THIS WEEK IN THE WAC
Thursday, Oct. 21
Boise State at C of I Invitational Caldwell, Idaho
Friday, Oct. 22
Louisiana Tech at Demon Invitational Nachitoches, La.
Saturday, Oct. 22
Hawai'i at HPU Invitational "B" Kualoa Ranch, O'ahu
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos
Boise State participated in its third meet of the 2010 season on Oct. 16, racing at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational in Santa Clara, Calif ... the men placed fifth in the 8-kilometer race, while the women placed 10th in the 5-kilometer race ... each race had a total of 19 teams ... sophomore Jeff Howard led the way for the men, claiming the runner-up spot with a time of 23:54 ... for the women, freshman Emma Bates was the top finisher, claiming eighth-place with a time of 17:23 to finish as the top freshman in the 163 competitor race ... next up for the Broncos is the College of Idaho Invitational on Oct. 21 in Caldwell, Idaho.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Fresno State competed and performed well at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational on Oct. 16 in Santa Clara, Calif ... both the men and women finished in the top 10, with the women claiming sixth and the men taking seventh ... freshman Bulldog, Olivier Collin had a very strong performance finishing sixth overall for the men with a time of 24:02 ... the women were led by a 22nd-place finish by sophomore Marrijtje Molenhuis, who recorded a time of 17:41.9 in the 5K race ... the Bulldogs' cross country regular season comes to an end, and they will now prepare for WAC Championships in Moscow, Idaho, on Oct. 30.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine
As a team, the Rainbow Wahine placed 16th overall at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational ... senior Ashley Aitken was a bright spot for Hawai'i as she placed fifth overall, recording a personal-best time of 17:10 in the 5K race ... Aitken's performance won her the WAC athlete of the week honor, the second time this season she has garnered that award ... UH's "B" team competed in the BYU-Hawai'i Open on Oct. 16 as well, with six of the seven runners recording personal best times ... UH's "B" team will next compete in the HPU Invitational on Oct. 23 at Kualoa Ranch.
Idaho Vandals
The Vandals were led by Juniors Lauren Schaffer and Markus Geiger at the Dellinger Invitational in Eugene, Ore., on Oct. 16 ... Schaffer finished 13th overall in the women's 6K race with a time of 20:48 to lead the Vandal women to a third-place team finish ... Geiger finished 15th overall with a time of 24:16 on the 8K course, leading the men to a tie with No. 8 Portland for fourth in the team standings ... Idaho also had runners at the Northwest Cross Country Challenge ... sophomore Laurel Draper led the Vandals in Cheney, Wash., with an 11th-place finish ... Idaho will next host the WAC Championships at Virgil Phillips Farm County Park on Oct. 30.
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech's Matt Wolfe and Lauren Gilbert each had fourth place finishes individually as Wolfe led men's team to a meet win, while Gilbert led the women to fifth place at the Centenary Invitational on Oct. 16 ... Wolfe, who has led LA Tech in every race this year, finished with a time of 25:51 in the 8K race ... Gilbert finished with a time of 23:36 in the women's 6K race ... Tech returns to the course on Oct. 22 for the Demon Invitational at Northwestern State before heading to Moscow, Idaho, on Oct. 30 for the WAC Championships.
Nevada Wolf Pack
The Wolf Pack finished 14th out of 19 teams at the Bronco Invitational and were led by sophomore Samantha Diaz ... Diaz recorded a time of 17:11 to finish first for the Wolf Pack and fifth overall ... her time on the 5K course was good enough for third best in school history ... Nevada will next travel to Moscow, Idaho, for the WAC Championship at Virgil Phillips Farm County Park on Oct. 30.
New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies had a nice showing at the Pre-National meet in Terre Haute, Ind. on Oct. 16 ... the women finished 31st out of 40 teams in the women's white 6K race and were led by Camille Schultz who finished the race in 67th place out of 274 runners with a time of 21:34.4 ... finishing a half second behind her sister was Courtney Schultz, who recorded a time of 21:34.9 and placed 68th ... the men finished 27th out of 36 and were led by Kevin Palmer, who finished 8K race 105th out of 241 runners with a time of 25:05 ... the Aggies will return to action on Oct. 30, in Moscow, Idaho, at the WAC Championships.
San Jose State Spartans
The Spartans came away from the Bronco Open with a promising showing as the women claimed eighth place, while the men took 14th ... senior Lauren Dubay led San Jose State with a 27th place finish in the 5K open race, recording a time of 19:16 ... Alfredo Coronado led the men in the open race finishing the 8K course in 24:34, giving him 23rd individually ... Elizabeth Raymond and Kate Lambdin represented the Spartans as individuals in the Invitational women's race, which consisted of 163 total runners ... Raymond finished the course in 70th at 18:20, and was San Jose State's fasted runner of the day, while Lambdin came in 106th place with a time of 18:39 ... the Spartans return to action on Oct. 30 for the WAC Championships in Moscow, Idaho.
Utah State Aggies
Utah State competed in the NCAA Pre-National Invitational, which was hosted by Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind ... junior Brian McKenna led the Aggie men as he finished in 34th place with a time of 24:21, leading the team to a 22nd-place overall finish ... the first Aggie to cross the finish line on the women's side was sophomore Ruth Hilton, clocking in at 21:38 in 77th place ... the Aggies will have a week off of competition as they prepare for the WAC Championships on Oct. 30 in Moscow, Idaho.
WAC NOTES
BOISE STATE'S JEFF HOWARD AND HAWAI'I'S ASHLEY AITKEN NAMED CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Boise State's Jeff Howard and Hawai'i's Ashley Aitken have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference men and women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for the week of Oct. 13 - 19.
Howard, a sophomore from Spokane, Wash., led the Broncos with a second-place finish out of 173 runners at the Santa Clara Bronco Invite on Oct. 16. It was the second time in three meets Howard was the top finisher for Boise State. His performance helped the Broncos defeat three teams ranked in front of them: No. 1 Stanford, No. 5 UCLA and No. 15 Long Beach State.
Aitken, a senior from Napier, New Zealand, led the Rainbow Wahine with a sixth-place finish at the Santa Clara Bronco Invite. Aitken covered the 5K course in a personal-best time of 17:10, giving her the top 5K time in the WAC this season. This is the second straight year Aitken placed in the top six at the Bronco Invitational, and is the fourth top-six finish she has recorded this year.
Other women's nominees: Lauren Schaffer, Idaho; Samantha Diaz, Nevada; Camille Schultz New Mexico State
Other men's nominees: Olivier Collin, Fresno State; Markus Geiger, Idaho; Brian McKenna, Utah State
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2010 WAC Cross Country Championship travels to Moscow, Idaho. This year's championships will be hosted by the University of Idaho and will take place at the Virgil Phillips Farm County Park, Saturday, Oct. 30. The Utah State men and New Mexico State women claimed the championships last year.
Oct. 30, 2010
Moscow, Idaho
Host: University of Idaho
Admission: Free
NCAA REGIONALS
The 2010 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country on Saturday, Nov. 13. 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 Salt Lake City, Utah (University of Utah), while Louisiana Tech will be the lone team in the South Central Regional (Baylor) in Waco, Texas.
Nov. 13, 2010
Great Lakes Region - Oakland University
Mid Atlantic Region - Pennsylvania State University
Midwest Region - Bradley University
Mountain Region - University of Utah
Northeast Region - Yale University and Fairfield University
South Region - Samford University
South Central Region - Baylor University
Southeast Region - University of Louisville
West Region - University of Oregon
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2010 Cross Country National Championships will once again be held in Terre Haute, Ind. at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. Indiana State is the host for this year's Championships.
Nov. 22, 2010
Wabash Valley Family Sports Center
Terre Haute, Ind.
Host: Indiana State University
Ticket Info: 812/237-3737