Aggie XC shows well at conference meet
Aggie cross country ran their way to second and third-place results in the Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 29 in Albuquerque.
The No. 28 ranked Aggie women recorded their best-ever placing at the conference championships as they finished second overall, upsetting No. 12 Colorado State by two points. Senior Katie Haviland led Utah State, finishing 10th overall. Her teammates put together a late surge to move up several spots at the end of the race.
“The women have all had a chip on our shoulders since Colorado State beat us at the conference meet last year,” Haviland said. “They are a really good team, so to be able to beat them today, especially in the last K of the race is really exciting, and shows how tough our ladies are. Being able to move up that many spots at the end of the race takes a lot of grit and heart.”
Haviland and senior Mica Rivera picked up Mountain West Second-Team All-Conference honors.
The scoring runners for the Aggies were Haviland in 10th with a time of 20:05.1; Rivera in 12th with a time of 20:07.7; sophomore Morgan French in 16th with a time of 20:22.7; junior Abby Jensen in 20:34.0; and junior Bailey Brinkerhoff in 21st with a time of 20:34.5.
This finish passes a third-place result in 2017 as the best result for the women’s team at the championships, a good omen for this year’s team as the 2017 squad went on to record the program’s first-ever appearance at the NCAA Championships.
“To be able to make school history is very exciting, especially when I have so much respect for the 2017 team, which was really the last group of women to make such big, historic steps like we are doing now. It gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the season, and I have a feeling we are going to keep making history,” Haviland said.
The No. 21 ranked Aggie men snuck past No. 19 Colorado State by one point for a third-place finish. The men’s team was hoping for a better result, but No. 23 Boise State upset the Aggies to take second-place by 15 points.
“The men had a rough day,” head coach Artie Gulden said. “We had some guys run really well, but overall, we didn’t put it together as a team. We will regroup and get ready for two weeks from now.”
The Aggies’ Chase Leach was their best male runner at the meet. He finished 12th overall and along with his performance throughout the season he was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year.
“Around 5K into the race, I worked my way up toward the front group and just tried to hang on. I wasn’t thinking about the award before the race, but I was pretty surprised when coach Gulden told me I would be receiving it. Obviously, it’s great to get, but I am just trying to help the team in any way I can,” Leach said.
He also picked up Mountain West Second-Team All-Conference honors along with teammate senior Caleb Garnica.
The scoring runners for the Aggies were Leach in 12th with a time of 23:50.2; Garnica in 14th with a time of 23:54.1; senior Darren Harman in 15th with a time of 24:01.1; senior Mark Crandall in 18th with a time of 24:05.2; and graduate senior Connor Weaver in 24th with a time of 24:16.7.
Utah State is back in action on Friday, Nov 12. at the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships at Timpanogos Golf Club in Provo, Utah.