After the summer hiatus, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams are back at work in preparation for their first meet on September 3, when they will host the Harry Lang Invitational.

The women’s squad is looking to follow up an impressive 2010 fall season in which they took home the Patriot League title. The Raid­ers were picked to place first in the Preseason Women’s Cross Country Poll once again, but the journey will certainly not be an easy one. The Raiders will have to compete against the talented squads of Bucknell and Navy, both of whom received two first-place votes in the pre­season poll. The team was not able to train as a full unit until the week before classes started, however senior star Elise DeRoo noted that members of the team put a great deal of effort into training on an individual level. DeRoo put a lot of effort into her summer training, saying, “I mainly focused on keeping my mile­age high, around 70-80 miles a week toward the end of the summer.” While stressing the importance of individual training, DeRoo also highlighted the progress made by the team the past week, saying “the bulk of our preparation for the season comes from summer training, and unfortunately, training together over the summer is nearly impossible…however we did get in a great week of training during preseason.” The women’s team will kick off their season against some familiar foes at the Harry Lang Invitational this coming Saturday, September 3.

The Colgate men’s team is just as prepared and ready to go for the upcoming season, though they’ll have a bit harder of a path to win the Patriot League Championship. In the preseason poll, the Raiders were given a solid 4th place ranking, sitting behind Navy, Ameri­can University and Army. Navy has claimed the Patriot League Championship three years running and was awarded 14 of the 16 first-place votes in the poll. American received the other two votes. Much of the team is still in­tact, with junior Chris Johnson headlining the list of returning athletes. The Raiders will rely on the improved performances of returning runners, as well as the fresh legs of members of the Class of 2015 to assert themselves as a legitimate force in the league. The squad will also open their season at home for the Harry Lang Invitational on September 3.