Blink and you'll miss them -- the cross-country teams from UAA are that fast, and that elusive. Stacked with sleek runners from the far corners of Alaska and the far corners of the world, the UAA men's and women's teams are both ranked nationally going into today's UAA Invitational, their season-opening meet.

And while you may see the Seawolves on the city's running trails and in weekend footraces -- from behind, no doubt --,you can seldom watch them compete in Anchorage. The only time to catch their act on home turf this season is today at Kincaid Park.

UAA hosts Abilene Christian, with the men running at 9 a.m. and the women at 9:30.

The races are part of a big cross-country day at Kincaid. After the college runners wrap things up, the high school runners take over with the six-race Lynx Invitational hosted by Dimond High. More than 800 runners from 23 schools are entered, with the varsity races scheduled to begin at noon.

In the college race, Abilene Christian should provide the UAA men with an early measuring stick -- the Wildcats are ranked fourth in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division II preseason poll.

The same poll ranks the UAA men 15th and the women ninth. Abilene Christian's women are not ranked.

Both UAA teams qualified for the NCAA national championships last year -- the women placed ninth and the men finished 11th -- and both return top runners from those teams.

Marko Cheseto, a junior from Kenya, returns as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and an NCAA All-American, an honor he earned by placing ninth individually at the national meet.

Two other Kenyans return for the men -- sophomore Alfred Kangogo, an all-West Region performer, and junior Paul Rottich. New to the mix is another Kenyan, freshman Micah Chemilo.

The Kenya connection works for the women, too, who feature sophomore Ruth Jeptoo, an all-conference performance last season. Laura Carr of Indiana, a senior who has qualified for the national meet in every season so far, leads the women, who also rely on a runner from one of the far corners of Alaska -- Hallidie Wilt of Unalaska.

Coach Michael Friess, the GNAC coach of the year from last season who is entering his 20th season, lost a pair of All-America runners from last season -- Elizabeth Chepkosgei and Jake Parisien -- plus All-Region runner David Kiplogat. His teams feature 11 new runners.

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