This Week in WAC Cross Country - Aug. 29
This Week in WAC Cross Country - Aug. 29
Complete Release (PDF)
STARTING BOXES
The 2018 cross country schedule begins this weekend with all but one school in action. A trio of schools will open up the slate on Friday as Chicago State travels to DeKalb, Ill. for the NIU Huskie Challenge and UT Rio Grande Valley makes the trip to College Station for the Texas A&M Aggie Opener. WAC newcomer California Baptist will race for the first time as a Division I program at home when they host the Lancer Invitational in Riverside.
On Saturday, CSU Bakersfield travels to the Fresno State Invitational, Grand Canyon heads to Flagstaff, Ariz. for the George Kyte Invitational, NM State heads north for the Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, Kansas City heads west for the Bob Timmons Classic in Lawrence, Kan. and Utah Valley hosts the UVU Invitational in Orem. Seattle U will wait one more week before opening up their season at the Sundodger Invitational on Sep. 8.
REGIONALLY RANKED
Three men's teams and one women's team were listed in the USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Preseason Rankings. The Kansas City men are ranked 15th in the Midwest region. In the Mountain region, Utah Valley opens the season ranked 11th while NM State is 14th. On the women's side, Utah Valley is ranked 15th in the Mountain region.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2018 WAC Cross Country Championships are headed to Seattle and will be hosted by Seattle U. The event will take place at Jefferson Park Golf Course. The Kansas City men look for the three-peat as champions while the NM State women will look to defend their 2017 title.
NCAA REGIONALS
The 2018 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country on Friday, Nov. 9. WAC teams will be represented in four locations. The West Region will be held in Sacramento (Host: Sacramento State), the Mountain Region will be held in Provo, Utah (Host: Brigham Young), the South Central Regional will take place in College Station, Texas (Host: Texas A&M) and the Midwest Region will take place in Peoria, Ill. (Host: Bradley).
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2018 Cross Country National Championships will take place in Madison, Wis. on Nov. 17, and is hosted by Wisconsin. The race will take place at Zimmer Championship Course.
SEVEN WAC CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS EARN USTFCCCA ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS
Seven WAC cross country squads - four women's teams and three men's teams - were recognized today as NCAA Division I All-Academic Teams by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
On the men's side, Grand Canyon, Kansas City and Utah Valley earned the honor. On the women's side, Grand Canyon, Kansas City, NM State and Utah Valley were all recipients.
In order to qualify for the honor, teams must have a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher and the squad must compete at the regional level of the NCAA Championship.
Overall, 423 teams brought home USTFCCCA All-Academic honors. Of those teams, 228 were women's programs, while 195 were men's teams.
UMKC'S MILLER, UVU'S LAMBERT NAMED USTFCCCA ALL-ACADEMIC
Kansas City's Bryce Miller and Utah Valley's Tyson Lambert have been named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic, two of just 100 men in the country, the organization announced.
In order to qualify for the honor, athletes must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and finish in the top 25 (or 10 percent) at NCAA Regionals or as an All-American in the national meet.