NEW YORK -- Columbia will play host to the Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships on Friday, October 26. The race will be once again held at Van Cortlandt Park, Broadway and West 248th Street in the Bronx, N.Y., with the women's 5k race at 10:45 a.m. and the men's 5-mile race one hour later, at 11:45 a.m.

Since 2002, the Columbia women have won four of five championships, while the men have finished first once, and second three times. Both squads placed second in the 2006 competition. In 2004, the Lions swept both titles.

"This is the day that we look more forward to more than any other day of the year," says Willy Wood, Columbia's head coach of cross country. "This year, the Princeton men and women's teams look to be more competitive than they have in years past. Our goal going into this race remains constant throughout the years. We want to run better and finish higher than logic would dictate we should.

"The way that we are approaching it is that we are about to come face to face with Goliath in a few days. We have been collecting rocks, stones, and pebbles every day for the last three months in preparation for such."

On the women's side, Princeton does appear to be the favorite, as it is ranked fourth nationally in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Poll. Columbia's women are currently in the also receiving votes category nationally, and are ranked third in the Northeast Region.

Columbia's women have performed well this year, winning the Binghamton Invitational, the Ram Invitational and the Metropolitan Championships for the 10th straight time. The Lions also placed 14th at the Pre-National meet at Indiana State on October 13.

"Senior Carmen Ballard has been our top runner in each meet thus far and is one of the top returnees in the league. We also have a pack of three very talented women, including senior Stephanie Lenihan, senior Shelby Leland, and first-year Jacqueline Drouin, each of whom is ready to challenge the top runners in the conference," Wood explains.

Ballard placed fourth at last year's Heps, finishing in 17:33 for first team All-Ivy League honors. Leland and Lenihan were 11th and 12th, respectively, and earned second team All-Ivy League honors.

The Columbia men's team won the Spiked Shoe Invitational at Penn State on September 29 and the Binghamton Invitational this fall. The team also placed 20th at the Pre-National meet.

Coach Wood is looking for key runners to emerge to lead the Lions.

"We have several men who seem ready to breakthrough. Sophomore James Bogner has been our top runner thus far. Juniors Paul Morris and Jeff Randall are some of our top returning runners."

Morris earned second team All-Ivy League honors in 2006, after placing eighth in 24:56.7.

More information on the Heptagonals is available.