GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence cross country will compete this Saturday at the Montana State Cross Country Invite in Bozeman, Mont. The men are set to kick off at 9:00 a.m., with the women scheduled to begin approximately at 9:45 a.m.

The competition marks the second event this week for the Argos, who competed at the Frontier Conference Preview on Monday. It was the first competition for the program in nearly two years, as the team did not compete last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Monday was very important for us because we hadn't raced in two years," head coach Tony Arntson said. "We have so many young kids just coming out of high school so they got a little bit of a chance to see what a college cross country meet is all about."

Nash Grafe was the highlight for the Argos, finishing with a time of 25:05.9, good for 22^nd place. On the women's side, Doreen Koech was the highest-placed Argo, coming in at 29th place with a time of 22:36.6.

"Last week was really big for Nash," Arntson said. "It was the first time he's been healthy since the first part of his freshman year. He got out of it healthy and he has a really good chance to build from here. Doreen made a great jump too. Monday was the first cross country meet that she's ever run. I'm excited to see how she does this weekend."

The Argos will get a dose of healthy competition this weekend, as a half dozen NCAA Division I teams will be a part of the field.

"I'm hoping we thrive against this type of competition," Arntson said. "I hope it brings their times down. It's good for them to be exposed to this caliber of runners. To jump into this level of competition, it really gives our kids an idea of where they're at and where they've got to be."

Though the team is excited to compete against NCAA Division I competition, Arntson has had the team focusing on improving their own personal marks.

"Our goal is to improve our times," Arntson said. "When you're running against this level of competition, it should make you run better. That's really what we're looking for. We want to build towards running our best at the conference championships. We're excited about the work we put in this week and are angling towards improvement."