CEDAR CITY, Utah - The No. 19 Southern Utah men's cross country team will be in Louisville, Kentucky this weekend for the NCAA Division I Cross Country National Championship. This marks the fourth year in a row the T-Birds have ran at Nationals.
Last Time Out
Last week the men competed at the NCAA Mountain Regionals in Logan where they placed sixth overall as a team out of the 18 competitors. After their performance, the men are one of 31 squads that have qualified for the 2017 NCAA National Championship.
Josh Collins was first to finish the 10K for the Thunderbirds at Regionals, crossing the line 13th overall for a time of 30:41.9. The Thunderbirds' second finisher was Matthew Wright placing 19th with a time of 30:46.2. Kasey Knevelbaard was third in for Southern Utah finishing 21st in 30:53.0.
Southern Utah's Mike Tate crossed the line 30th in 31:12.5 with Aidan Reed finishing 44th with a time of 31:28.4.
Collins, Wright and Knevelbaard each earned NCAA All-Mountain Region honors for their individual performances in Logan.
National Championship Preview
At the 2017 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships the Thunderbirds will face 30 other teams that were selected by the NCAA. The top two teams from each of the nine regions automatically qualified with 13 other teams chosen at-large. SUU was one of the 13 teams selected after their performance this season.
This is the fourth consecutive year the men's team has been selected to compete at the National Championship, extending the longest streak in program history.
The No. 19 men will face a number of top ranked teams in the nation including automatic qualifiers, No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 2 BYU, No. 3 Syracuse, No. 4 Portland and No. 5 Colorado. Joining the top five will be Mountain Region selections No. 8 Colorado State, No. 17 Air Force and No. 26 Utah State among others.
Last Time At Nationals
Last season the Thunderbirds ran at the National Championship course in Terre Haute, Indiana, and finished 27th in the field. Collins was the top finisher for the Thunderbirds on that day, running the 10K course in 30:36.4 to finish in 61st place overall.
George Espino was second for the Thunderbirds at the meet and Matthew Wright was third.
Words From Coach Houle
On what it means to him to make four straight trips to Nationals…..
"When you consider our history, in terms of the whole athletic department, to qualify for the National Championship one time in a career I think is huge," SUU head coach Eric Houle said. "To go four years in a row is a testimony to the direction the program is going and has been going for the last number of years."
On how beneficial it is knowing most of the team has ran at a National Championship before…..
"It's a benefit knowing we've been on the course before, we hope that the jitters and the excitement of qualifying is now behind them and now they can hopefully treat this just like another race," he said.
On what he expects out of Mike Tate's last cross country race in a SUU uniform…..
"No matter what happens on Saturday, what he has brought to the program and the institution is amazing," he said. "He has the qualities that every coach looks for in an athlete and he's given so much that, to me, I want him to go out there and have the best possible race he can have and enjoy his last season in a SUU uniform."
Follow Along
University of Louisville will host the championships on Saturday, November 18 at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park. The men's race is set to begin at 9:45 a.m. Mountain Time. The NCAA Cross Country Championship will be available to stream using FloTrack. Coverage of the championship will begin at 8:30 a.m. Mountain Time.
Follow Us
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