FERRIS CROSS COUNTRY TO HOST ANNUAL BULLDOG INVITATIONAL FRIDAY

Annual Home Event To Be Held At Katke Golf Course In Big Rapids

Junior runner Ray Rollet and his Ferris State teammates will have an opportunity to run on their home course in Friday's Bulldog Invitational

The women's collegiate 5,000-meter race is set to begin at 4 p.m. (EDT) and will be followed by the men's collegiate 8,000-meter event at approximately 4:30 p.m. (EDT). This year, two high school races have also been added to the invitational schedule with the prep girls 5,000 meters set for a 5 p.m. (EDT) start proceeded by the boys 5,000 meters at 5:30 p.m. (EDT). The invitational is open to the public and admission is free of charge.

In addition to Ferris State, the collegiate invitational field will include a variety of student-athletes from both local schools and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)-member institutions.

Among the local high school teams competing will be Big Rapids, Tri-County, Pine River, Big Rapids Crossroads Charter Academy, Evart, Mt. Pleasant, Chippewa Hills and Ludington.

This year (2006) marks the 31st-straight (32nd overall) running of the Bulldog Invitational. Either a men's or women's collegiate event has been held each year since 1976.

The first men's race was held in 1971 before being discontinued and restarted in 1976. Ferris, which did not participate in men's cross country from 1994-98, has claimed two team titles. The Bulldogs placed seventh in the men's field last season (2005).

The women's invitational has been held every year since the program began in 1980. Friday's run will be the 27th consecutive women's race. The Ferris women have won eight team championships, including four of the last six years. The Bulldogs won their third consecutive women's meet title in 2004 before finishing third last campaign.

The invitational will also allow some of the collegiate participants an opportunity to run the host course for the 2006 Michigan Intercollegiate Championships, which will be hosted by FSU Friday, Oct. 6, at Katke Golf Course. The course, which opened in 1974, recently played host to the 2003 GLIAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships along with last year's (2005) NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championships.

Katke Golf Course, a university-owned 18-hole golf course situated on the western flank of the Ferris State campus, serves as the host site of all home Bulldog cross country along with men’s and women’s golf events. The course is named after Mr. and Mrs. Marvin L. Katke, whose generous donation influenced campus development and the initial phase of the golf course. Katke, a friend of Ferris and a Mecosta County native, was vice president for manufacturing of the Ford Motor Company and a 1967 recipient of an honorary degree from FSU.

The Ferris State men's and women's cross country teams both placed seventh overall in their most recent action (Sept. 15) at the Michigan State Nike/Playmakers Spartan Invitational, which was held at the Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich.

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