OREM, Utah - After a long off-season, the Utah Valley State cross country team kicks off its 2005 campaign Saturday at 10 am, in the Autumn Classic at Cascade Golf Course in Orem.

-��I know our athletes are dying for the opportunity to run this race,-�� he said.

The meet, which is hosted by BYU, will feature several in-state foes for the Wolverine runners.  Along with BYU, Utah Valley State will run with University of Utah, Weber State and University of Minnesota.

The meet is going to give Wolverine coach Scott Houle an opportunity to assess his incoming recruits.

-��I-��m really excited to see how our big recruiting class performs this weekend,-�� Houle said.  -��It will be a big answering session to see how our young kids mesh with the older runners.-��

On the women's side, freshmen Ashley Evans, Karinne Bentley and Kim Rowberry are expected to have big years while Jacob Buhler and Spencer Evensen are two freshmen on the men's side that could be key to the Wolverines success.

The Wolverines feature nine freshmen men and a completely re-vamped women-��s squad that returns only three runners from last season-��s team.

Saturday-��s meet will get Utah Valley State geared up for a September 17 trip to the Bobcat Invite at Montana State.