SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The St. Francis cross country team will travel to Chicago, Ill., to compete in the Palatine Invitational this weekend. The meet serves a gathering between St. Francis and sister-school Assumption High School from Louisville, Ky.

“It will be a great experience for the girls,” said Head Coach John DuCray. “We are going with no expectations and plan to make it a fun trip. It will be something they will never forget.”

Assumption Head Coach Barry Haworth’s daughter, Moriah, ran for DuCray and St. Francis and the two developed the relationship between the schools. They schedule meetings every 4-5 years for a competition and friendship between the programs. It is the second trip made by St. Francis, while the Rockets have visited Sacramento two times.

Assumption, like St. Francis, is an all-girls Catholic High School. The Rocket program has been very successful lately, winning four state titles in the last six years.

The two squads will meet for dinner on Friday night courtesy of the Rockets and have a picnic following the competition. The race is scheduled for the three-mile course at Deer Grove East. Assumption is the defending girls’ champion in the event.

“I am really excited to race with the team and go against teams we have not raced before,” said junior Chase Worthen. “We do not know what the competition is going to be like but it is going to be a lot of fun. We are looking forward to putting our best foot forward and having fun with the team.”

Following the Saturday morning race, the team will have an opportunity to go sight-seeing around Chicago.

Seniors Miranda Myers and Peyton Bilo will document the trip to Chicago via posts on the St. Francis social media accounts all weekend on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Follow #TroubieTakeover.