WEEK 2 RESULTS
Friday, September 6
Chicago State at Bradley Invitational M-2nd/2, W-2nd/2
Saturday, September 7
Texas-Pan American at Concordia Lutheran Invite M-2nd/4, W-3rd/4
Grand Canyon at George Kyle Invitational M-4th/4, W-4th/4
New Mexico State at Lobo Invitational M-3rd/3, W-1st/3
WEEK 3 SCHEDULE
Friday, September 13
New Mexico State at Lori Fitzgerald Invitational Horizon City, Texas
Utah Valley at Utah Valley Invitational Orem, Utah
Saturday, September 14
Idaho at Sundodger Invitational Seattle, Wash.
Seattle U at Sundodger Invitational Seattle, Wash.
Chicago State at UW-Parkside Midwest Open Somers, Wis.
Bakersfield at Fresno Invitational Fresno, Calif.
Bold designates home meet.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK, SEPT. 2-8
Texas-Pan American’s Luis Serrano and New Mexico State’s Diana Hawk have been named the Western Athletic Conference men’s and women’s Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 2-8.
Serrano, a senior from Edinburg, TX (Edinburg North HS), finished second out of 31 runners with a time of 16:10 at the Texas Lutheran University Invitational in Seguin, Texas. His time of 16:10 in the 5K race helped lead the Broncs to a second-place finish in the five-team meet.
Hawk, a sophomore from Albuquerque, N.M. (Manzano HS), finished first overall at the Lobo Invitational with a time of 19:14. She paced the Aggies in the 5K race and led them to a team victory over rivals New Mexico and UTEP. This is the second time that Hawk has finished first overall this season in two races.
Other Men’s Nominees: Brandon Kocmoud, Grand Canyon… Nathan Starr, New Mexico State.
Other Women’s Nominees: Melissa Collins, Chicago State … Jelena Andjelkovic, Grand Canyon … Robin Galloso, Texas-Pan American.
THIS WEEK IN WAC TRACK AND FIELD
Grand Canyon and Chicago State became the last two WAC teams to make season debuts last week. The New Mexico State women won a three-team meet, defeating rivals New Mexico and UTEP, while the men finished third. Texas-Pan American saw the men’s team place second out of four teams, while the women earned a third-place finish.
This week will see six WAC team as in action. Seattle U and Idaho will become the first WAC teams to run against each other, meeting at the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle, Wash.
FOUR WAC SCHOOLS REGIONALLY RANKED
Four Western Athletic Conference squads earned preseason recognition after being ranked in the top 15 of their respective regional rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Utah Valley and New Mexico State appear in the men’s Mountain Region rankings, placing seventh and 15th, respectively. On the women’s side, Utah Valley begins the 2013 season as the 10th ranked team in the Mountain Region. Texas-Pan American came in 15th in the South Central Region.
TEAM RECAPS
Bakersfield Roadrunners
The Roadrunner women began the 2013 season on Aug. 31, with an eighth-place finish at the Mark Covert Classic in Brea, Calif. ... LaShya Morgan, a freshman from Bakersfield, Calif. (Ridgeview HS), led the Roadrunners with a 38th-place finish, posting a time of 19:39.8 in her collegiate debut ... the freshman’s time is the second-best time amongst active runners for CSUB ... fellow freshman Tori Blackmon finished 71st, with a time of 21:08.4 ... CSUB had the week off, and will travel just a few hours north for the Fresno Invitational on Saturday, hosted by Fresno City College at 8:30 a.m. at Woodward Park.
Chicago State Cougars
Chicago State’s got its first action of the season last Friday, as both teams fell to Bradley and Butler in a three-team dual meet ... the men fell 40-15 to Butler and 50-15 to Bradley, while the women fell to Bradley 50-15 and Butler 48-15, in the event held at Detweiller Park ... junior Melissa Collins ran the three-mile course in 18:06 ... her time set a new Chicago State school record for a three-mile event ... junior DeShaunte Lewis led the Cougar men with a time of 21:59 in the four-mile event ... Chicago State will be in action on Saturday at the UW-Parkside Midwest Open in Somers, Wisc.
Grand Canyon ‘Lopes
The Grand Canyon University men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the 2013 schedule at the George Kyte Classic in Flagstaff, Ariz. on Sept. 7 ... both teams finished in fourth place, running against Arizona, Arizona State and Northern Arizona ... both the men and women raced against nationally-ranked opponents, as the NAU men are ranked No. 2 and the Arizona women are ranked No. 7 ... GCU had three women post sub-20 minute times in the women’s 5k race, while the men had three sub-30 minute times in the 8k race … junior Brandon Kocmoud posted a time of 27:48.0 in the men’s race, leading the ‘Lopes ... senior Jelena Andjelkovic led the women with a 19:09.0 mark in the women’s 5k event ...
the Antelopes will be off this week ... the ‘Lopes will be in action next when they travel to Tucson, Ariz. for the Dave Murray Invitational, hosted by Arizona, on Sept. 20.
Idaho Vandals
A squad of primarily newcomers and freshman opened up the 2013 season for the Idaho Vandals on Aug.31 at the Clash of the Inland Northwest ... the Vandal women’s team finished the day in second, while the men took third … returning sophomore Halie Raudenbush led the way for the Idaho women with a first-place overall finish in 14:20.0 followed by senior Holly (Stanton) Browning (9th, 14:48.0) and sophomore Stephanie Rexus (15:01.0) … for the Vandal men, junior transfer Cody Helbling set the pace with a time of 19:04.00 to finish 12th overall ... he was followed closely by freshman Nicholas Boersma, who finished in 15th with a time of 19:11.0 ... fresh off a bye weekend, the Vandals will travel to Seattle, Wash., for the Sundodger Invitational on Saturday.
Kansas City Kangaroos
The ‘Roos opened the season at the Bob Timmons Classic on Aug. 31, falling in both the men’s and women’s dual format to Kansas ... the Kansas City women were led by Smithville, Mo. native Katie Tuck, who finished third with a time of 19:31.27 ... Kelly Carpenter earned eight points with a time of 19:52.93 ... Kaitlyn Stryczek finished third on the team with a time 20:04.86 ... the ‘Roo men were paced by Bryce Miller‘s time of 19:44.66 ... Nathan Keown and James Barnett came in at times of 20:03.93 and 20:11.59, respectively ... the UMKC cross country teams be in action again at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational, hosted by the University of Nebraska, on Sat., Sept. 21.
New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies come off a successful trip to Albuquerque, N.M., for the Lobo Invitational, on Sept. 7, where the women’s team defeated New Mexico and UTEP, and the men’s team finished third ... junior Diana Hawk looks to continue with her early-season success after finishing first overall at the Lobo Invitational, with a time of 19:14 ... the finish earned Hawk the WAC Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors ... Hawk, junior Megan McNally and senior Sarabel Bojorquez swept the top-three spots in the Lobo Invite ... junior Nathan Starr continues to lead the men’s team and paced the Aggies for the second time this season and finished 11th overall ... in his Aggie debut, junior Hab Rubio finished 12th overall this weekend ... the Aggies travel to El Paso, Texas, for the Lori Fitzgerald Invitational on Friday.
Seattle University Redhawks
The Seattle University cross country opened the 2013 season on Aug. 30 with the UW/SU Open at Magnuson Park in Seattle ... many of the Seattle U women put together strong performances, including senior Hannah Mittelstaedt, who finished second overall with a time of 17:07.35 over the three-mile course. ... the next Redhawk to cross the finish line was junior Sophie Curatilo in 11th place in 17:20.09 ... several members of the Seattle U men’s team did not compete in the opener for a variety of reasons ... sophomore Nathan McLaughlin finished as the Redhawks’ top runner, crossing the finish line in 11th place overall with a time of 22:44.93.... the Seattle U cross country team will next compete at the UW Sundodger Invitational on Saturday at Lincoln Park in West Seattle.
Texas-Pan American Broncs
The UTPA men’s and women’s cross country travelled to Seguin, Texas, for the Texas Lutheran University Invitational on Sept. 7 ... at the five-team meet, the men placed second and the women took third ... senior Luis Serrano finished second out of 31 runners with a time of 16:10 in the 5k race, earning WAC Athlete of the Week honors for his effort ... senior Robin Galloso Recorded a seventh-place finish out of 45 runners with a time of 19:34 in the 5k race, pacing the UPTA women ... the Broncs will be off this week ... UTPA will be in action again on Sept. 20, at the UTSA Ricardo Romo Classic in San Antonio, Texas.
Utah Valley Wolverines
Utah Valley opened the season on Aug. 31 at the Utah State Invitational, with both squads placing second ... Utah State won with 24 points to UVU’s 32 in the dual on the men’s side, and earned a 24-45 victory over the UVU women ... sophomores Jason Lynch and Bridget Hazel each recorded second-place finishes for the Wolverines ... Lynch was named WAC Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week after running a time of 20:55.92 on the four-mile course ... Hazel (19.37.80) edged out UVU teammate Ivie Gonsalves (19.38.04), who is redshirting and ran unattached, by just 24-hundredths of a second to finish in second ... Utah Valley will run again on Friday, when it hosts the Utah Valley Invitational.