ROLLA, Mo. – With a good deal of youth on its roster, Missouri S&T's cross country teams will get its 2015 season cranked up Saturday when it takes part in the Southwest Baptist Invitational in Bolivar, Mo.

"As of right now, we have a lot of unknowns," Martin said of the two squads.  "Both teams have a lot of inexperienced runners who are in a position where we're going to be depending a lot on them.  What we do have is a group that works really hard and I like that – they come to practice and there's no nonsense as they're there to work."

"At this point on the men's side, it is really wide open," he added.  "Some of our freshmen have looked really good and we have four or five who could make our top 15, but we have yet to see how they will react in a competitive situation.  This is certainly one of hardest working groups I've ever had."

S&T's top returning runner on the men's roster is Joe Bindner (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt East), who was its second runner across the finish line at the NCAA Midwest Regional last year and was third among the Miners as they finished sixth at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships.

Returning senior James Brizendine (Liberty, Mo./Liberty) has also run well in the fall, according to Martin, and will serve as a team captain along with fellow senior Nathan Boys (Pomona, Mo./West Plains).

"Joe came back in great shape and will probably be our number one runner for much of the year," Martin said.  "He has looked very good in workouts in the pre-season.  "James had a great summer and is way ahead of where he was at this point last year; I expect him to be among our top seven.

"Nathan has always done an outstanding job as a captain and provides excellent leadership with our team," Martin added.  "To me, a captain is more of a service position than simply an honor to be given to your best athlete or senior athlete.  You are there to serve the team and both of these guys have done an outstanding job of putting the team first."

Some of the other returners who could figure into the top seven include Boys and Tyler Percy (O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt West), who is coming off a solid track season for S&T, while Martin has also been impressed with a group of freshmen, including Dylan Fitzgerald (Union, Mo./Union), Kyle Mrotek (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) and Connor Yarnall (Broken Arrow, Okla./Broken Arrow).

"We probably have more unknowns than knowns right now on the men's side," he said.  "The GLVC is probably one of the top cross country conferences in the country along with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the top of the league is going to be awfully tough this season."

Meanwhile, the women's team – which has six runners on the roster – will be without two of its top runners from last season in Megan Schulte (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) and Katelyn Fricke (Brimfield, Ill./Brimfield), as they are spending the 2015 fall semester in the university's co-op program.

In their absence, Martin is looking to get big years from team captain and one of the squad's top runners from last season, Fran Chronister (Poplar Bluff, Mo./Poplar Bluff), as well as redshirt freshman Haylie Wiesner (Liberty, Mo./Liberty).

"Not having Megan and Katelyn has opened the door for some of our younger women who haven't had an opportunity in the past to run," Martin said.  "I think Fran is poised to do some really great things and wouldn't be surprised if she's all-conference this year, while Haylie has really come on strong and is also training really well."

Tori Bonnot (Jefferson City, Mo./Jefferson City) is one of two freshmen on the roster and Martin mentioned that she is also expected to be a contender for a top-five spot during the year.

"Our workouts have been going really well and the teams have put in a good summer of training, so now it's just a matter of how we match up against other teams," Martin said.  "It's going to be an interesting year with both squads, but I feel better about it now since we have two weeks of training under our belts than I did this summer worrying about the people we lost."

On Saturday, the women's five-kilometer race will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Bolivar City Municipal Golf Course, with the men's four-mile race to follow at 10:05 a.m.

The Miners and Lady Miners will host the annual Dewey Allgood Invitational on Oct. 10 at the S&T Golf Course, the only home meet of the season for the teams.