X-Country is first USU sport to win WAC
Even though they are just the new guys in the conference, the Aggies aren’t holding anything back.
Just a few months into its first year in the Western Athletic Conference, the Utah State men’s cross country team has already snagged the school’s first WAC title.
“I think it is a phenomal accomplishment,” Utah State Athletic Director Randy Spetman said. “This university has waited to be in the WAC for 30-something years, then to have one of our teams to immediately win a conference championship like the [cross country team] has done – it’s the icing on the cake. We’ve proved we can compete in a major conference.”
“Our goal … has been the first team to be able to win the WAC championship because we knew we we’d be the first championship, cross country always is,” cross country head coach Gregg Gensel said. “We thought we had a pretty good team so we thought we’d be able to fulfill those goals.”
But Gensel, the WAC men’s cross country coach of the year, and cross country team aren’t the only ones making a statement in the conference.
Although it didn’t come home with a title, the women’s soccer team had a strong finish in its first WAC appearance, ranking as high as second in the conference at one point in the season, before finishing tied for fifth.
The women’s volleyball team, rebounding from an injury-filled season, is now tied for second in the WAC and is looking for a way to get around the Hawai’i powerhouse.
“Our women’s soccer team – they’re on a roll,” Spetman said. “Our women’s volleyball team is doing extrememly well. We’re not postive we can get to first, we need somebody else to help us beat Hawai’i.”
Spetman said the Aggies are at the top of the conference in fall sports. Even in football, Spetman said there are still a lot of games left and if things go right, the Ags could end up winning all of them.
“I know our kids never give up,” Spetman said. “They compete at the very top level. That’s why its a great university to be at. We can compete with anybody.”
But it won’t end this fall with the close of the cross country season. There’s always going to be something else out there to work for.
“We have never been afraid of challenges,” Gensel said. “When you win, people expect you to win. That’s OK, we like that kind of a challenge. There’s no way we’re going to be able to win everything we always do, but it sure is nice to have a chance to win every time you go to a championship.”
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu