WALTHAM, Mass. – With the trio of junior Nik Haas (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey HS), senior Sarah Brennan (Quincy/Notre Dame Academy) and All-America grad student Tara Dooley (Lee/Lee HS) expected to lead the way, the Bentley University cross country teams will look to earn a trip to the NCAA Division II Championships this fall. Three men's and three women's team will advance out of the East Region.

The Falcons will be put to their first test of the year on Saturday when they run in the Dartmouth Invitational. The September portion of the schedule also includes the UMass-Dartmouth Invitational Sept. 19 and a trip to Minnesota for the nationally-renowned Roy Griak Invitational.

The men's team returns the top seven from last year's squad that finished fourth in the Northeast-10 Championships and sixth in the NCAA Division II East Regional. The women, coming off finishes of seventh NE-10 and 13th regional, have their top nine back, as well as the return of Dooley who finished fourth in the nation in 2013. Injuries kept her on the sideline last fall.

Key to the success of both teams will be staying healthy.

Dooley will captain the women's team along with a quartet of seniors: Brennan, Samantha Albanese (Lynnfield/Lynnfield HS), Arianne Bourgault (Fitchburg/Fitchburg HS) and Dusty Sacco (Pompton Lakes, N.J./Pompton Lakes HS). Brennan was the team's number one finisher in all five races she ran last fall and placed ninth overall in the conference championships.

Like Brennan, Haas was Bentley's number one runner in the five races he ran and earned USTFCCCA All-East Region honors with a 15th-place showing in the regional meet.

Captains for the men will be seniors Tom Dean (Portland, Maine/Deering HS), Anthony Lacey (Ogdensburg, N.J./Pope John XXIII HS) and Sean Nee (West Yarmouth/Dennis-Yarmouth Reg. HS). Nee, who missed last year due to injury, will add depth after being part of the team's top five in each of his four 2013 races.

Saturday's meet is scheduled to start at 10:30 am (men) and 11 am (women).