Women finish second, men third at WAC championships
The Western Athletic Conference witnessed things play out a little differently than previously anticipated at the conference’s cross country championship race held Saturday in Moscow, Idaho. Utah State’s men, who had been favored to walk away with it all, finished in third place after a close race amid a tight field of competitors. Utah State’s women ran to a strong second place performance behind pre-race favorite Idaho, and ahead of last year’s champion, New Mexico State. The women had been picked to finish third.
“The women had their best race of the year,” head coach Gregg Gensel said. “They came together as a team and beat last year’s defending champions. As a team, you want to improve each year. As you run you have a tendency to not reach or reach your potential. They worked closely together and reached their potential.”
The top finisher for the Aggies, sophomore Ruth Hilton, placed fifth with a time of 17 minutes, 50.84 seconds, earning first team all-WAC honors.
“Personally, I hoped to do a little better, especially after coming back from an injury last year,” Hilton said. “I feel like I have improved over the year though, even though I didn’t really start the season as a standout.”
Finishing behind Hilton for the Aggies was sophomore Kaylee Campbell in 13th place with a time of 18:11.56, good for second team all-WAC honors.
Hilton said, “We hoped we could’ve done a little better, but overall, we thought we did pretty good.”
Boise State University took home the men’s conference title after finishing with 57 total points. New Mexico State University was close behind, managing to squeak past Utah State by just one point with 66 to USU’s 67.
Although placing third may come as a let down to the Aggies, who have enjoyed a commanding five straight Conference Championships, the boys in blue and white still ran impressively. Their average time for the eight-kilometer (4.97 miles) course was fastest among all the teams at 25:15.30. Boise State and New Mexico State averaged 25:16.55 and 25:24.61, respectively.
“We ran good, we just didn’t run good enough,” Gensel said. “You’d like to think you can win it all the time, but we all know that’s impossible. I’m proud of our kids because they handled it well. They did what they thought they could do. It will motivate us for the future.”
Senior Brian McKenna led the way for the Aggie men, as he has all season, finishing close on the heels of Fresno State individual champion Olivier Collin with a time of 24:27.45. McKenna garnered first team all-WAC honors, along with teammate Daniel Howell, who finished in fifth place with a time of 24:43.83. Also earning all-conference accolades was sophomore Aaron Clements, who placed 13th in 25:17.99.
Despite the close finish, McKenna looked to the horizon instead of remaining on the past.
“It’s good to have some strong competitors in the WAC to help us raise the bar a little bit,” McKenna said. “We came out to perform. You’ve got to give credit to the guys who outperformed us.”
Cross Country races are scored based on the placement of the top five runners from each team. First place scores, one point, fifth place scores five points, and so on. Therefore, in order for a team to do well, each of the top runners must run a solid race and place well, instead of having one runner excel while the other four scoring runners don’t run as well. For example, Fresno State freshman standout Collin was the individual Conference Champion with a time of 24:34, but the Bulldogs placed fourth as a team because their fourth and fifth runners placed 28th and 34th.
Conversely, on the women’s side, the Aggies placed ahead of third place New Mexico State, which had three runners place in the top ten, as opposed to Utah State’s one. However, Utah State’s fifth woman, sophomore Stephanie Burt, placed 20th, well ahead of New Mexico State’s fifth woman, Madelyn Stoltze, who placed 34th, giving Utah State the edge.
With the conference championships in the rear-view, the team will rest up this week before heading to compete in the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships hosted by the University of Utah on Nov. 13. The Aggies will attempt to qualify for the National Championship in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 22.
“I told the kids, focus on the positive, and get motivated for the next big race, which just happens to be regionals,” Gensel said.
The Aggies are sure to be looking for a rematch as New Mexico State will join them in Salt Lake. The other members of the WAC will run in either the Western Regional or South Central Regional. In order to qualify for nationals a team must place in the top two at regionals or qualify for an at-large bid based on their performance.
– michael.d.rees@aggiemail.usu.edu
RESULTS –
Men’s team results
1. Boise State – 57
2. New Mexico St. – 66
3. Utah State – 67
4. Fresno State – 119
5. Idaho – 136
6. San Jose St. – 189
7. Louisiana Tech – 195
USU men’s finishers
2. Brian McKenna – 24:37.45
5. Daniel Howell – 24:43
13. Clements, Aaron – 25:17.99
22. Nelson, Hunter – 25:47.59
25. Atkinson, Steve – 25:49.62
27. Larson, Eric – 25:54.39
29. McKenna, Kyle – 26:09.37
32. Lopez, Chio – 26:27.02
36. Barton, Jacob – 26:43.48
Women’s team results
1. Idaho – 48
2. Utah State – 69
3. New Mexico St. – 75
4. Boise State – 89
5. Fresno State – 129
6. Nevada – 140
7. Hawai`i – 182
8. San Jose St. – 226
9. Louisiana Tech – 286
USU’s women finishers
5. Ruth Hilton – 17:50.84
13. Kaylee Campbell – 18:11.56
15. Jessie Chugg – 18:13.59
16. Alex Litzsinger – 18:16.94
20. Stephanie Burt – 18:21.43
23. Kim Quinn – 18:29.92 23
24. Alicia Wilkins – 18:34.93
29. Ashley Robison – 18:45.26
41. Hannah Williams – 19:03.33