The road to Nationals is here for USU cross country teams
A trip to the NCAA National Championship meet is at stake for the Utah State men’s and women’s cross country teams as the Aggies will compete in the Mountain Regional meet on Saturday in Albuquerque, N.M.
The women’s race is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., with the men set to take the starting line at 11:15 a.m. Both races will take place on the University of New Mexico North Golf Course.
With their seasons hanging in the balance, the Aggie men and women feel they have something to prove.
“In the aspect of having to prove something, we need to [prove ourselves], even more so than [the] Big West [meet],” said junior Mike Nielson. “We feel like we have a lot to prove. We’re ranked seventh in our region, and we want to do better than expected.”
Nielson and women’s runner Melanie Marek said they felt both squads didn’t do as well as they were capable of doing at last year’s regional meet – giving both teams even more incentive to do well.
“I’m very excited for Regionals,” Marek said. “Last year it was at BYU, and I was a little bit disappointed with our team’s performance, so I think this year we’re excited [and] ready to go prove something different this year.”
If the Aggies want to prove they deserve a chance at going to Nationals, they will have to do it in arguably the toughest region in the country.
Six of the top 15 men’s teams in the Mondo National Poll are in the Mountain Region, including in-state teams BYU (No. 11) and Weber State University (No. 13). The University of Colorado (No. 3) is the top-ranked men’s team in the region, and won Nationals a year ago.
On the women’s side, three of the top 10 teams in the country are in the Mountain Region, including defending National Champion and current No. 1 BYU.
In order for the Aggies to automatically qualify for Nationals, they will have to finish either first or second. The top two teams from all nine regions will receive automatic bids. However, there are 14 at-large bids up for grabs, and Nielson said this is what the Aggies will be shooting for.
“That’s our goal, is to get an at-large bid,” he said. “To tell you the truth, not to not be competitive, but we’re not looking for that first or second spot. We’re looking to be competitive, and take one of those spots that’s going to go [to Nationals].”
Nielson said he feels to secure “one of those spots that’s going to go,” USU must finish in the top five or six. Given the strength of the region, he said he is certain the top five teams will go to Nationals, and the sixth-place finisher probably will as well.
To do this, the Aggie men will have to break seed, as they are ranked No. 7 in the region, and No. 26 in the nation.
Like the USU men, Marek said she feels the Aggie women’s team is peaking at the right time. If sophomore Lida Clapier will be able to run at full strength, the Aggie women will be bolstered even more.
“Our training is definitely showing that we’re peaking, and we’re all running faster at practice,” Marek said. “I know that the field is really competitive, but we should do really well, though. We’re prepared.”
While Nielson said he feels the Aggie men continue to improve as a team, USU will need its best team effort of the season to accomplish its goal of qualifying for Nationals.
“We’re going to have to raise the bar a little bit,” he said. “We’re going to have to go out maybe just a little bit quicker, and we’re going to have to finish faster. When it’s all said and done, we’re just going to have to run faster, and that’s the bottom line.”
Nielson said he considers Colorado’s Jorge Torres and BYU’s Kip Kangogo to be the top contenders for the men’s individual title. Torres, who is a three-time All-American, finished first at Regionals last season, while Kangogo has yet to lose a race this season.
On the women’s side, Colorado’s Molly Austin and Northern Arizona’s Ida Nilsson are the top two returning women from a year ago. Austin finished third, with Nilsson coming in fourth.
-jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu