ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell men's and women's cross country teams begin their seasons Friday when they play host to Army and Binghamton on The Moakley Course. The women's race, a 5K, will start at 5 p.m. The men, running a five-mile race, will begin at 5:30 p.m.

The men have raced Army every season since 1959 and have opened the campaign with the Black Knights every year since 1987. The women have opened with Army every year since 1988. Over the years, this rivalry has featured other teams like Syracuse, but this year will include Binghamton as a new addition.

The Big Red men's seven-year win streak over Army will seriously be challenged on Friday as a much-improved Army team comes to Ithaca. In the preseason regional rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Cornell's men hold the No. 13 spot while Army takes the No. 15 ranking. The Big Red women are ranked even higher, No. 6 in the Northeast Region. Army and Binghamton's women are unranked.

The Cornell men and women swept the Black Knight in last season's opener.

Due to recent flooding, The Moakley Course is likely to be very wet and perhaps flooded in some areas, which could make for an exciting race.

“Army put up a good fight last year and if they have seven guys as good as their No. 2 last year, then it's going to be a real challenge for us to keep the win-streak alive,” said men's distance coach Robert Johnson. “But quite honestly, we're not going to be focused on Army. Don't get me wrong, every time the guys put on the Cornell vest they are going to compete hard. But it's the season opener for us and I just want the guys to focus on running together as a team and executing their own race as we've basically got an entirely new team nucleus this year.”

The Big Red men will be a bit undermanned on Friday. The top returner from last year's Army race, Adam Trofa, was diagnosed with a stress fracture on Tuesday and will miss the entire season. Additionally, Johnson is going to hold out the Big Red's top returning 5000-meter runner from track, Bobby Micikas (14:26.55), until the following week when the Big Red race nationally ranked No. 14 Syracuse.

“I know Adam is crushed as he worked as hard as anyone on the team this summer but that's unfortunately the nature of the sport,” said Johnson.

Junior Brett Kelly and sophomore Gabe Heck, who finished seventh and eighth last year, are the Red's top returners from last year's meet. They, along with junior Matt McCullough, had a constant presence in the Big Red's top seven last year and will be expected to play even bigger roles in 2011.

Friday's race will also be the first cross country race for junior Kevin Johnson in nearly two years as he missed all of last year. As a freshman, Johnson became the first Big Red runner to score in the conference in the 5000 as a rookie since 1991. Johnson will be looking to build himself up to hopefully make a late-season impact for the Big Red.