With only two weeks to go until the Big East Championships, the Marquette men's cross country team is doing something a bit unexpected — they're resting.

As the season draws to a close, a season in which things have not ultimately clicked, and with such an inexperienced team, resting seems like an unimaginable option.

"After months of hard training, we need to rest up" said head coach David Uhrich. "We need to be rested for Conference."

After weeks of intensive practices and countless miles, the Golden Eagles will take it easy for the next 12 days, until they travel to Bronx, N. Y., on Oct. 28 for the conference meet.

The team will take this time to rest its bodies and nurse minor injuries that several of the athletes have been carrying.

Marquette returned from Pre-Nationals this weekend in Terre Haute, Ind., and if this meet was any indication of what's to come, things are not looking good for the Golden Eagles.

The team placed 33rd overall out of 34 teams in the White race with 845 points.

"The meet didn't go as well as we would have liked," Uhrich said. "This was the toughest meet in the country and we're still a young team, missing our top runner of the past two years."

While the team did not perform to its ability, the weekend was a great preparation for the Big East Championships. Marquette ran against 12 nationally ranked teams. Two weeks from now, it will run against only two: Georgetown and Notre Dame.

"This weekend was a good preparation for conference," said junior Jeremy Williams. "We didn't place as high as we wanted, but it was a step forward."

Sophomore Josh Pinter was the first Marquette runner to cross the finish line, placing 154th with a time of 25:40.

Williams (160, 25:46), senior David Henderson (162, 25:47) and sophomore Kyle Saginus (165, 25:51) ran as a pack, finishing within five seconds of each other.

Freshman Drew Craig finished the race in 26:30, placing 204th. Freshman Scott Allen was 221st with a time of 27:17.

The young team needs to step up its level of performance and build off its four previous races.

But with teams like Notre Dame and Georgetown competing for the title, that may be hard to accomplish.

"Our goal at Conference is to beat as many teams as we can, as simplistic as it sounds," Williams said. "With nationally ranked teams, Marquette isn't going to be a team to worry about. We just want to beat as many teams that aren't expecting to be beaten by us."

Four members of the team ran in the Wisconsin-Parkside Invitational in Kenosha over the weekend. Freshman Cody Miles was the first Marquette finisher, placing 67th with a time of 27:36. Junior Tommy Schmitz finished the 8000 meter race in 27:49, placing 83rd, and freshman Steve Briggs placed 145th (29:42). Freshman Aaron Hyams was unable to finish due to a sprained ankle.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 18, 2005.