2006 WAC CHAMPIONSHIP ? The 2006 WAC men and women’s cross country championships will held in Fresno, Calif. on Oct. 28. The races will be held at Woodward Park, one of the nation’s premier cross country venues. In addition to hosting numerous state and regional events, including the annual high school state championship meet, Woodward Park has hosted NCAA championship events, including most recently serving as host site of the 2004 NCAA Western Regional Championship meet.
There will be seven men’s teams competing at this year’s Championship, including Boise State, Fresno State, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, San Jose State and Utah State. Fresno State did not run in last year’s championship. Boise State is led by All-American Forest Braden. The senior has won six career individual title. He has finished first or second in each of his three races this season. Fresno State did not sponsor men’s cross country last season. The Bulldogs are lead by Frank Sanders and Brandon Geis. Idaho, which is competing in its second WAC Cross Country Championship, looks to improve upon it second place finish last season. Junior Ian Chestnut and sophomores Kevin Friesen and Matt Racine will lead the Vandal men’s team this season. Louisiana Tech finished third in last year’s WAC Championship. Louisiana Tech runners finished first through sixth at the Mook 5 Invitational on Sept. 22, 2006, giving Tech dual-meet wins over NSU, Centenary and Louisiana College. This is New Mexico State’s second appearance at a WAC Championship. Last year, the Aggies finished in sixth with 128 points. Junior Chris West has led the Aggies in every race this season and has finished in the top-10 twice. The San Jose State men’s team finished fourth three times in 2006. In the previous two seasons, the Spartans finished fourth or higher only once. In 2006, the Spartans have placed 10 runners in the top-25. Utah State has finished first or second at its conference championship in 12 of the last 14 years. In 2005, the Aggie men set a WAC record for their lowest team score with 16 points. This mark edged out UTEP’s record of 17 set back in 1981.
The women’s field will have nine teams in attendance. The Boise State women are led by Breana Sande. The sophomore captured her first individual titles of the year at the fourth annual Hampton Inn and Suites Fall Harrier Classic. The Broncos look to improve upon last season’s fourth place finish. Fresno State’s women’s team raced to a fifth-place finish at the 2005 WAC championship event, led by three Bulldogs in the top 25. Andrea Buckner placed eighth overall in the event. Zinzi Evans and Roxanne Sellick are Fresno State’s top two returning runners, placing 21st and 22nd in last year’s WAC Championship race. Hawai?i will send its strongest team since finishing fifth at the 2004 WAC Championship in Ruston, La. With a young squad last year, the Rainbow Wahine finished eighth, in Boise, Idaho. Sheena Thain was UH’s top finisher, placing 40th in a time of 19:50. Idaho looks to repeat its first place finish from last season, but the Vandals have several new faces this season. Freshman Melissa McFaddan and sophomore Allix Lee-Painter have been two of the Vandals top runners this season. Louisiana Tech did not compete in last season’s championship. Latonia Wilson finished fourth overall at Tech’s home meet (Mook 5) Sept. 26 with a time of 23:03. New Mexico State has recorded four top-10 team finishes this season. Senior Ann Gagliardi has led the Aggies in four of the five regular season races, with her best finish at the UTEP Classic in fifth place in a time of 25:32. Nevada has had three strong finishes with two fourth place and one sixth place finishes in its last three races. Three Nevada runners have top five finishes. Amanda Moreno won the Nevada Chase Race while Amanda Gramly placed fourth at the Nevada Chase Race with a time of 15:50 on the 4K course. Most recently, Charlotte Schönbeck finished first at the 5k Bronco Invitational with a time of 17:24. San Jose State has had three third-place finishes and a fourth-place finish this season. Tiffany Hall set a 5k school record with a time of 17:37.90 at the University of San Francisco Invitational. For her performance, she won the WAC’s Athlete of Week. In 2005, the Utah State women finished second in the WAC behind Idaho with a score of 43 points. The Aggies claimed four of the top 10 spots. This season, the Aggies had a second and third place finish early in the year.
CHAMPIONSHIP TIMES
8:45 a.m.
Men report to starting line
9:00 a.m.
Men’s race (8,000 meters)
9:45 a.m.
Women report to starting line
10:00 a.m.
Women’s race (5,000 meters)
Awards ceremony following the women’s race
October 28, 2006
Woodward Park
Fresno, California
Host: Fresno State
Ticket Info: Admission is Free
NCAA REGIONALS ? The 2006 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country. They will all be held Saturday, Nov. 11. WAC teams will be represented in three locations. The West Region will be held in Portland, Ore. (Portland). The Mountain Region will be held in Albuquerque, N.M. (New Mexico), while Louisiana Tech will be the lone team in the South Central Regional (Baylor) in Waco, Texas.
November 11, 2006
Great Lakes Region - Bowling Green
Mid Atlantic Region - Bucknell
Midwest Region - Minnesota
Mountain Region - New Mexico
Northeast Region - Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Bronx, N.Y.)
South Region - Tennessee
South Central Region - Baylor
Southeast Region - Louisville
West Region - Portland
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ? The 2006 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 20, 2006
Wabash Valley Family Sports Center
Terre Haute, Ind.
Host: Indiana State University
Ticket Info: 812/237-4040