Texas will be one of 40 teams trying to take the top spot at the Wisconsin Invitational this afternoon. The eight kilometer race will take place on Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison, Wis.

The field includes 17 of the top 30 teams in the nation, including four teams in the top 10. No. 2 Wisconsin leads the pack, followed by No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 BYU and No. 7 Indiana.

Texas is coming off a solid showing at the Grass Routes Grand Prix two weeks ago, in which its B team placed third overall. Junior Rory Tunningley led the Longhorns with a fifth-place finish.

Texas slid to third in the South Central regional rankings, ahead of Lamar and behind Texas A&M at No. 2 and Arkansas at No. 1. The Longhorns were also dropped out of the National Rankings this week, after being ranked No. 24 last week.

The Wisconsin Invitational presents Texas with an opportunity to make a move against some of the best teams in the nation. With so many ranked teams in the meet, a strong performance could vault Texas back into the rankings and prepare them for the Big 12 Championship later this month.

Printed on Friday, October 14, 2011 as: Ranked teams abound in tourney