ATHLETES OF THE WEEK ?“ Utah State?™s Trevor Ball and Tiffany Strickland have been named the Western Athletic Conference men?™s and women?™s cross country Athletes of the Week, respectively.
Ball, a senior from Hyrum, Utah, finished second at the American West Heritage Center Open held over the weekend. He posted a time of 18:27.46 in the 3.75-mile race. As a team, the Aggies finished second with 31 points.
Strickland, a senior from Orem, Utah, earned her first career top-10 finish, taking home the title at the American West Heritage Center Open. She posted a time of 15:36.20 in the 2.72-mile race. For her efforts, Strickland was also tabbed the Utah State Athlete of the Week.
Additional men?™s nominees included: None
Additional women?™s nominees included: Andrea Buckner, Fresno State; Kendall Knowles, Nevada and Tiffany Hall, San Jose State.
Click here for a .pdf version of the Cross Country Weekly Notes
WAC ENTERS NEW ERA ?“ The WAC is a nine-team league with the additions of Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State following the departures of Rice, SMU, UTEP and Tulsa. It is the third time in conference history that the WAC will be comprised of nine teams (1980-91 and 2000).
PAIR OF AGGIES TAKE HOME INDIVIDUAL TITLES ?“ Tiffany Strickland finished first to lead the Utah State women?™s cross country team to a first-place finish at the American West Heritage Center Open. Strickland, a junior from Orem, Utah, finished the 2.72 mile race in 15:36.20 to win the women?™s race. Utah State had a total of five runners finish in the top 10.
New Mexico State senior Grace Thomson was the bright spot of the Aggie women?™s team placing first with a time of 17:41.13, nearly a minute in front of UTEP?™s Fatimoh Muhammed. She led NMSU to a fourth-place finish at the UTEP Invitational.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP ?“ The 2005 WAC Cross Country Championship travels to Boise, Idaho. This year?™s championships will be held Saturday, Oct. 29 at Eagle Island State Park. There will be two new team champions crowned with the departure of the Rice men and SMU women.
October 29, 2005
Eagle Island State Park
Boise, Idaho
Host: Boise State University
Ticket Info: Admission is Free
NCAA REGIONALS ?“ The 2005 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country. They will all be held Saturday, Nov. 12. WAC teams will be represented in three locations. The West Region will be held in Palo Alto, Calif (Stanford). The Mountain Region will be held in Provo, Utah (BYU), while Louisiana Tech will be the lone team in the South Central Regional (Baylor) in Waco, Texas.
November 12, 2005
Great Lakes Region - Indiana
Mid Atlantic Region - Lehigh
Midwest Region - Iowa
Mountain Region - BYU
Northeast Region - Northeastern
South Region - Florida
South Central Region - Baylor
Southeast Region - East Carolina
West Region - Stanford
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ?“ The 2005 Cross Country National Championships once again travels to Terre Haute, Ind. and Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. Indiana State is the host for this year?™s Championships.
November 21, 2005
Wabash Valley Family Sports Center
Terre Haute, Ind.
Host: Indiana State University
Ticket Info: 812/237-4040