The SUU cross-country teams are in Albuquerque, New Mexico preparing to run against a virtual who's who in running at the NCAA Mountain Region Cross Country Championships. The Championship will take place at the UNM North Golf Course in Albuquerque. The women's 6K race will begin at noon (MT), while the men's 10K will follow at 1:00 p.m. Results are scheduled to be posted on LiveRunningResults.com.
“This Mountain Region Championship is the first round towards the NCAA National Championship and it will determine whether the season ends on Saturday or continues,” said Head Coach Eric Houle. There are nine Regional Championship meets going on at the same time around the country this weekend. All 310 Division 1 cross-country teams will be competing for one of 31 spots at the national championship.
SUU's Houle added, “With the Mountain Region being one of the toughest regions in the country we will need to be at our best! We are looking for a top-five finish, which should propel SUU into the national championship meet.
A total of 10 nationally-ranked teams reside in the Mountain Region – including the nation's top-ranked squads for both the men (Colorado) and women (New Mexico). The men's field also features No. 3 BYU, No. 11 UTEP, No. 21 Air Force and No. 25 Colorado State, while the women's lineup includes No. 2 Colorado, No. 20 Utah, No. 24 BYU and No. 25 Weber State. In addition, Southern Utah is receiving votes in the men's national standings.
SUU Assistance Distance Coach Paul Limpf said, “The way that workouts have looked and the way we looked at conference (men won the conference title) I think we have a team that is ready to run on Friday, put forth their best effort and try to show the Mountain Region they are ready to roll and make another trip to nationals.”
Hayden Hawks, one of men's top runners said, “We've set a goal at the beginning of the season to be one of the top two, and our goal is to get top two because that's an automatic qualifier for nationals.”
Women's team runner Angie Nickerson is excited about the race because she and her teammates have been enjoying some great training since their Big Sky Conference race. “I've been doing well in the workouts and I know that I can stay strong mentally” said Nickerson. “I don't know if I will qualify for the nationals individually but that is definitely the goal.”
Limpf continued, “We've felt confident all year that we are a top three team in the region and that's what we are going to go for.” The regional championship meet serves as the primary feeder to the upcoming NCAA Cross Country Championships. The top two teams from each of the nine regional championship sites – West, Mountain, Midwest, South Central, Great Lakes, South, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast – as well as the top four individuals not on an advancing team, will receive an automatic berth to the national meet. The remainder of the teams and individuals are chosen on at at-large basis.
Hawks added, “We've had some really good workouts over the last two weeks and we enter this race very confident, but we also know it's going to be hard. You know, every race is tough and if you go into it with that mindset then you are ready no matter what.”
“Coach Houle, watching the guy, from my experience, he is a genius,” said Limpf as he talked about why he thinks the teams will do well.” He said, “Watching him (Houle) every year we peak at the right time, and I think it's because he knows how to peak athletes.”
