THIS WEEK IN THE WACSaturday, October 26 Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships Seattle, Wash.
WEEK 9 RESULTSFriday, October 25 Seattle at Beaver Classic No Team Results
TEAM RECAPSBakersfield 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 ... the ‘Runners were off last week, before traveling to Seattle, Wash., to compete in the WAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday.
Chicago State CougarsChicago 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 were off last week ... this week, CSU will be back in action on Saturday in its inaugural WAC Championship, which will take place in Seattle, Wash.
Grand Canyon ‘LopesThe 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 Saturday 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 ... next up is the WAC Cross Country Championship on Saturday at Seattle, Wash ... the Vandal women’s squad will be looking for its fourth-consecutive WAC title and the Vandals were selected as the favorite in the WAC Pre-Championship Poll.
Kansas City KangaroosThe ‘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.
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 had last week off before traveling to Seattle, Wash., to compete in the WAC Championships on Saturday.
Seattle University RedhawksThe Seattle University cross country team competed at the Beaver Classic on Oct. 25, the only WAC school in action on the weekend ... Elena Smith finished third in the women’s 6K race with a time of 22:09, while Taylor de Laveaga crossed the finish line in 11th place with a mark of 22:27 ... the two sophomores were able to grab the final two spots within the Redhawk women’s contingent that will compete at the league championships next weekend ... for the men, Miles Hille finished in 38th place in 26:27, while Ryan Dennison completed the 8K course with a time of 27:01 for a 52nd place finish, enabling them to move onto next week’s WAC Championships ... the Redhawks will host the WAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Jefferson Park Golf Club.
Texas-Pan American BroncsThe 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 has had three weeks to prepare for the WAC Cross Country Championships, which will take place on Saturday in Seattle.
Utah Valley WolverinesUtah 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 was off last week, before travelling the WAC Cross Country Championships in Seattle on Saturday ... the Wolverines were picked as the favorite to claim the title in the WAC Pre-Championship Poll.
UTAH VALLEY MEN REGIONALLY RANKEDThe 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 CHAMPIONSHIPThe 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.
November 2, 2013
Seattle, Wash.
Host: Seattle U
Course: Jefferson Park Golf Course
Admission: Free
2013 Pre-Championship Men's Cross Country Coaches Poll
| Rank |
Teams (1st-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Utah Valley (6) |
48 |
| 2 |
Idaho (1) |
42 |
| 3 |
Seattle U (1) |
37 |
| 4 |
New Mexico State |
27 |
| 5 |
Kansas City |
25 |
| 6 |
Texas-Pan American |
22 |
| 7 |
Grand Canyon |
16 |
| 8 |
Chicago State |
7 |
2013 Pre-Championship Women's Cross Country Coaches Poll
| Rank |
Teams (1st-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Idaho (7) |
63 |
| 2 |
Seattle U (1) |
54 |
| 3 |
Utah Valley |
50 |
| 4 |
New Mexico State (1) |
41 |
| 5 |
Kansas City |
40 |
| 6 |
Grand Canyon |
28 |
| 7 |
Texas-Pan American |
21 |
| 8 |
Bakersfield |
19 |
| 9 |
Chicago State |
8 |