home Southland titles in 2013, the Lamar cross country program is set to take on a challenging meet schedule this season that will see the teams compete against some of the best programs in country.

Both teams will open the season with the first of two meets in College Station. The Aggie Opener, which is scheduled for Aug. 29, will kick off the season before the squads make their annual trip to Rice for the Justin F. Cooper Memorial Rice Invitational on September 12.

LU is set to return to Texas A&M a week later before making the trek to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Chile Pepper Festival on Oct. 4, which offers a chance for the Cards to run on the regional course, and 80 teams overall are slated to compete at the event.

The big meets will continue into the month as the men will set out for the prestigious Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on October17, which will feature a number of the country’s top 50 teams, and on the same weekend, the women will get a chance to race on the national championship course at the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind.

The LU men will aim for an eighth Southland crown in nine years and the women will be looking to claim back-to-back glory as the conference championships are slated to take place in Natchitoches, La., on Nov. 4.

The Cards will then head back to Fayetteville for the NCAA South Central Regional on November 14 with the hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute eight days later.