Complete Release in PDF Format
LET'S RACE
The 2016 WAC Cross Country Championships head to Jefferson Park Golf Course in Seattle this weekend as Utah Valley will look to repeat as conference champions but not without a bit of competition from other runners. The women will open up the racing with a 5000-meter race beginning at 9 a.m., followed by the men running an 8000-meter course beginning at 10 a.m.
REGIONALLY RANKED
The USTFCCCA Regional Rankings feature a pair of teams on both the men's and women's sides in the final rankings before conference championships begin. Utah Valley slipped to 14th and NM State is 15th in the Men's Mountain rankings. The UT Rio Grande Valley women remained 10th in the South Central rankings while Utah Valley moved back into the Mountain rankings at 15th.
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.
PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLL RELEASED
The Western Athletic Conference announced its men's and women's cross country pre-championship coaches polls, as voted on by the eight head coaches in the league, who were unable to vote for their own teams. Utah Valley was selected as the favorite to win both the men's and women's championships.
On the men's side, Utah Valley will be looking for a fourth-straight WAC Championship as the clear favorite in the pre-championship poll. The Wolverines received six first-place votes and the maximum 36 points overall. UMKC was selected second with 28 points, including the remaining first-place vote. NM State and host Seattle U each received 24 points to finish in a dead heat for third place. Grand Canyon picked up 17 points and UT Rio Grande Valley with 12 points grab the fifth and sixth spots and Chicago State rounds out the poll with six points.
The Utah Valley women were also a clear favorite to earn the conference title as the Wolverine women earned six first-place votes and 48 points overall. NM State was second with 38 total points. Host Seattle U used a first-place vote to collect 33 points and edge out by Grand Canyon and UT Rio Grande Valley, who tied for fourth with 32 points. UMKC is predicted sixth with 21 points, followed by CSU Bakersfield (13) and Chicago State (7).
2016 Pre-Championship Men's Cross Country Coaches' Poll
| Rank |
Team (1st Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
Utah Valley (6) |
36 |
| 2. |
UMKC (1) |
28 |
| 3. |
NM State |
24 |
|
Seattle U |
24 |
| 5. |
Grand Canyon |
17 |
| 6. |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
12 |
| 7. |
Chicago State |
6 |
2016 Pre-Championship Women's Cross Country Coaches' Poll
| Rank |
Team (1st Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
Utah Valley (6) |
48 |
| 2. |
NM State |
38 |
| 3. |
Seattle U (1) |
33 |
| 4. |
Grand Canyon |
32 |
|
UT Rio Grande Valley (1) |
32 |
| 6. |
UMKC |
21 |
| 7. |
CSU Bakersfield |
13 |
| 8. |
Chicago State |
7 |
NCAA REGIONALS
The 2016 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country on Friday, Nov. 11. WAC teams will be represented in four locations. The West Region will be held in Sacramento, Calif. (Host: Sacramento State). The Mountain Region will be held in Logan, Utah (Host: Utah State), the South Central Regional (Host: Arkansas) will take place in Fayetteville, Ark., and the Midwest Region (Host: Iowa) will take place in Iowa City, Iowa.
November 11, 2016
Great Lakes: Madison, Wis. (Host: Wisconsin)
Mid-Atlantic: University Park, Pa. (Host: Penn State)
Midwest: Iowa City, Iowa (Host: Iowa)
Mountain: Logan, Utah (Host: Utah State)
Northeast: Bronx, N.Y. (Host: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
South: Talahassee, Fla. (Host: Florida State)
South Central: Fayetteville, Ark. (Host: Arkansas)
Southeast: Charlottesville, Va. (Host: Virginia)
West: Sacramento, Calif. (Host: Sacramento State)
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2016 Cross Country National Championships will take place in Terre Haute, Ind. and is hosted by Indiana State. The race will take place at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.