CHICAGO – The Loyola University Chicago men's and women's cross country teams are preparing to host the 45th Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational at the Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course on Chicago's lakeshore Friday morning.

The meet will consist of two races per gender. The Tom Cooney Championship Races will kick the day off with the women's 6k at 10 a.m. and men's 8k at 10:40 a.m. CT. The women's Open Division 6k will follow at 11:20 a.m. while the men's Open Division 8k at noon will conclude the day. In the championship races, teams will be able to run up to 10 athletes.

Alabama, Butler, DePaul, Drake, Duke, Indiana, Louisville, Loyola, Minnesota, NC State, Ohio State, Toledo, Tulane, UC Davis, Cal Poly and Wisconsin will field teams in both the men's and women's races. The Texas women will also compete.

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced their week two national rankings this past Tuesday and multiple competing teams landed in the polls.

For the women, No. 1 NC State, No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 15 Alabama, No. 29 Texas, and Minnesota (RV) are set to race Friday. On the men's side, No. 10 Alabama, No. 14 Butler, and No. 18 Wisconsin are ready to race as well.

The Loyola Lakefront Invitational, established in the 1970s, was renamed the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational to honor former Loyola student-athlete Sean Earl. Earl, who competed in the late 1990s, tragically passed away in 2000 after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. In the fall of 2000, then-head coach Marc Burns renamed the race in his memory. What had already been a celebrated event with a 28-year legacy now carried a deeper significance, paying tribute to a former Rambler.