THIS WEEK IN THE WAC
Friday, September 5
Bakersfield at Fresno State Bulldgo Invitational Fresno, Calif.
Saturday, September 6
New Mexico State at UNM Lobo Invite Albuquerque, N.M.
Grand Canyon at George Kyte Invitational Flagstaff, Ariz.
WEEK 1 RESULTS
Friday, August 29
Texas-Pan American at RGV Relays M-2nd/2, W-2nd/2
New Mexico State at Texas Tech Invitational M-3rd/3, W-2nd/3
Seattle U at UW/SU Open M-2nd/2, W-1st/2
Saturday, August 30
Utah Valley at USU Invitational M-3rd/5, W-2nd/4
Kansas City at Bob Timmons Classic/Rim Rock NTS
Chicago State at UIC Opener PPD
Bakersfield at Mark Covert Classic W-8th/8
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK, AUG 26 - SEPT. 1
Seattle University’s Gus Arroyo and Lila Rice have been named the Western Athletic Conference men’s and women’s Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 2-8.
Arroyo, a junior from Portland, Ore. (Douglas High School), finished fifth with a time of 22:19.10 at the UW/SU Open in Seattle, Wash.. Despite losing on the scoreboard to Washington, Arroyo’s time of 22:19.10 in the 4.5 mile race led the men’s cross country team to a strong season opener.
Rice, a sophomore from Redmond, Wash. (Redmond HS), finished fourth overall at the SU/UW Open with a time of 16:58.76. The 2013 Freshman of the Year paced the Redhawks in the three mile race and led them to a team victory over the University of Washington. Her time of 16:58.76 was over a full minute faster than her time in this event last season.
Other Men’s Nominees: Utah Valley… Redshirt freshman, Tyson Lambert took eighth overall at the USU Invitational with a time of 21:17.83 in the 4.25-mile marking Lambert’s first official collegiate race.
Other Women’s Nominees: Bakersfield… Sophomore LaShya Morgan took 40th out of 94 runners at the Mark Covert Classic with a time of 19:54.20 in the 5k race… New Mexico State…Senior Diana Hawk took third overall at the TTU-NM State-UTEP Triangular with a time of 17:48.60 in the three mile race helping the team to a second place finish.
TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners
The Roadrunner women began the 2014 season on Saturday with an eighth-place finish at the Mark Covert Classic in Brea, Calif. ... LaShya Morgan, a sophomore from Bakersfield, Calif. (Ridgeview HS), led the Roadrunners with a 40th-place finish, posting a time of 19:54.2 despite being sick all week ... Megan Thompson followed Morgan with a 64th-place finish at a time of 20:36.0 ... redshirt senior Ariana Mariscal was also able to translate her success on the track at mid distances into a solid race as the sophomore lowered her time from last year's Mark Covert Classic nearly three minutes… fellow freshman Angel Valdez was Bakersfield's third fastest runner in her collegiate debut ... CSUB will continue their season this Saturday at the Fresno State Bulldog Invitational in Fresno, Calif at Woodward Park.
Chicago State Cougars
Chicago State kicked off their season at the UIC Opener in Romeoville, Ill… senior DeShaunte Lewis turned in a solid performance finishing 8th overall in a field of 34 on the muddy 5.88K men's course… Teammate DiJon Smith helped the Cougars finishing 18th overall… In the women's 4.08k the Cougars were led by senior Oslyn Collins, making her return from a 6 month recovery from a stress fracture, with an 18th-place finish out of 52 runners… Prisca Roys-Dossou also put in a strong showing with her 25th place finish after sitting out the 2013 season due to an injury rehab… The Cougars have a week break before they compete at the Bradley Intercollegiate in Peoria, Ill. On Sept.12.
Grand Canyon Lopes
The Lopes gear up for the 2014 season under the direction of second-year coach Michael Hoffmann after both teams finished seventh at the WAC Championships last year… both the men and women look to improve off their 2013 seasons and place in the top half of the conference… the women’ team top returner is junior Kelsi Klotter and the top newcomer is freshman Mariah Montoya from Mesa, Ariz.... on the men’s side, the Lopes return senior Brandon Kocmoud and Tyler Vandyke, who ran for the GCU track team last season… the men also welcome their top newcomer Mathew Jackson, a junior transfer student from Gillette Community College, and incoming freshman Chris Baker from Greeley, Colo. who should have the opportunity to be in the Lope’s top five runners… the Lopes gear up for their season opener at the George Kyte Invitational in Flagstaff, Ariz. on Saturday, Sept. 6.
Kansas City Kangaroos
The ‘Roos opened the season at the Bob Timmons Classic, falling in both the men’s and women’s dual format to Kansas ... the Kansas City women were led by Wildwood, Mo. native, Kelly Carpenter who finished fifth overall with a time of 19:36.3 .... freshman Chandler Carreon, finished 10th with a time of 20:00.3 followed by Sarah Fogarty who finished 12th with a time of 20:01.3 … the Kansas City men were led by the junior from Raytown, Mo., Kolton Sheldon placing fifth with a time of 19:50.1 ... Dirk Hudson and Griffin Humphreys came in at times 19:54.9 and 20:10.5, respectively ... the UMKC cross country teams be in action again at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival in St. Louis, Mo. on Sat., Sept. 12.
New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies opened the season at the Texas Tech Invitational in Ruidoso, N.M. ... the women’s team finished second overall as senior Diana Hawk placed third overall with a time of 17:48.60 for three miles … teammate Megan McNally finished seventh with an 18:40.60 time … freshman Crissey Amberg placed ninth against UTEP and Texas Tech with a time of 18:50.90, while sister Cassey Amberg finished 11th (18:56.30) followed by Mikayla Pulliam at 13th (19:15.70) … on the men’s side senior Hab Rubio placed 4th overall for four miles to help the men's team to a third place finish … freshman Jerme Santistevan finished seventh at a time of 21:19.30 … Nathan Starr finished 12th at 21:41.60, Tyler Forde at 14th (22:12.10) followed by Evan Bekes at 15th (22:18.20) during the Triangular this weekend … the Aggies travel to Albuquerque, N.M. on Saturday to compete in the UNM Lobo Invitational.
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 are next scheduled to 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 last Friday 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
Utah Valley opened the season on Aug. 30 at the Utah State Invitational, with both squads placing in the top three teams ... the UVU women took second at the season-opening USU Invitational with a total of 45 points on the 3.3 mile course ... junior Darian Sharp led the UVU women at the season-opening USU Invitational by taking fifth overall with a time of 19:34.38 … teammates McKayla Morgan took seventh (19:42.99), Ivie Gonsalves eighth (19:43.54), Jasmine Newbitt 11th (20:01.12) and McKenzie Snyder 14th (20:08.34) … the UVU men finished in third place at the 4.25-mile USU Invite with 53 points … redshirt freshman Tyson Lambert led the Wolverine men at the season opener by taking eighth overall with a time of 21:17.83 marking Lambert’s first official collegiate race … Seth Gutzwiller followed in 11th (21:40.21), Chris Brower 12th (21:43.41), Logan Petty 13th (21:47.71) and Rush Mills 14th (21:52.39) … both the Wolverine men and women will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 13 at the UC Riverside Invitational in Riverside, California.
THIS WEEK IN WAC CROSS COUNTRY
The 2014 WAC Cross Country season kicked off last weekend with seven teams in action. Grand Canyon does not compete until Sept. 6 where they open their season at the George Kyte Invitational in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Along with Grand Canyon's season-opener, this week we will see Bakersfield and New Mexico State continue their seasons, while the other five schools have a week long break.
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