THIBODAUX - The Nicholls State University men's and women's cross country teams return to action on Saturday with a trip to the 2010 Gulf Coast Stampede hosted by the University of West Florida.  The Colonels will be part of a 1500 runner field when the event begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Escambia County Equestrian Center.

Nicholls heads into the weekend after completing a successful weekend at the Crimson Classic at the University of Alabama last Saturday.  In the largest field in the history of the Crimson Classic, Nicholls was led by it's women's program.

Senior Lauren Jones led Nicholls by turning in a school record time of 18:03.70 and narrowly missing a top-ten finish with a 12th place performance.  Jones was joined by classmate Kadi Whisnant who's 26th place time of 18:30.70 would have been a school record had it not been for Jones.

The Colonels' distance program is once again led by it's women's program which heads into the Stampede ranked 15th in the South Central Region by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.