Eagles set to race in Portland at Big Sky Triangular Meet...

While most of the state's Division I and II schools are in Seattle for the Sundodger Invitational,  Eastern Washington heads to Portland for the Big Sky Cross Country Triangular meet at Pier Park Saturday hosted by Portland State University, with the women running 3 miles and the men 5 miles, starting at 10 am.

The Eagles will face two Big Sky Conference opponents for the first time this season, including meet host Portland State and Idaho. Portland will also be in attendance.

"It's still really early in the season, so this meet is more about us seeing our own kids than it is about the competition," said head coach Chris Zeller. "It's about learning about ourselves and trying some things."

On the women's side, sophomore Paula Gil-Echevarria (left/photo by Paul Merca) will compete this week after sitting out the last meet.  Gil-Echevarria competed at the IAAF world junior championships for her native Spain in the 3000 steeple, making the finals.  

On the men's side, Zeller expects to send a full squad to the meet, including senior Chris Schroll, who sat out at Eastern's opener. With the first meet behind them, Zeller is looking forward to seeing the gap between his first and fifth runners get smaller, as well as seeing who will step up in the sixth and seventh spots.

Eastern Washington's meet preview is available here.

NOTE:  The sports information office of Eastern Washington University contributed to this report.