THIS WEEK IN THE WAC
Saturday, September 18 Location
Fresno State at Roadrunner Invitational Bakersfield, Calif.
Hawai'i at Big Wave Invitational Kane'ohe, O'ahu
Idaho at Sundodger Invitational Seattle, Wash.
Nevada at Sundodger Invitational Seattle, Wash.
New Mexico State at Kachina Classic Las Cruces, N.M.
San Jose State at UC Riverside Invitational Riverside, Calif.
Utah State at Montana State Open Bozeman, Mont.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos
The Boise State cross country teams began the season at the Roger Curran Invitational Sept. 11 ... the Broncos had a strong showing as they swept the men's and women's team titles, while also earning a 1-2 finish in the men's race and a second-place individual finish in the women's race ... freshman Drew O'donoghue-McDonald won the men's 6-kilometer race with a time of 18:15.49 ... on the women's side, six of the top-seven Broncos were freshmen ... freshman Emma Bates was the top finisher placing second overall in the 4-kilometer race ... the Broncos will have a week off and will continue their season Sept. 25.
Fresno State Bulldogs
The Fresno State women's and men's cross country teams finished seventh and eighth respectfully at the Asics Invitational Sept. 11 ... the women's team concluded the 5K race with a score of 175 with Pamela Cruz leading the way with a 27th-place finish ... junior Eric Battles paced the men's team as he claimed 17th place with a time of 25:36, and was followed by sophomore teammate Danny Vartanian who came in 20th place, just two seconds behind Battles ... up next for the men and women will be the Roadrunner Invitational held in Bakersfield, Calif. Sept. 18.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine
The University of Hawai'i women's cross country team opened the 2010 season with a second-place finish at the BYU-Hawai'i Invitational Sept. 11 at the BYUH campus ... UH placed three runners in the Top 10 on the 5K course, including senior Ashley Aitken, who finished third with a time of 18:15 ... freshman Kevyn Murphy placed eighth in her first collegiate race, while fellow freshman Alison Williams followed closely behind in ninth place ... next the Rainbow Wahine will host the Big Wave Invitational on Sept. 18 at the Kane'ohe Klipper Golf Course on Marines Corps Base Hawai'i.
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
BOISE STATE'S O'DONOGHUE-MCDONALD AND BATES NAMED CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Boise State's Drew O'donoghue-McDonald and Emma Bates have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference men and women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 8-14.
O'donoghue-McDonald, a freshman from Seattle, Wash. (Seattle Prep), claimed victory at the Roger Curran Invitational, beating out 70 other runners on the 6K course with a time of 18:15.49. The freshman earned his first collegiate win in his first-ever collegiate race, giving the Bronco men their first win of the season.
Bates, a freshman from Elk River, Minn. (Elk River HS), was the top finisher for the Bronco women, placing second overall and covering the 4-kilometer course in a time of 13:43.71. Bates' strong finish helped the Bronco women earn their first win of the season, giving them a taste of redemption as they placed second in the Roger Curran Invitational last year.
Other women's nominees: Ashley Aitken, Hawai'i
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