JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State cross country team will welcome 13 teams from across the region as it hosts the 5th Annual JSU Foothills Invitational on Saturday at the Oxford Lake & Recreation Center in Oxford, Ala.

It will be a busy day at the Oxford Lake & Recreation Center as the JSU Foothills Invitational coincides with the Oxford High School-hosted Waffle House Invitational. Events will get underway at 8 a.m. and will conclude with the JSU Foothills men's 8K at 10:45 a.m. The women's 5K is slated to begin at 10 a.m. Results from the JSU Foothills Invitational will be available on Saturday afternoon at www.JSUGamecockSports.com.

As both JSU squads begin to prepare for the upcoming Ohio Valley Conference Championships later this month, the Gamecocks will have just two meets until the conference meet on Oct. 30 in Nashville, Tenn. After Saturday's festivities, Jax State will compete in the Kennesaw State Owl Invitational on Oct. 22.

On the women's side, JSU is coming off a top-20 finish at the Sean Earl Loyola University Invitational in Chicago, Ill. last weekend. The Gamecocks were paced by sophomore Ericka Stam, who finished 22nd individually in a field of over 500 competitors. The Keller, Texas-native completed the 5K layout in 18 minutes, 32 seconds. She has been JSU's top-finisher in all four meet this season. Stam also claimed third on the same course at the JSU/Struts Season Opener.

Sophomore Matt Brick continues to lead the Jax State men as he turned in a time of 27:06 in his last outing to help the squad to a 34th-place finish in Chicago, Ill. Brick, who hails from Pell City, Ala., has turned in two top-ten finishes this season, including a bronze showing at the GSU Invitational.

Joining JSU this weekend will be in-state foes – Alabama A&M, Bevill State Community College, Gadsden State Community College, Huntingdon College, Southern Union State Community College, Tuskegee, Montevallo and the University of West Alabama. Region schools Emory, Clark Atlanta, Clayton State and Georgia Southwestern have entered the competition.