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ON TAP
Half of the WAC will be in action this week as just three weeks remain until the 2016 WAC Championship in Seattle. Chicago State is the only team that will leave its state as the Cougars head north for the UW-Parkside Invitational in Kenosha, Wis. Grand Canyon makes the short trip to Mesa for the Thunderbird Classic, UT Rio Grande Valley heads up to San Antonio for the UIW Invitational and Utah Valley travels to Cedar City for the SUU Color Country Invitational.
REGIONALLY RANKED
The UT Rio Grande Valley women made their first even appearance in the regional rankings this week, debuting at 10th in the South Central rankings after a strong performance at the Chile Pepper Festival. The Utah Valley men dropped a spot in the Mountain rankings, despite winning the Notre Dame Invitational, and now sit at 12th while the NM State men held steady 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.
UVU's LYNCH, UTRGV'S ZAPATA NAMED RUNNERS OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley's Jason Lynch and UT Rio Grande Valley's Jennifer Zapata have been named Western Athletic Conference Male and Female Cross Country Runners of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 27 - Oct. 3.
Lynch, a senior from Sandy, Utah (Hillcrest HS), led Utah Valley to a win in the Gold Race at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, covering the 5-mile course in a time of 24:40. His fourth-place finish was the highest among the Wolverines, while it was also his third-straight top-10 finish of the year. As a team, UVU bested Clemson, Marshall and Vanderbilt, among others, to earn their first win of the season.
Zapata, a junior from Los Fresnos, Texas (Los Fresnos HS), posted a 31st-place finish at the prestigious Chile Pepper Festival to lead UTRGV to an eighth-place finish. She finished the 5000-meter course in a career-best time of 17:59.96, which is also the ninth fastest 5K time in program history. The Vaqueros performance was strong enough to get them national attention as the team is now ranked 10th in the latest USTFCCCA South Central Region rankings.
Other male nominees: Chicago State's DiJon Smith finished seventh out of 41 runners at the Greater Louisville Classic … Grand Canyon's Samuel Proctor was the top WAC finisher at the Washington Invitational, covering the 8km course in a time of 24:32 … UMKC's Nathan Keown finished 35th at the Rim Rock Invitational to lead the ‘Roos … Seattle U's Chay Weaver was the first Seattle U runner across the line at the Washington Invitational to help the Redhawks beat Grand Canyon in the team standings.
Other female nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Angel Valdez led the ‘Runners for an eighth straight race and finished 21st out of 141 runners at The Mustang Challenge … Chicago State's Vialy Garcia-Hernandez finished as the Cougars' top runner at the Greater Louisville Classic … Grand Canyon's Elizabeth Balsan ran a 21:33 on the 6k course at the Washington Invitational to lead all WAC runners … UMKC's Sarah Jaloma ran the 6k course at the Rim Rock Invitational in 23:42 to pace the ‘Roos … Seattle U's Olivia Stein nearly matched her persona best in the 6k, posting a time of 21:48.9 at the Washington Invitational … Utah Valley's McKenzie Preece notched the Wolverines' top time in a meet for the first time this year, placing 16th at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2016 WAC Cross Country Championship travels to Seattle. This year's championships will be hosted by Seattle University and will take place at Jefferson Park Golf Course. The Utah Valley men will be running for a fourth-straight WAC title while the UVU women will look to repeat as conference champions against 2014 champion and host Seattle U.
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.