THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Saturday, Oct. 27 Ruston, Louisiana
Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships
Lincoln Parish Park
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Idaho Vandals
Idaho women's cross country will try to win its third-consecutive WAC team title this week and its fifth in eight WAC seasons ... the Vandal women already rank second in WAC history with four total women's cross country team titles ... a three-peat would also make the 2010-12 Vandal women the seventh group in school history to win three consecutive conference titles ... junior Hannah Kiser is undefeated versus non-Idaho WAC competition in her track and field career, but she has yet to win an individual WAC title in cross country ... men's cross country at Idaho leads all athletic programs with 11 total team conference titles, but the team hasn't won a conference crown since 1965 in the Big Sky.
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech's men's cross country team finished second at the Demon Invitational in Natchitoches Friday while the women's team placed eighth ... Matt Wolfe led the way for the Bulldogs finishing third overall with a time of 15:17 ... the Lady Techsters were led by Mary Kate Hayes who finished with a time of 20:40. Emily Lantz followed Hayes with a time of 22:20 ... rounding out the scoring for the Techsters were Alexis Young, Laticia Washington, and Brittany Walker who finished with times of 23:09, 26:00, and 37:15 respectively ... the next action for Louisiana Tech comes at home this Saturday when Tech hosts the WAC Championships at Lincoln Parish Park.
New Mexico State Aggies
The New Mexico State University cross country team concluded its last regular season meet at the Bronco Invitational on October 13 ... seniors Courtney and Camille Schultz finished first and second, respectively ... the women's team finished third as a team with a score of 111 ... the men's team finished eighth as a team with a score of 213 in the 8K ... senior Jonah Ruybalid finished first for NM State and 15th overall with a time of 24:28.8 ... the Aggies will head to Ruston, La., for the Western Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 27.
San Jose State Spartans
The San Jose State University men's cross country team came in ninth place out of 17 teams at the Bronco Invitational ... Matthew Stephens finished the 8K course in 26:10.8, a season-best, and came in 28th place ... San Jose State' women finished fifth out of 21 teams ... Rebecca Garcia led the Spartans for the second race in a row, turning in a 5K time of 18:30.3 ... San Jose State's will travel to Ruston, La. this weekend for the Western Athletic Conference Championship.
Seattle University Redhawks
Amy Tolentino and Justine Bates filled the final two spots on Seattle U's travel squad for next week's WAC Championships, joining Hannah Mittelstaedt, Jennifer Stolle, Sophie Curatilo, Madison Davis, Becca Lassere, and Elena Smith ... Bates finished three seconds ahead of Kimberly Pugliese for the eighth and final spot on the team that will represent the Seattle U women in Ruston, La. ... Collin Overbay and Jeff Baklund will join Erik Barkhaus, Matthew McClement, Ryan Dennison, Graham Kinzel-Grubbs, Baxter Arguinchona, and Peter VanNuland at the WAC Championships next Saturday in Ruston, La. ... The Redhawks will present an experienced squad at next week's conference meet, with three seniors, three juniors, and two sophomores on the team.
University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks
The UT Arlington men's and women's cross country teams have both been predicted to finish fifth at the Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships this Saturday in Ruston, La., according to a vote by the league's head coaches ... The men, currently the highest regionally-rated team in the conference (No. 8 in the South Central Regional Rankings), garnered one first-place vote and 48 total points ... On the women's side, the Mavericks (No. 14 in South Central) received 44 points to wind up fifth in the balloting ... last month, the UTA squads swept the Louisiana Tech Mook 4 team titles on the same course, Lincoln Parish Park.
UTSA Roadrunners
UTSA saw its three-meet winning streak come to an end at the Chile Pepper Festival ... the Roadrunners placed 12th in the field of 34 men's teams ... Mike Medrano led the squad once again with his 44th-place performance (32:03.3/10k) ... the sophomore now has been UTSA's top finisher at all five of its meets this fall ... UTSA placed eighth out of 43 women's teams at the 24th annual Chile Pepper Festival ... Alyssa Diaz once again led the way with her 21st-place performance (21:51.9/6k) ... the junior now has paced the Roadrunners at each of their last four outings ... the Roadrunners finish off the conference season on Saturday, Oct. 27, for the WAC Championships in Ruston, La.
Texas State Bobcats
The Texas State men's and women's cross country teams will compete at the 2012 WAC Championships, on Saturday, October 27. Both races will be held at Lincoln Parish Park in Ruston, La. The women's 5K run will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the men's 8K at 10 a.m. ... the women's team will be guided by junior Michelle Jones along with senior Esperanza Lopez will set the pace for the Cats this weekend ... the men's team has been led by freshman Tyrone Jackson over the latter part of the seas
Utah State Aggies
Utah State's men's cross country team was picked by the league's nine coaches to win their seventh Western Athletic Conference Championship in the last eight years ... This marks the sixth-straight year that the Aggie men have been atop the WAC Pre-Championship Coaches Poll ... the USU women were chosen to finish third in the poll, collecting 55 points behind Idaho (68) and New Mexico State (65) ... the 2012 WAC Championships will be hosted by Louisiana Tech at the Lincoln Parish Park in Ruston, La. ... junior Kyle McKenna has led the USU men all season as their top finisher at each meet ... senior Alex Litzsinger has helped pace the Aggie women as their top finisher at each meet this season.
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WAC NOTES
Louisiana Tech's Matt Wolfe and Seattle U's Amy Tolentino Have Been Named the Western Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week
Louisiana Tech's Matt Wolfe and Seattle U's Amy Tolentino have been named the Western Athletic Conference men's and women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 15-21.
Wolfe, a junior from Bossier City, La. (Parkway H.S.), finished third overall at the Demon Invitational with a three-mile time of 15:17.2 as the Bulldogs finished second at the meet, their highest finish of the season. Tech had four runners finish in the top 11 and as a team placed only seven points behind host Northwestern State in the team standings. This marks the third meet this season that Wolfe has led the Bulldog cross country runners.
Tolentino, a sophomore from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (Trabuco H.S.), was able to cross the finish line (24:05) as Seattle U's top finisher last Friday at the Beaver Classic, earning a spot on the travel squad for the WAC Championships. The sophomore continued her season of improvement, cutting 1:21 off her time from this exact event last year. She has improved in every event in which she ran last season by at least 45 seconds.
Other Men's Nominees: Miles Hille, Seattle U.
Other Women's Nominees: Mary Kate Hays, Louisiana Tech.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2012 WAC Cross Country Championship travels to Ruston, Louisiana. This year's championships will be hosted by Louisiana Tech University and will take place at the Lincoln Parish Park Course on Saturday, Oct. 27. The Utah State men and Idaho women claimed the championships last year.
October 27, 2012
Ruston, Louisiana
Host: Louisiana Tech
Course: Lincoln Parish Park
Admission: Free
NCAA REGIONALS
The 2012 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country, Friday, Nov. 9. WAC teams will be represented in three locations. The West Region will be held in Seattle, Wash., (Washington). The Mountain Region will be held in Fort Collins, Colo., (Colorado State), while the South Central Regional (Arkansas) will take place in Fayetteville, Ark.
November 09, 2012
Great Lakes Region - Wisconsin
Mid Atlantic Region - Penn State
Midwest Region - Missouri State
Mountain Region - Colorado State
Northeast Region - Fairfield
South Region - Florida State
South Central Region - Arkansas
Southeast Region - Charlotte
West Region - Washington
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2012 Cross Country National Championships once again travels to Louisville, Ky. The race will take place at E.P. "Tom Sawyer" State Park.
November 17, 2012
E.P. "Tom Sawyer" State Park
3000 Freys Hill Road
Louisville, KY 40241-2132
Ticket Info: 502/852-515