Third Annual William Jessup Invitational

On Saturday, Oct. 21 the William Jessup University (WJU) cross country team will host the third annual Warrior Invitational at Johnson-Springview Park in Rocklin. Placer Valley Tourism is thrilled to partner with WJU in welcoming several teams from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to this extremely competitive cross country invitational.

The WJU Warriors will have three meets under their belts going into this invitational on their home turf in October. Parker Daniells, head coach for both the men’s and women’s teams, is excited that on both sides they have nine returning runners and four incoming freshmen runners this season, making for very strong Warrior teams.

“We have received a lot of support from the local community in putting this event on and the meet brings in some of the best NAIA teams from around the country with 12 teams traveling from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, the Bay Area and Southern California,” explained Daniells.

He added that it also gives the local high schools a chance to experience a college-level race, “There are not many opportunities for high school student-athletes to watch a collegiate race in the area and this is a great opportunity to get exposure to a collegiate race but more importantly, to meet some great coaches from wonderful colleges and universities in the West.”

After this meet, the Warriors will head to Irvine for the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) Championships on Nov. 4 with their sights set on making it to the NAIA National Championship on Nov. 18 in Vancouver, Washington.

— All photos and copy provided by Placer Valley Tourism.

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