The invitational men's and women's field is set. There are men's and women's open varsity races as well.

So the 39th Doug Conley Cross Country Meet is ready to rock Saturday (Oct. 15) morning shortly after sunrise at Rolling Hills Golf Course in Tempe.

"The course is going to very fast and very dry," Tempe girls cross country coach Eric Smith, one of the meet directors and hosts, said. "This is most schools last stand before sectionals."

There are six races in all, three men's and three women's. Competition begins at 7:15 a.m. with the non-varsity men's Dave Shapiro race followed at 7:40 with the non-varsity women's Jim Wehrman race. Open varsity races are at 8:10 (men's) and 8:35 (women's). The marquee races -- men's invitational at 9:10 and women's invitational at 9:40 finish out the meet.

The men's and women's invitational field was set earlier this week. Men's teams in the invitational field are: Boulder Creek, Brophy, Cactus Shadows, Chinle, Corona del Sol, Desert Mountain, Desert Vista, Highland, Maricopa, McClintock, Mingus, Mesa Mountain View, Page, Perry, Red Mountain, Rincon and Rio Rico. On the women's side it's Basha, Chinle, Corona del Sol, Desert Mountain, Desert Vista, Highland, Ironwood, Mesa Mountain View, Mesquite, Mingus, Notre Dame, Page, Red Mountain, Rincon, Rio Rico, Sahuaro and Xavier.

Last year's invitational individual men's champ was Brophy senior Will Firth. So a new individual champ is a certainty. Ditto the team title as Alhambra won last year and is not entered in the invitational field. Defending women's champ is Rolanda Jumbo of Chinle and she returns. Desert Vista edged Xavier in razor-thin battle last year by two points for the team title.

Jumbo has enjoyed another outstanding season, but could face Xavier's Sarah Fakler, who did not compete for Xavier in last year's meet and is the meet favorite. Other women runners who could vye for top finishes are Highland's Tory Haberman; the rest of Xavier's team behind Fakler -- Breanna Perrone, Laura Orlie, Lauren Kinzle and Samantha Mattice;  Mountain View's Billie Dytrt and Brianna Decker, Basha's Courtney Goodrich, Desert Vista's Jenna Maack, Sahuaro's Chloe Newell, Page's Mikayla Hudgins, Rincon's Emily Page and Rio Rico's Morley Henson.

Without Cibola entered -- meaning no Bernie Montoya -- the individual men's title is up for grabs. Among those capable of top finishes are Rincon's Ryan Silva, Chinle's Jonathan Yazzie, Highland's David Graham and Logan Woolf, McClintock's Eduardo Roa, Mingus' Juan Wells, Mountain View's Dallin Gherkins, Rio Rico's Robert Contreras, Page's Mike Russell, Maricopa's Chris Lessard, Desert Vista's Carter Macey, Desert Mountain's Matti Groll, Perry's Cooper Molumby and Corona del Sol's Nate Rodriguez.