THIS WEEK IN THE WAC
Saturday, September 11
Boise State at Roger Curran Invitational, Nampa, Idaho
Fresno State at Asics Invitational, Irvine, Calif.
Hawai'i at BYU-Hawai'i Invitational, La'ie, O'ahu
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos
The Broncos enter the 2010 season guided by third-year coach Brad Wick ... the Boise State men bring back three All-WAC honorees in sophomore Kevin Rosaaen (First Team), senior Sawyer Bosch and sophomore Jeff Howard (Second Team) ... the women return standout sophomore Shannon Porter, who was the lone All-WAC selection garnering first-team honors ... both the men and women look to improve on their third and sixth-place finishes at the WAC championship ... the Bronco men finished in the top three as a team in five of their seven meets (Won two, finished third at WAC and had a second and third-place finish).
Fresno State Bulldogs
The Fresno State men claimed third place at the Jim Vanden Heuvel Twilight Meet Sept. 3, and were led by junior Eric Battles' sixth-place finish in the 6K race ... the Bulldogs also had two other top-10 performers in sophomores Danny Vartanian (seventh) and Carson Keller (ninth)... Saylah Barserian paced the women's team claiming ninth-place in the 4K race with a time of 16:08 ... Marrijtje Molenhuis was Fresno's second finisher coming in 14th, and was followed by Carina Mendoza who finished 16th overall ... up next for both teams is the Asics Invitational on Sept. 11, hosted by UC Irvine in Irvine, Calif.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine
Senior Jessica Forrester was UH's top runner last season recording team-best times in three out of five meets, including the WAC championship where she finished 24th overall ... Forrester was also UH's lone representative at the NCAA West Regional meet in Eugene, Ore. ... the Rainbow Wahine also return senior Ashley Aitken who was a top-five team finisher in all four meets she competed in ... senior Mariana Monasi, UH's top runner from 2008, rounds out the top returning runners for the Rainbow Wahine ... head coach Carmyn James begins her 11th season with the program and is assisted by distance coach Althea Belgrave.
Idaho Vandals
Juniors Markus Geiger and Julia Veseth led the Idaho men's and women's teams to victory Sept. 4 in the All-Idaho Cup ... Veseth, a former walk-on, took second place overall in the 5K race with a time of 18:09 ... her teammates weren't far behind as they claimed spots fifth through ninth ... Geiger claimed the victory in the 8K race finishing slighlty ahead of teammate Barry Britt, who took second ... the men won with a score of 34, which doubled up the second-place team's score of 68 ... after a one-week break from competition, Idaho will head to Seattle for the Sundodger Invitational Sept.18.
Louisiana Tech
Both the men and women look to improve off their 2009 seasons ... the men recorded a seventh-place finish in the 2009 WAC championship, while the women finished ninth out of nine teams ... junior Chelsea Dressell was the top-performer all season long for the women, as she was the top finisher for LA Tech in four different meets ... junior Josh Slocum will pace the men's team as he was the men's top finisher three out of four races.
Nevada Wolf Pack
The Nevada women, led by Samantha Diaz's second-place finish in the 4K race, placed third at the Jim Vanden Heuvel Twilight Meet Sept. 3 ... senior Jenifer McEntire was the Wolf Pack's second finisher, crossing the line in 11th-place ... in her first collegiate race, Alissa Hood led all Nevada freshman as she finished 23rd overall ... next up for Nevada is the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle, Wash., on Sept. 18.
New Mexico State Aggies
The New Mexico State men's and women's teams competed at the Lobo Invitational, which was an unscored meet ... the defending WAC Champion women's team competed strongly against national talents New Mexico, UTEP and Texas A&M, as three NM State runners finished the 5K race faster than any Aggie ever has ... sophomore sisters Courtney and Camille Schultz finished with times of 17:48 and 17:51 respectively, while Chelsa McDonnell finished with a time of 18:25 ... the Aggie men were paced by Ian Ruybalid, who finished with a time of 25:21 in the 8K race ... the men also had five runners top each of their fastest times from last season on the same course ... both teams compete again in their home meet, the Kachina Classic Sept. 18.
San Jose State Spartans
The SJSU men dominated the Battle of the Bay meet Sept. 4 as they claimed victory, placing all seven of their runners in the top 10 ... senior Alfredo Coronado won the race by nearly a minute (58 seconds), earning him the first individual title of his career ... Coronado was also named the Verizon WAC Athlete of the Week for his efforts ... the SJSU women were equally successful in their efforts as they also claimed first place with three women in the top 10 ... junior Kate Lambdin took first place individually to lead the women to victory, earning her the Verizon Athlete of the Week honor as well ... both teams get back to action Sept. 18 at the UC Riverside Invitational in Riverside, Calif.
Utah State Aggies
Junior Brian McKenna took top honors for the Aggie men at the Utah State Cross Country Open for the second straight year ... McKenna's performance lead the Aggies to a first-place finish at the American West Heritage Center Sept. 4 ... the men had four of the top five finishers in the 6K race ... the Aggie women were paced by junior Jessie Chugg who placed 11th overall in the 5K race, leading the women to a fourth-place finish ... both teams will return to action on Sept. 18, when they travel to Bozeman, Mont., to compete in the Montana State Invitational.
WAC NOTES
SAN JOSE STATE'S CORONADO AND LAMBDIN NAMED CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
San Jose State's Alfredo Coronado and Kate Lambdin have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference men and women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Aug. 30 - Sept. 5.
Coronado, a senior, won the Battle of the Bay race with a time of 21:05.7, which was almost a full minute faster (58 seconds) than second place. He was also 1:45 ahead of the first non-Spartan competitor, as he and his teammates claimed the top four spots in the race. The victory gives Coronado his first-ever individual title.
Junior Kate Lambdin took first place individually, leading her team to victory at the Battle of the Bay meet on Saturday. Lambdin won the 2.95 mile race with a time of 18:47.37, which was 14 seconds ahead of teammate Elizabeth Raymond. Lambdin looks to be picking up from where she left off last year when she was the Spartans top finisher in the WAC championships.
Other Men's Nominees: Markus Geiger, Idaho; Ian Ruybalid, New Mexico State; Brian McKenna, Utah State.
Other Women's Nominees: Julia Veseth, Idaho; Courtney Schultz, New Mexico State; Jessie Chugg, 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.
October 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, 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.
November 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 once again travels to Terre Haute, Ind. and Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. Indiana State is the host for this year's Championships.
November 22, 2010
Wabash Valley Family Sports Center
Terre Haute, Ind.
Host: Indiana State University
Ticket Info: 812/237-3737