The Austin College men's and women's cross country teams will be opening up the 2017 season on Friday night, as head coach Bryan Garcia takes the 'Roos to Tyler for the King Campbell Spectacular.

The 'Roos are coming off a solid 2016 campaign for both the men and the women, with a number of strong performances for both teams throughout the season and into the spring, as many of the Austin College cross country runners had record-setting performances in distance track. On the men's side, Matthew Gregory is back to set the pace after a strong freshman season. He'll be joined by junior Jimmy Ding, as well as a trio of freshmen: Chris and Johnny Biffar and Burhanuddan Biviji. Last season, Gregory was the team's top finisher throughout the year. He finished 23rd overall at the SCAC Championship Meet, while Ding placed 32nd.

On the women's side, seniors Eden Llamas and Alex Quinn are back to lead the team after the 'Roos placed fifth at the SCAC Championship. Llamas was the team's top finisher at the conference meet, placing 18th, while Quinn placed 21st and went on to a record breaking distance track season for the 'Roos in the spring. Hannah Richards, who made an immediate impact in distance track last spring, enters her first year with the cross country program, as does Bailey Clark. Both juniors are multi-sport athletes, with Richards also a member of the basketball team while Clark is a 'Roo swimmer. Aurora Hadzic rounds out the junior class, while Madison Galvan and Tori Dodd make up the sophomore class. Galvan had a particularly strong freshman season, including a 27th place finish at the conference meet.

The teams will open up the season on Friday night at 7:00 p.m., before heading to Windcrest for the Our Lady of the Lake Collegiate Invitational on September 9.