HONOLULU − After a nearly two week break, the University of Hawai'i women's cross country team will hit the road to compete in the 46th Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational Saturday, Oct. 2 at McCulloch Stadium and Bush Park in Salem, Ore. The women's race begins at 7:20 a.m. HT (10:20 a.m. PT).

"We're excited for the opportunity to run a fast 5k course on the mainland" Hawai'i head coach Tim Boyce said. "The team has practiced well since our last meet, I look forward to great efforts on Saturday."

Saturday's meet, hosted by Willamette University, will be a homecoming for Boyce who spent one and a half years at Willamette as the assistant cross country coach. Boyce was also a member of the coaching staff that was recognized as the Northwest Conference's Women's Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year.

Hawai'i will be taking eight runners to Salem - freshmen Sacia Ashe, Becca Bodine, and Sam North, sophomores Sophia Lodigiani and Terra Stevens, juniors Ellis Collins and Sophia Morgan, and senior Olivia Hill. It will be the Rainbow Wahine's third meet of the season after having a successful start at the Big Wave Invitational, where the team won both the individual and team contests. The team then traveled to Riverside and competed in the UC Riverside Invitational, where they placed 15th overall. 

In both meets, Morgan was the top UH finisher, coming in first at the Big Wave Invitational and 45th at the UC Riverside Invite. Morgan also became the eighth fastest performer at the distance in school history. 

The Rainbow Wahine last participated in the Charles Bowles Invitational in 2017, where the team came in 14th place in the 5k with an overall score of 370 and a average team time of 19:38.