It's been two years, but the Clark Atlanta University men's and women's cross country teams are chomping at the bit to hit the course and compete.

They get that chance Friday evening when they take part in the 9^th Annual University of North Georgia Cross Country Invitational in Oakwood, Ga.

The Panthers and Lady Panthers were to start in a meet in Macon last weekend, but had to pull out.  Now for the first time since Covid-19 wiped out the 2020 season, both squads are ready to hit the course in Oakwood.

"I'm ready to get started," head coach Pamela Page said. "We missed that first one, but now everybody is on track and we're ready to go.

"It feels good," Page said.  "It feels good to know the kids are out there. They are ready to run.  They are hungry.  They have been waiting to compete for two years, as well.  They've been working hard, putting in extra time to run on their own.  So everybody is ready and geared up to go."

Both teams are full of newcomers, Page said.

On the women's side, the Lady Panthers return junior Kayla Partee, who ran in 2019 and has been important as a team leader for both young squads. 

The Lady Panthers also include Aria Allen, Naomi Andrews, Shakeria Freeman and Kaelyn Palms.

On the men's side, the Panthers will be led by sophomore Lamin Secka who was set to run in 2020, but looks to be the front runner for the Panthers.   The squad is then rounded out by three Panthers basketball players – Justin Longstreet, Laurence Dallas, and Benjamin Raspberry.

"It's going to be an experience for them all to run in their very first intercollegiate cross country meet," Page said.  "We do a lot of running.  I mean, a lot of running, and I make them run on their own once a week so that way if they ever get caught in that position at a meet, they know they can mentally keep going. 

"So, we're just trying to prepare mentally and physically for the meets," she said.  "I've given them all kinds of scenarios that they could possibly have.  It's been many times that people have gone to their first race and they literally ran out of gas because they are so amped up within the first mile and a half and they have to reel themselves back in and kind of start over again."

Page said today's meet is a smaller, but competitive one that the Panthers and Lady Panthers have stacked up fairly well in. 

"But I'm not putting pressure on them to place," she said. "Everybody knows that.  We just have to get into races and more forward with our training and where we are.  They all have a goal in mind.  They know what they have to."

To find out more about CAU men's and women's cross country, go to www.clarkatlantasports.com.