St. Gregory's University track and cross country coach Matt Aguero has been here before. In 2005, he was chosen to lead a brand new cross country program at Cameron University. This weekend, Aguero will be doing it all over again at SGU.

Aguero and the Cavalier runners travel to Edmond on Saturday for the UCO Land Run at Santa Fe High School. It will be the first cross country meet for SGU since 2008, when the university discontinued the sport.

"I think it's a great situation to be in," said Aguero, who was hired in January to lead both the men's and women's track and cross country teams. "It is fun to see the program grow from nothing. It's your baby. You get to set the precedents."

Aguero said that although the program is new, he expects to be competitive quickly.

"Starting out, we are much stronger here talent-wise than I was at Cameron," he said.

Aguero expects a pair of freshman to lead a very young men's team. Hosea Maritim, a Kenya native, and Dominic Cabada, from Boulder, Colo., are both strong enough runners to qualify for nationals, he said. The men's roster is made up of six freshman and one junior.

Aguero said he looks for Monika Kalicinska, a senior transfer from Poland, to contend for Sooner Athletic Conference honors.

"She has a lot of quality experience in half-marathons and longer distances," he said. "She also ran in some national meets in Poland."

The women's team is made up of two freshman, one junior and four seniors – including Shawnee native Morganne Lyon.

While at Cameron, Aguero led the Aggies to a pair of top 5 team finishes at the South Central Region Championship and coached 10 all-conference performers, one All-American, and one academic All-American.

An avid runner himself, Aguero in 2009 was part of a team that broke the Guinness Book of World Records mark for the 100-mile relay by 16 minutes and 47 seconds. He also placed 66th out of more than 35,000 at last year's Chicago Marathon. As a collegian, Aguero was an NAIA Outdoor Track & Field All-American and is the marathon record holder at both Minot State University (N.D.) and East Central University.

Saturday's meet is the first of four regular season competitions for the Cavaliers. SGU travels to Stillwater for the OSU Cowboy Jamboree later this month.