THIS WEEK IN THE WAC
Saturday, September 20
Bakersfield at The Mustang Challenge Santa Clarita, Calif.
Grand Canyon at The Mustang Challenege Santa Clarita, Calif.
New Mexico State at Kachina Classic Las Cruces, N.M.
Seattle U at Sundog Invitational West Seattle, Wash.
UTPA at Texas Lutheran Univ. Invitational College Station, Texas
Utah Valley at UNLV Invitational Las Vegas, Nevada
WEEK 1 RESULTS
Friday, September 12
CSU at Bradley Intercollegiate MWON2-3, WWON3-3
UMKC at Forest Park XC Festival M4th/11, W5th/13
Saturday, September 13
Utah Valley at UC Riverside Invitational M6th/19, W1st/13
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK, Sept. 9-15
Missouri-Kansas City’s Courtney Frerichs and Utah Valley’s Tyson Lambert have been named the Western Athletic Conference men’s and women’s Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 9-15.
Frerichs, a senior from Nixa, Mo. (Nixa HS), competed for the first time this season at the Forest Park XC Festival 5k where she finished first with a time of 16:55, while the second place opponent came in finishing at 17:20. Frerichs not only set a new UMKC school record for the ‘Roos but was selected for the Division I female USTFCCCA’s National Athlete of the Week. The award seeks to highlight not only the very best times, marks and scores on a week-to-week basis, but also performances that were significant on the national landscape and/or the latest in a series of strong outings. Quality of competition, suspenseful finishes and other factors will also play a role in the decision.
Lambert, a redshirt freshman from Grantsville, Utah (Stansbury HS), led the Wolverine men at the UC Riverside Invitational by taking 23rd overall in the 8k race with a time of 24:52.3. The race marked the second straight meet that Lambert led Utah Valley as he placed eighth at the USU Invitational two weeks ago. With his 23rd-place finish, Lambert helped the Wolverines take sixth out of 29 teams.
Other Women’s Nominees: Utah Valley… Junior Darian Sharp helped her UVU women’s squad win the 2014 UC Riverside Invitational by pacing the Wolverines with a 12th-place finish in the 6k race with a time of 21:27.7… Chicago State… Senior Oslyn Collins finished 17th in the women’s three-mile race to guide the CSU women at a time of 19:29.6.
Other Men’s Nominees: Missouri-Kansas City… Junior Kolton Sheldon set a personal record for this season in the 6k with this weekend’s time of 18:46 which is a minute faster than his previous race at the Bob Timmons Classic… Chicago State… Sophomore Charles Blackhawk placed 11th at the Bradley Intercollegiate last weekend with a time of 25:57.7 to help the Cougars finish third in the 8k race.
TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners
Bakersfield’s sophomore LaShya Morgan led the ‘Runners for the seventh straight competition dating back to her first collegiate race in 2013… Morgan finished the 4k Fresno State Invitational in 27th place overall with a time of 16:02.8… all of Bakersfield’s scoring five finished in the top-40 out of 66 runners… freshman Angel Valdez finished second for the ‘Runners in 32nd place with a time of 16:22.2… while the ‘Runners struggled to keep pace with the top teams, Bakersfield’s overall result was positive finishing fifth among the five NCAA Division I teams and fifth overall in a field of eight squads… Bakersfield continues their season in Santa Clarita, Calif. at the Mustang Challenge on Sept. 20.
Chicago State Cougars
The Cougars competed very well this weekend at the Bradley Intercollegiate with the women winning three of three duals and the men winning two of their three duals… Chicago State competed against Bradley, Eastern Illinois, and Western Illinois and scored each as separate dual meets… senior Oslyn Collins led the women’s team finishing 17th in the women’s three-mile race with a time of 19:29.6… on the men’s side, sophomore Charles Blackhawk helped the Cougars finish third in the 8k race after finishing 11th overall with a time of 25:57.7… the Cougars will be idle from competition until Sept. 26 when they travel to Warrenville, Ill. for the College of DuPage Invite.
Grand Canyon Lopes
Grand Canyon opened their 2014 season last weekend at the George Kyte Invitational in Flagstaff, Ariz…. The women’s team finished fourth in the meet, but improved on their average pace from last season at the George Kyte Classic… junior Kelsi Klotter paced the team, earning 14th in the meet with a time of 16:23.5…not far behind her teammate was freshman Mariah Montoya who placed 16th overall with a time of 16:32.2… rounding out the top-20 were Paige Momerak (16:43.6), Kendra Altman (16:45.8) and Lacey Peterson (16:46.2) to place 18th through 20th, respectively…the men’s team earned a fourth place finish in the race… senior Tyler Vandyke led the team with a time of 23:32.4 to place 11th overall, while senior Brandon Kocmoud earned a 13th place finish with a time of 23:49.4… teammate Mathew Jackson also posted a top-20 finish in his first meet with the Lopes finishing 19th overall with a time of 24:34.5. The Lopes compete again at the Mustang Challenge in Santa Clarita, Calif. on Sept. 20.
Kansas City Kangaroos
The UMKC Cross Country team finished in the top five with their debut in the Forest Park XC Festival on Friday… the women’s team came in fifth out of the thirteen teams that competed in the 5k race… senior Courtney Frerichs represented the ‘Roos most exceptionally in the event, placing first with a school record time of 16:55… also contributing points were Sarah Fogarty (18th), Chandler Carreon (21st), and Kelly Carpenter (28th)… leading the pack for the men was the junior from Raytown, Mo., Kolton Sheldon finishing sixth overall with a time of 18:46 in the 6k… freshman Jason Fambrough recorded a time of 19:29, crossing the finish line at 13th place, while senior Alex Nail finished 19th… the Kansas City men finished fourth out of the eleven teams… the UMKC cross country teams will travel to St. Paul, Minn., to compete in the 29th Annual Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, Sep. 27 with the University of Minnesota.
New Mexico State Aggies
The New Mexico State cross country team saw success at the UNM Lobo Invitational on Sat., Sept. 6… in the 5k meet, senior Diana Hawk led the women’s team to a second place finish with a personal best time of 18:49.81 at seventh place overall… freshman runner Crissey Amberg followed Hawk’s lead for the team, finishing 14th overall with a time of 19:42.19… senior Megan McNally finished 17th overall… the men’s team was led by Hab Rubio who also completed a personal best time of 15:30.60 placing sixth overall… senior Nathan Starr followed Rubio for the Aggies with a time of 15:53.54… freshman runners Jerme Santistevan and Tyler Forde placed 17th and 19th overall… the Aggies will host the Kachina Classic on Sat., Sept. 20.
Seattle University Redhawks
The Seattle University cross country opened the 2014 season on Aug. 29 with the UW/SU Open at Magnuson Park in Seattle ... the Seattle University women’s cross country team was able to slide past Washington, 26-29 … sophomore Lila Rice led the Redhawks with a fourth place finish posting a time of 16:58.76 over the three-mile course. ... junior Emily Hedberg also earned a top-10 finish, crossing the finish line in ninth place overall with a time of 17:47.90 ... despite losing on the scoreboard to Washington, the Seattle University men’s cross country team put together a strong performance at the season-opener … junior Gus Arroyo finished fifth with a time of 22:19.10 over the 4.5-mile course which is1:45 faster than the mark he posted at this event two years ago ... redshirt junior Baxter Arguinchona also earned a top-20 performance, crossing the finish line in 19th place with a time of 23:09.42 ... the Redhawks have a week break before they compete Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Sundodger Invitational, hosted by the University of Washington at Lincoln Park in West Seattle.
Texas-Pan American Broncs
The UTPA men’s and women’s cross country kicked off the season at the RGV Relays Friday Aug. 20 where they ran against Texas A&M-University Corpus Christi ... junior Jose Juan Wells and graduate student Luis Serrano led the Broncs finishing in second and third respectively ... Wells posted a time of 15:30 in the 5K while Serrano finished with a time of 15:37 ... the Broncs had seven men make their collegiate cross country debuts at the RGV Relays: David Montalvo, Rick Montero, Ricardo Granados, Leo Dominguez, Mario Guerrero, Martin Perez and Miguel Garza ... on the women’s side the Broncs competed in a 3k race to kick off their season … Jennifer Zapata, Alexandria Munoz, Teresa Sova and Roxanna Vidaurri each made their collegiate cross country debuts ... the UTPA cross country teams head to College Station, Texas for the Texas A&M Invitational on Saturday Sept. 20.
Utah Valley Wolverines
The Utah Valley University women’s cross country team won the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday morning while the men’s team posted a sixth-place finish... junior Darian Sharp led the way for the second consecutive meet for the Wolverine women by placing 12th overall in the 6K race with a time of 21:27.70… freshman McKayla Morgan was right behind her as she crossed the finish line in 14th with a time of 21:31.80 while fellow freshman Makayla Stepp also posted a top-20 finish by taking 19th (21:45.30)… on the men’s side redshirt freshman Tyson Lambert paced the UVU men with a 23rd-place finish (24:52.30) while junior Trac Norris took 28th with a time of 24:55.10… juniors Chris Brower and Seth Gutzwiller were next as they placed 39th and 43rd, respectively, with times of 25:09.50 and 25:16.10… the Wolverines will return to action next weekend when they’ll head to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the UNLV Invitational on Sept. 20.
THIS WEEK IN WAC CROSS COUNTRY
Missouri Kansas City’s senior, Courtney Frerischs is awarded the USTFCCCA’s National Athlete of the Week while the Utah Valley women win the UC Riverside Invitational in California this Saturday. The Chicago State Cougars also stay competitive as the women win all three duals and the men win two of the three duals at the Bradley Intercollegiate on Friday. All of the WAC teams compete this Saturday except Chicago State and UMKC.
FRERICHS HEADLINES CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Monday afternoon its National Athletes of the Week for this past weekend of college cross country action. Of them, UMKC’s Courtney Frerichs was selected as the Division 1 female honoree.
National Athlete of the Week is an award selected and presented by the USTFCCCA Communications Staff at the beginning of each week to six collegiate cross country athletes (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions).
Nominations are open to the public. Coaches and sports information directors are encouraged to nominate their student-athletes; as are student-athletes, their families and friends, and fans of their programs.
The award seeks to highlight not only the very best times, marks and scores on a week-to-week basis, but also performances that were significant on the national landscape and/or the latest in a series of strong outings. Quality of competition, suspenseful finishes and other factors will also play a role in the decision.
UTAH VALLEY EARNS PRESEASON RECOGNITION
The Utah Valley men’s cross country team earned preseason recognition after being ranked in the top 15 of the regional rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Utah Valley appeared in the men’s Mountain Region rankings placing 14th.
The WAC Cross Country Championship will take place in Edingburg, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 1. The NCAA Division I Regional Championships will be held around the country Friday, Nov.14.
USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning team strength with current-season results in determining predicted team finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2014 WAC Cross Country Championship travels to Edinburg, Texas. This year’s championships will be hosted by the University of Texas-Pan American and will take place at the Palm View Golf Course. The Utah Valley men will look to win a second-consecutive WAC title. Idaho claimed the women’s title last season.
November 1, 2014
Location: Edinburg, Texas
Host: UTPA
Course: Palm View Golf Course
Admission: Free
NCAA REGIONALS
The 2014 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country on Friday, Nov. 14. WAC teams will be represented in four locations. The West Region will be held in Palo Alto, Calif., (Stanford). The Mountain Region will be held in Albuquerque, N.M. (New Mexico), the South Central Regional (Arkansas) will take place in Fayetteville, Ark., and the Midwest Region (Bradley) will take place in Peoria, Ill.
November 14, 2014
Great Lakes: University of Wisconsin
Mid-Atlantic: Pennsylvania State University
Midwest: Bradley University
Mountain: University of New Mexico
Northeast: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
South: Florida State University
South Central: University of Arkansas
Southeast: University of Louisville
West: Stanford University
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS – The 2014 Cross Country National Championships will take place in Terre Haute, Ind. The race will take place at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.
November 22, 2014
Wabash Valley Family Sports Center
599 S. Tabortown Rd.
Terre Haute IN 47803 USA
Phone: 812-877-1388