OGDEN, Utah — The Southern Utah University men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Big Sky Conference Championships at Riverside Golf Course in Ogden, Utah as the men's team finished second and the women's team finished fourth.

Three nationally ranked teams competed in today's race in NAU's men's and women's teams along with the men's Thunderbird team.

The men's team finished second with Mike Tate leading the way, finishing in fourth place overall on the 8K course with a time of 24:08.0. Finishing right behind Tate was Matthew Wright who finished with a time of 24:08.7 for a fifth place finish. The third Thunderbird finisher was Josh Collins who finished with a time of 24:26 to secure the seventh overall spot.

Kasey Knevelbaard was SUU's fourth finisher, ending with a time of 24:31 for a ninth place finish.

Tate, Wright, Collins, and Knevelbaard received All-Conference recognition for their performances at the Championships.

George Espino followed Knevelbaard, ending 11th with a time of 24:38. Aidan Reed finished sixth for SUU and 12th overall with a time of 24:51 as Christian Ricketts was SUU's seventh finisher with a time of 25:06. Nate Overstock rounded out the field for the T-Birds finishing with a time of 25:21.

"NAU is deserving of their ranking, and they had to bring everything. We were a whisker away," head coach Eric Houle said. "There is respect between both programs. Our guys were competing against the number one team in the country, and to come in and bring a lot of energy to this competition speaks volumes."

Following the first place finish by NAU (24) and a second place finish by SUU (36), Weber State (82) came in third and Idaho (123) came in fourth.

"We were hoping for a little bit better, but we still had a solid performance. Overall, we feel pretty good about it," Wright said. "I felt like I had plenty in the tank and I could have just kept going. It felt really great."

The women's team was led by sophomore Maddy Kauffman, who finished first for the T-Birds and fifth overall with a time of 17:37.
Kauffman earned All-Conference honors.

Sophomore Emma Amundsen was SUU's second finisher, running the course in 17:57 to finish in 15th place overall. Senior Ashley Tyndall was third for SUU with a time of 18:08, and freshman Madison Fruchey ended with a time of 18:11 to finish fourth for SUU.

Sophomore Morgan Porcaro finished fifth for the Thunderbirds with a time of 18:24 and sophomore Julieta Navarrete-Lamas finished sixth for SUU, crossing the line at 18:52. Sophomore Morgan Taylor rounded out the Thunderbirds, finishing with a 19:40.

"Outside of a couple places, to be able to come in and place in the top-5, I feel really pleased with how the women performed," Houle said. "They feel good about it, I feel good about it, and we did what we set out to do."

Northern Arizona completed a sweep of the Big Sky by claiming the women's title. NAU (51) was followed by Montana State (83) in second, Idaho (95) in third, and a fourth place finish by Southern Utah (100).

"Everyone was consistent. We felt like we could have done better, so that's excited for regionals. We have some work to do," Kauffman said. "I had a lot of energy, and I was able to push it."

Next up for the Thunderbirds will be the NCAA Mountain Regionals, which will be ran in Logan, Utah, on November 10.

"We're the underdogs, so I'm excited to go out there (to regionals) and give it our best," Kauffman said.

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