Two invitationals on tap for Saturday

Two invitationals, one on each side of the valley, give cross country coaches a choice Saturday.

The Falcon Invitational at Foothill and the Labor Day Classic at Palo Verde both feature races by grades, as opposed to the traditional varsity/junior varsity format.

At Foothill, there will be four races starting at 7:30 a.m. with the ninth- and 10th-grade boys, followed by the freshmen and sophomore girls at 8 a.m. The two upper classes run at 8:30 a.m. and 9.

At Palo Verde, each class gets its own race with the freshmen girls — the first of eight races on the schedule — starting at 7:30 a.m.

The team scoring is the same using this format as in a traditional cross country event, but since team talent is diluted, the results can be misleading.

But it does provide an indication of team depth. Schools with big programs and lots of runners tend to prevail. Of course, it also means more individual winners.

As of Thursday morning, the teams joining host Foothill in the Falcon Invitational are Coronado, Eldorado, Sunrise Mountain, Chaparral, Canyon Springs, Virgin Valley, Tech and Durango.

Teams scheduled to run in the Labor Day Classic are Cimarron-Memorial, Valley, Bonanza, Centennial, Faith Lutheran, Bishop Gorman, Laughlin, Liberty, Moapa Valley, Pahrump Valley, Spring Valley, Green Valley and host Palo Verde.