Aggie harriers finish big
On a brisk autumn day, which runners called “perfect weather,” both the Utah State University men’s and women’s cross country teams placed first in Friday’s Utah State Invitational at the Logan Country Club and Golf Course.
The men’s team finished with a score of 20 points.
When Brick Bergeson crossed the finish line with a time of 23:34, he became the fourth top-Aggie finisher in a meet this year.
Bergeson, Steve Prescott and Mike Nielson all finished within a second of each other as they finished second, third and fourth respectively.
“It just shows how strong this team is,” Bergeson said. “Everyone has to perform well.”
Idaho State’s Creasy Crumrine finished first on the men’s side with a time of 23:23.
On the women’s side, Melanie McClellan took first place overall with a time of 17:49.
McClellan helped to lead the Aggie women for a final team score of 32 points in the five-team race, 20 points more than the closest opponent, Idaho State University.
USU finished second behind BYU-Idaho in the seven-team race.
“I was looking forward to this race,” McClellan said. “Last week I didn’t have a very good race. So I was kind of nervous.”
Finishing just nine seconds behind McClellan was Kristen Coombs, whose times have been impressive all year.
Coombs finished the race with a time of 17:58.
“It was fun to have a home meet and have fans cheering you on who actually knew you. The course was great, and it was a lot of fun,” Coombs said.
The men’s team, ranked 23rd in the latest national cross country rankings, are now preparing for regional and national competition.
“I definitely believe that we are one of the top 10 teams in the nation,” Bergeson said. “We want to finish second in the region behind Colorado who is ranked first nationally.”
The Aggies’ next meet will be on Oct. 27 when the team will travel to San Luis Obispo, Calif., to compete in the Big West Championships.
The meet will begin at
9 a.m.