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LIGHT WEEKEND AHEAD
Just two schools will be in action this weekend as UMKC heads across the state to St. Louis for the Forest Park XC Festival and NM State crosses the border into Texas for the Lori Fitzgerald Open in El Paso.
REGIONALLY RANKED
A trio of teams on the men's side and a lone squad on the women's side were listed in the USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Preseason Rankings, announced on Monday.
The UMKC men are ranked 14th in the Midwest region. In the Mountain region, Utah Valley opens the season ranked 11th while NM State is 15th. On the women's side, Utah Valley is ranked 13th in the Mountain region.
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 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.
UVU's LYNCH, URTGV'S MARTINEZ NAMED RUNNERS OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley's Jason Lynch and UT Rio Grande Valley's Krysta Martinez have been named Western Athletic Conference Male and Female Cross Country Runners of the Week, respectively, for Aug. 30 - Sep. 5.
Lynch, a senior from Sandy, Utah (Hillcrest HS), opened the season with a second-place finish at the Utah State Sagebrush Invitational. The reigning WAC individual champion ran a 20:58.53 to finish three seconds shy of the top spot and ahead of 48 other runners. As a team, the Wolverines took fourth against some of the nation's top programs.
Martinez, a freshman from Edcouch, Texas (Edcouch Elsa HS), made her collegiate debut at the RGV duals and placed second to lead the Vaqueros to their first-ever head-to-head victory against rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. She covered the 3,200-meter course in 11:42.96 to finish ahead of 17 other runners.
Other male nominees: Grand Canyon's Samuel Proctor was the top finisher for the Lopes with a time of 23:39.70 at the George Kyte Classic … UMKC's Marcus Johnson led the ‘Roos with a sixth-place finish at the Bob Timmons Classic … NM State's David Colmenero took third in a dual meet against Texas Tech, running a 21:03.20 … Seattle U's Joe Charbonneau ran with the lead pack before finishing eighth in a dual meet against eighth-ranked Washington.
Other female nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Angel Valdez finished ninth overall among 46 runners at the Pepperdine Invitational … Grand Canyon's Mariah Montoya took 12th at the George Kyte Classic to lead the Lopes … UMKC's Kelly Carpenter ran a 19:45.8 to take 12th in the Bob Timmons Classic 5k … NM State's Meghan Aguilera took third against Texas Tech, covering the 5k course in 18:34.90 … Seattle U's Moira O'Connor Lenth was the first Redhawk across the line in a dual-meet with Washington … Utah Valley's Savannah Berry led the Wolverines at the Sagebrush Invitational, finishing 10th among 72 runners.
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.