Layne Tibbs

MITCHELL, S.D. For the first time in the 2014 season, the Dakota Wesleyan University men s and women s cross country teams will compete in Mitchell as a part of the DWU Blue and White Days homecoming weekend.

The DWU Invitational is scheduled to start with the women s race at 10 a.m. at Wild Oak Golf Course in Mitchell, S.D., with the men s race at 10:45 a.m.

The Tigers will be competing for the second time this season after getting 2014 started with an appearance at the Augustana Twilight Meet Sept. 5 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The top finisher for the Tiger women at Augustana was junior Skylar Forgey (Colome, S.D.), who took 160^th with a time of 19 minutes, 26.28 seconds. For the men, freshman Layne Tibbs (Kenesaw, Neb.) ended 101^st with a time of 20:28.99, while sophomore Kellan Willet (Lincoln, Neb.) took 125^th.

Six teams will be in competition at the DWU Invite, including the second-ranked women s team in the country, Dordt College, from Sioux Center, Iowa. The Defenders are ranked No. 2, the highest in program history and received one first-place vote in the most recent NAIA poll released Wednesday. Dordt also opened 2014 with an appearance at Augustana. The Defender women were the top NAIA team at the meet and finished just behind NCAA Division I teams the University of South Dakota and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Freshman Nicole Slater was the top finisher for Dordt with a time of 16:58.41.

Other teams competing at the DWU Invite include Dakota State University, Hastings College, Mount Marty College and the University of Jamestown.

Saturday s event is the first of two cross country meets to be held at Wild Oak this season. Teams from across the Great Plains Athletic Conference and the region will descend upon Mitchell for the GPAC and Regional championships Nov. 8.