The Alabama women’s cross country team is traveling to Nashville, Tenn., this Saturday to compete in the Commodore Classic.

The 5-kilometer race is hosted by the Vanderbilt Commodores and will be held at Percy Warner Park in downtown Nashville. The Crimson Tide will compete in this event and two more before the SEC championships begin in Knoxville, Tenn. on Oct. 31.

Sarah Gilmore, a senior from Grove Hill, Ala., said these next few events are important.

“They further develop our skills for the conference meets down the road,” Gilmore said.

Gilmore said that although these events are the championship events and may not seem as important to win to people outside the team, “We are still working hard and not letting up in our training.”

The team finished second to Georgia in the Georgia Invitational on Sept. 3. Katlyn Will was the top finisher for the Tide, finishing eighth with a time of 18:22.50.

Following Will were Andrea Torske, Kelsey Johnson, Leigh Gilmore and Sarah Gilmore, who finished 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively.

“We have done very well so far, with our second place finish at Georgia,” Gilmore said. “We have a lot of veteran leaders, with four seniors and two juniors.”

The team also has several underclassmen who hope to make an impact this year.

With this mixture of veterans and underclassmen, this year’s women’s cross country team looks ready to take on the challenges of the difficult season and seems poised to take a top spot in the SEC.