NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ? The 2005 Cross Country National Championships once again travel to Terre Haute, Ind. and Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. Indiana State is the host for this year’s Championships.
The WAC has two individuals that qualified for the National Championship, both coming from Utah State. Trever Ball and Tiffany Strickland will represent both the Aggies and the WAC in the event. Ball finished 12th in the Mountain Region to earn an at-large bid. Strickland earned her at-large selection with a 10th-place finish. Ball posted a time of 31:06.3 in the 10k, while Strickland earned a time of 21:36.3.
Complete NCAA Championship QualifiersComplete NCAA Championship CoverageNovember 21, 2005
Wabash Valley Family Sports Center
Terre Haute, Ind.
Host: Indiana State University
Ticket Info: 812/237-4040
Click here for a .pdf version of the Cross Country Weekly Notes.
NCAA REGIONALS ? The 2005 Cross Country Regionals were held at nine sites throughout the country on Saturday, Nov. 12. WAC teams were represented in three locations. The West Region was in Palo Alto, Calif. (Stanford). The Mountain Region was hosted by BYU in Provo, Utah, while Louisiana Tech, though it did not compete, was the lone team in the South Central Regional (Baylor) in Waco, Texas.
November 12, 2005Great Lakes Region:
Men,
Women
Mid Atlantic Region:
Men,
WomenMidwest Region:
Men,
WomenMountain Region:
Men,
Women
Northeast Region:
Men,
Women
South Region:
Men,
WomenSouth Central Region:
Men,
Women
Southeast Region:
Men,
WomenWest Region:
Men,
WomenNATIONAL RANKINGS ? Click on the following links for the National Cross Country Rankings.
Mondo Men's National RankingsFinishLynx Women's National Rankings
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP ? The 2005 Western Athletic Conference Men and Women’s Cross Country Championships were held at Eagle Island State Park in Boise, Idaho. It was a welcoming party of sorts, as the Idaho women and Utah State men, which set a team-points record, claimed the team titles. In the first WAC Championship of the year, two of the newest WAC members wasted no time in showing they belong. Idaho’s Dee Olson and Utah State’s Trever Ball claimed individual golds.
In what was a dark and foggy morning, Eagle Island was serving as both the host for the WAC and the Idaho State High School Championships. It was the women who ran first this year, with Dee Olson crossing 10 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. In earning the WAC’s Athlete of the Year, the junior posted a time of 17:31.31 in the 5k event. She led the Vandal contingent which claimed four of the first five spots. Utah State’s Tiffany Strickland, the only non-Vandal to finish in the top five, finished second in a time of 17:41.83. Idaho’s Bevin Kennelly (17:55.46), Mary Kamau (17:55.87) and Mandy Macalister (17:58.87) finished third through fifth, respectively.
In the team competition, Idaho’s 30 points were 13 better than Utah State’s runner-up finish. Taking third was San Jose State with 107 points, while host Boise State claimed fourth with 115. Tying for fifth was both Nevada and Fresno State with 131 points, while New Mexico State finished seventh with 167. Hawaii rounded out the field finishing eighth with 231 points.
It was more of the same as the men ran, with Utah State claiming the first four spots and five of the first six. Taking gold in the 8k event was Trever Ball of Utah State in a time of 24:12.87. Ball cleared the field by over 35 seconds and was named the 2005 WAC Athlete of the Year. Grabbing silver was fellow Aggie Clark Bryner who crossed in 24:49.89. Rounding out the Aggie men was Vance Twitchell in third (25:09.45), Seth Wold in fourth (25:16.08) and Steve Atkinson in sixth (25:29.52). Boise State’s Ty Axtman, who had led the Broncos all season, finished fifth in a time of 25:29.52.
Utah State set a WAC record for lowest team score, grabbing sixteen points for the title. The Aggies edged UTEP’s record of 17 set back in 1981. In second was Idaho which earned 75 points. Third place was taken by Louisiana Tech with 88 points, while Boise State finished fourth with 99. Rounding out the six-team men’s field was San Jose State with 123 points and New Mexico State with 128.
ALL-WAC HONORS ? The 2005 all-WAC honors were announced following the WAC Cross Country Championship.
WOMEN
First-team all-WAC
Dee Olson, Jr., Idaho
Tiffany Strickland, Sr., Utah State
Bevin Kennelly, Sr., Idaho
Mary Kamau, Sr., Idaho
Mandy Macalister, Jr., Idaho
Ashley Johnson, Jr., Utah State
Kali Baker, Jr., Nevada
Second-team all-WAC Andrea Buckner, Sr., Fresno State
Vanessa Hawkins, Fr., Utah State
Rebecca Guyette, Sr., Boise State
Amy Egan, Jr., Utah State
Tiffany Hall, Jr., San Jose State
Erica Sahli, So., San Jose State
Breanna Sande, Fr., Boise State
Freshman of the Year: Vanessa Hawkins, Utah State
Coach of the Year: Wayne Phipps, Idaho
Athlete of the Year: Dee Olson, Jr., Idaho
MEN First-team all-WAC Trever Ball, Sr., Utah State
Clark Bryner, Sr., Utah State
Vance Twitchell, Jr., Utah State
Seth Wold, Fr., Utah State
Ty Axtman, Jr., Boise State
Steve Atkinson, Fr., Utah State
Mobin Ghoury, Jr., San Jose State
Second-team all-WAC
Josh Sifuentes, So., New Mexico State
Tim Marshall, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Todd Griffith, Fr., Utah State
Cody Eaton, So., Boise State
Dale Engler, Sr., Idaho
Kinsey Dinnel, So., Louisiana Tech
Kevin Friesen, Fr., Idaho
Freshman of the Year: Seth Wold, Utah State
Coach of the Year: Gregg Gensel, Utah State
Athlete of the Year: Trever Ball, Sr., Utah State