WAC CROSS COUNTRY TEAM NOTES
BOISE STATE BRONCOS - The Boise State men and women’s cross country teams begin the 2007 season Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Northern Nazarene University Invitational in Nampa, Idaho. The Bronco men took second at the 2006 WAC Championships, while the women placed sixth. Senior Cody Eaton, second-team all-WAC in ?05 and ?06, leads a young men’s squad into the 2007 season. For the women, juniors Breanna Sande (second team all-WAC in ?05 and ?06) and Kendra Hernandez (second team all-WAC in ?06) are the top returners for ?07.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS - The Fresno State men and women’s cross country teams officially open the 2007 season at the UC Irvine Invitational on Sat., Sept. 8. Neither the men nor the women’s team competed at UC Irvine last season, while both teams opened at CS Stanislaus in 2006. At the season opening event last year, the women placed first out of two teams and the men were third out of three teams. The women’s team returns seven of its top eight runners, and the men’s team returns four of its six runners from last season.
HAWAI?I RAINBOWS - The Hawai`i women’s cross country team opens the 2007 season with the Brigham Young-Hawai`i Invitational, Saturday, Sept. 8. Returning for her senior season is Chantelle Wilder, formerly Chantelle Laan, who was the team’s top finisher in all eight races last year. Wilder captured three individual titles last season, including the BYUH Invitational with a time of 18:37. Sophomore Tava Tedesco also returns after a standout freshman year in which she posted three top 5 finishes and was among the team’s top three finishers in each race.
IDAHO VANDALS - Idaho’s men’s and women’s teams placed fourth and fifth, respectively, at the Utah State Open on Aug. 31. The Vandal men’s squad traveled to the meet shorthanded, then lost its top runner, Diego Moreno-Guzman, to cramps not even halfway through the race. The Vandal women’s team competed without a full squad in its first action of the year, but placed three runners in the top 15 at the meet. Idaho now has two weeks to prepare for the Sundodger Invitational on Sept. 15.
LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS - Louisiana Tech’s men and women’s teams are gearing up for the first meet of the season, when they host the Mook Four on Saturday, Sept. 15. Both squads look to improve on their 2006 WAC Championship finishes, as the men took fourth and the women finished ninth.
NEVADA WOLF PACK - Nevada’s cross country team kicked off its 2007 season Aug. 31 with a second place finish at its own Nevada Twilight Cross Country Classic at Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno. Nevada opened the season at home for the second consecutive season. The Pack had three runners finish in the top 10, Amana Moreno (2nd), Christa Avena (7th) and freshman Samantha Davis (10th).
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES - Saturday, Sept. 8 marks a new era of New Mexico State cross country, as head coach Orin Richburg and assistant coach Paul Harkins open the 2007 season. The Aggies will travel to Albuquerque, N.M., to compete at the Lobo Invitational and are taking a solid returning core on the women’s side and a plethora of new additions within the men’s squad.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS - San Jose State’s men’s cross country team placed third at the 2007 USF Invitational, Sept. 1, improving one place over last year’s performance at the meet. San Jose State women’s cross country team placed third (49 points) in a field of eight, almost catching second place University of California (47 points). The Spartans next travel to South Bend, Ind. for the Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 22.
UTAH STATE AGGIES - Utah State’s men’s cross country team finished second at the Utah State Open, while the women’s team finished fourth. The men’s squad had three top-10 finishes, with junior runner Seth Wold taking first, and freshmen Chio Lopez and Steve Strickland placing eighth and tenth, respectively. For the women, senior Stacie (Lifferth) Dorius was the top Aggie finisher, placing sixth. Utah State continues action on Saturday, Sept. 15th as they head to Bozeman, Mont., to compete in the Montana State Invitational.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP ? The 2007 WAC Cross Country Championship travels to Logan, Utah. This year’s championships will be held Saturday, Oct. 27 at the American West Heritage Center. Host Utah State’s men and women swept the 2006 WAC Championship in Fresno, Calif.
October 27, 2007
Logan, Utah
Host: Utah State
American West Heritage Center
Free Admission
NCAA REGIONALS ? The 2007 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country, Saturday, Nov. 10. WAC teams will be represented in three locations. The West Region will be held in Eugene, Ore. (University of Oregon). The Mountain Region will be held in Riverdale, Utah. (Weber State University), while Louisiana Tech will be the lone team in the South Central Regional (University of Arkansas) in Fayetteville, Ark.
November 10, 2006
Great Lakes Region - Indiana University
Mid Atlantic Region - Lehigh University
Midwest Region - Bradley University
Mountain Region - Weber State University
Northeast Region - Harvard University
South Region - University of Florida
South Central Region - University of Arkansas
Southeast Region - University of Louisville
West Region - University of Oregon
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ? The 2007 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 19, 2007
Wabash Valley Family Sports Center
Terre Haute, Ind.
Host: Indiana State University
Ticket Info: 812/237-4040