THIS WEEK IN THE WAC
Saturday, October 26
Seattle at Beaver Classic Corvallis, Ore.
WEEK 7 RESULTS
Saturday, October 19
Bakersfield at Highlander Invitational W-9th/9
Chicago State at USD Tim Young Invite M-4th/4, W-3rd/3
Grand Canyon at Bronco Invitational M-1st/3, W-2nd/8
Idaho at Bronco Invitational M-9th/18, W-4th/19
Idaho at Inland Northwest Cross Country Classic W-4th/4
Kansas City at ISU NCAA Pre-Nationals M-11th/35, W-17th/35
New Mexico State at Bronco Invitational M-16th/18, W-15th/19
Seattle at Emerald City Open M-1st/2, W-1st/2
Utah Valley at Bronco Invitational M-3rd/18, W-10th/19
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK, OCT. 14-20
Idaho’s Cody Helbling and Hannah Kiser have been named the Western Athletic Conference men’s and women’s Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 14-20.
Helbling, a junior from Coeur D’Alene, Idaho (BYU), was the first Vandal across the line for his fourth-consecutive meet in a row, despite fighting illness. Helbling finished the 8K race in 17th out of a field of 193. His leading time of 24:18.0 helped the Idaho men in a ninth-place finish out 18 teams with a score of 254.
Kiser, a senior from Wenatchee, Wash. (Wenatchee HS), finished second-overall out of a field of 204 runners at the Bronco Invitational. Kiser completed the 6K race in a time of 20:19.7, aiding Idaho in its fourth place finish with 113 points. Her time is the fastest in the WAC so far this season by a margin of 26 seconds and is the fastest in Idaho school history.
Other Men’s Nominees: DeShaunte Lewis, Chicago State … Brandon Kocmoud, Grand Canyon … Taylor Wardall, Kansas City … Hab Rubio, New Mexico State … Nathan McLaughlin, Seattle U … Josh Monsen, Utah Valley.
Other Women’s Nominees: LaShya Morgan, Bakersfield … Oslyn Melissa Collins, Chicago State … Jelena Andjelkovic , Grand Canyon … Courtney Frerich, Kansas City … Diana Hawk, New Mexico State … Lauren Hammerle, Seattle U … Brooke Hodson-Davies, Utah Valley.
UTAH VALLEY MEN REGIONALLY RANKED
The Utah Valley men’s cross country team are the lone Western Athletic Conference school that earned recognition after being ranked in the top 15 of the regional rankings by U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Wolverines appear in the men’s Mountain Region rankings at No. 14.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2013 WAC Cross Country Championship travels to Seattle, Wash. This year’s championships will be hosted by Seattle University and will take place at the Jefferson Park Golf Course. The Idaho women will look to win a fourth-consecutive WAC title. UT Arlington claimed the men’s title last season.
TEAM RECAPS
Bakersfield Roadrunners
All five Bakersfield cross country runners who competed at the UC Riverside Highlander Invitational turned in season-best 5K times as the Roadrunners concluded the regular season on Oct. 19 ... the Roadrunners placed ninth with a score of 272 ... freshman LaShya Morgan was the fastest ‘Runner for the fourth time this season, as she went 19:31.80 to place 63rd ... Megan Thompson broke 20 minutes for the first time on a 5K course this season, posting a time of 19:47.00 for a 68th place showing ... Tori Blackmon was 77th in a time of 20:25.30 ... next up for the ‘Runners is a week off, before traveling to Seattle, Wash., to compete in the WAC Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2.
Chicago State Cougars
Chicago State cross country teams traveled to South Dakota on Oct. 19 to run in the Tim Young Invitational ... the men placed fourth and the women placed third ... junior Oslyn Melissa Collins turned in a 19th place performance to lead the women 19:51.37 ... sophomore Jusilya Scott was 24th and her time of 22:18.10 was two seconds off her career-best time, set last week ... junior DeShaunte Lewis led the Cougars with a 19th place finish and a time of 27:01.54 on the 8K course ... junior David Prchal was 26th, finishing in 30:59.72 ... the Cougars are off this week ... CSU will be back in action on Nov. 2 in its inaugural WAC Championship, which will take place in Seattle, Wash.
Grand Canyon ‘Lopes
The Antelopes competed in their final meet before the WAC Championships, running at the Bronco Invitational hosted by Santa Clara in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Oct. 19 ... the men finished first of three teams in the 8K Division I Open field, while the women placed third of eight in the 6K Division I Open ... Brandon Kocmoud and Patrick Hardwick posted the top times for the ‘Lopes on the men’s side, as they have done all season, in sharing the top two spots ... similarly, the women were led by Jelena Andjelkovic and Kelsi Klotter, who have split the top finishes for GCU in their four meets ... GCU will now prepare for its first-ever run in the WAC Championships, slated for Nov. 2 in Seattle, Wash.
Idaho Vandals
The University of Idaho men’s and women’s teams split forces on Oct. 19 to compete at the Bronco Invitational and the Inland Empire Championships ... junior Cody Helbling was the first vandal man across the line at the Bronco Invitational, finishing 17th overall on the 8K course ... his time of 24:18.0 is the fastest in the WAC so far this season ... senior Hannah Kiser earned a second-place finish in the women’s 6K at the Bronco Invitational ... her time of 20:19.7 on the 6K course is the fastest in the WAC so far this season and the fastest in Idaho school history ... the Vandal women placed fourth and the men took ninth at the Bronco Invitational ... only the Vandal women competed at the Inland Empire Championship, placing fourth ... next up is the WAC Cross Country Championship on Nov. 2 at Seattle, Wash... the Vandal women’s squad will be looking for its fourth-consecutive WAC title.
Kansas City Kangaroos
The ‘Roos competed at the Indiana State Pre-Nationals Invitational on Oct. 19 ... the men placed 11th in the event and the women took 17th ... Courtney Frerich earned a fourth-place finish in the 6K White Race, finishing with a time of 20:46.24 ... the sophomore from Nix, Mo. now has a pair of victories and a top-five finish to her credit on the season ... Taylor Wardall paced the men’s team, finishing 22nd with a time of 25:27.57 ... freshman Bryce Miller checked in 26th at 25:34.22 ... freshman Nathan Keown clocked in at 26:09.12, good for 63rd ... next up for the ‘Roos is the 2013 WAC Championship in Seattle, Wash., on Saturday, Nov. 2.
New Mexico State Aggies
The New Mexico State cross country competed in the Santa Clara Invite on Oct. 19 ... the women’s team finished 15th with 373 points in the 6K ... junior Diana Hawk paced the Aggies for the sixth time this season and finished 39th overall with a time of 21:24.7 ... the men’s team finished 16th with 398 points in the 8K ... for the second time this season, junior Hab Rubio led the Aggies and finished 52nd overall with a time of 24:47.7 ... the Aggies have a week off before traveling to Seattle, Wash., to compete in the WAC Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2.
Seattle University Redhawks
Seattle U hosted the Emerald City Open on Oct. 19 and both squads defeated Portland State, the only other DI squad in attendance ... the men won 27-28 and the women won 21-40 ... Lauren Hammerle finished fourth overall and second among collegiate runners with a time of 22:19.5, almost three minutes faster than her previous personal best at this event ... after Portland State’s top two runners finished ahead of the first two runners for Seattle U, Redhawks Caleb Herrera, Gus Arroyo, and Tyler Flannery all outkicked Viking runners at the end to help their team win the event ... Nathan McLaughlin finished as Seattle U’s top runner for the third time this season, placing 12th overall with a time of 26:14.1 ... some Seattle runners will compete Friday at the Beaver Classic in Corvallis, Ore., before Seattle hosts WAC Championships on Nov. 2.
Texas-Pan American Broncs
The UTPA men’s and women’s cross country teams last competed at the UIW Cardinal Invitational on Oct. 12 ... the men finished third out of five teams, and the women placed fourth ... senior Robin Galloso finished in fourth place out of 96 runners with a time of 22:56.05 in the 6K race ... this is Galloso’s second-straight fourth-place finish ... senior Martin Casse finished seventh out 111 runners with a time of 26:36.93 ... his time and finish were his best of the season ... the UIW Cardinal Invitational was the last meet of the regular season for the Broncs ... UTPA will prepare for the WAC Cross Country Championships, which will take place on Nov. 2, in Seattle.
Utah Valley Wolverines
Utah Valley travelled to Sunnyvale, Calif., for the Santa Clara Invitational on Oct. 19 ... the men’s team had its top five runners all finish within nine seconds of each other to secure a third-place finish, one spot in front of No. 13 Stanford ... redshirt freshman Josh Monsen placed 23rd, finishing the 8K course in 24:30.7 ... on the women’s side, the Wolverines finished in 10th ... senior Brooke Hodson-Davies led the women with a 25th-place finish, with a time of 21:14.1 ... UVU will be off this week, before travelling the WAC Cross Country Championships on Nov. 2, in Seattle.