PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland State men and women's cross country teams will test their skills against the rest of the conference this weekend at the 2011 Big Sky Cross Country Championship in Pocatello, Idaho, hosted by Idaho State University.

The women's 5,000-meter race will begin at 9 a.m. PT on the Centennial Course with the men's 8,000 to start an hour later at 10 a.m. The Centennial course consists of a 3,000-meter outer loop and a 2,000-meter inner loop.

Last year, the men finished in seventh place while the women finished in eighth. Zach Carpenter is the highest returning finisher for the men's squad from a year ago.

Carpenter finished 33rd overall for the Vikings in 2010 when the race was held at Fairways Golf Course in Cheney, Wash. Carpenter finished with a time of 23:45.39.

Carpenter has led the way for the Vikings this fall. He has paced the squad in every race he has entered including winning his first two races of the season. He won the John Fran Memorial, hosted by Oregon State University at Avery Park, the opening week of the cross country season. He then went on the win the Pier Park Invitational the next weekend.

On the women's side, Brittany Castillo, Brandy Castillo and Brittany Long all ran in the Big Sky Championship last year and are looking to bring that experience into this weekend's race and improve on their finishes from a year ago.