CEDAR CITY, Utah - After a weekend at home the Thunderbirds will head back out on the road this weekend with the men's team heading to the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational and the women's team heading to the Bronco Invitational hosted by Santa Clara.

These will be the final meets before the T-Birds enter championship season, with the Big Sky Championships and the NCAA Mountain Region Championships down the road.

Last Time Out

The Thunderbirds hosted their annual Color Country Invitational over the weekend, which resulted in a sweep for the T-Birds as both the men's and women's teams won their respective races.

Sharlie Dimick led the way for the Thunderbirds on the women's side with her first career first place finish for the team. She said the team appreciated being able to run on their home course, and felt it was a good team bonding event for the squad.

“It was really nice,” she said. “The weather was beautiful, and it's a tough course. It's not horrible, and it's not as bad for us but I think other schools complain about the elevation and the hills, but it was good. It was good to have more than just eight or nine girls race, we had all of the team there so it was fun to have everyone there, warm up with everyone and cheer each other on.”

On the men's side Kasey Knevelbaard continued his impressive season with another first place finish, tallying four for the Thunderbirds this season.

Wisconsin Preview

The Thunderbird men's team will be making their first trip to Madison, Wisconsin, to compete in the 2016 Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.

The meet will feature several of the very best teams the NCAA has to offer on the men's side.

The field features 19 of the Top-30 teams in the USTFCCCA Poll, including No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 2 Syracuse and No. 3 Brigham Young University.

Knevelbaard said he is really looking forward to the challenge and hopes the Thunderbirds will be able to make a large impact in Madison.

“It's going to be a big meet for us,” he said. “It's going to be a big meet to determine where we're going to be nationally ranked and if we have enough points to get to Nationals based on that. We have a very young team. We're traveling nine guys, taking one junior and everyone else is an underclassman, so we have a lot of talent and a lot of potential.”

SUU head coach Eric Houle said he is anxious to see what the team will be able to accomplish at such a big meet.

“If we can break into the top-15 that will probably push us into the National Championship as a team, so that's the hope,” he said.

This is the eighth year of the Wisconsin Invitational, and the men's race is set to be 8K in length. The meet will take place at the Thomas Zimmerman Championship Cross Country Course.  

A livestream of the meet will be available on FloTrack.

Santa Clara Preview

The women's team will be traveling back to California this weekend, as they are set to run in the Bronco Invitational hosted by Santa Clara.

The last time the T-Birds were in the Golden State they finished second at the Capital Cross Challenge in Sacramento.

Dimick said there are a few things the team needs to do to carry over the success from the big performance in Sacramento.

“We just need to be confident,” she said. “Have a good start, have a good finish, and just know that we can place really well and just push each other.”

The women's race in Sunnyvale will take place at Baylands Regional Park, and will be a 6K distance.

Houle said he expects to see the women's team step up once again this weekend.

“I believe what we gained from Sacramento was a confidence boost for the team, and I think Santa Clara will equally do that,” he said.

National Rankings

Men's Team: Receiving Votes in the USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll

Regional Rankings

Men's Team: No. 6 in the Mountain Region

Women's Team: No. 13 in the Mountain Region

Athletes of the Week

Big Sky Conference Athletes of the Week:

Week 1: Kasey Knevelbaard (1st @ Sagebrush Invitational)

Week 3: Kasey Knevelbaard (9th @ Roy Griak)

Week 4: Kasey Knevelbaard (12th @ Notre Dame)

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