CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University men's and women's cross-country will compete in the WAC cross-country Championships this Friday, Oct. 27th, at Zoe Park in Abilene, Texas. The 'Birds will be fighting for the conference title as the WAC coaches poll picked SUU to finish second in the men's poll and third in the women's poll.
MEET INFORMATION
MEN'S RESULTS
WOMEN'S RESULTS
Coach Eric Houle Said
"The athletes are ready to compete. On the women's side, Sariah Hernandez and Taylor Jorgensen will lead the young women's team into this year's conference championship. On the men's side I'm hoping to perform well against the number five team in the country and be in the top three as a team."
Last Time Out
Two weeks ago, Southern Utah wrapped up their regular season schedule when the men's team placed fifth at Alabama for the Crimson Classic and the women squared off at the Bronco Invite at Santa Clara, finishing in seventh.
Leading the way for SUU once again was senior Travis Feeny, who finished in 17th with a time of 24:25.6. Close behind him in 22nd was Coleman Cragun with a time of 24:32.6 and Noah Jenkins in 26th and a time of 24:37.2.
Lanse Larsen and Jacob Peterson finished back-to-back in 45th and 46th and times of 24:54.4 and 24:55.0. Bowen Martin and Nethaneel (Ban) Taylor also finished back-to-back in 61st and 62nd with times of 25:04.6 and 25:05.0 respectively. Rounding out the competition for Southern Utah was Logan Peel in 75th and a time of 25:17.3.
In 13th place, junior Sariah Hernandez was the top finisher for the T-Birds with a time of 20:25.2, following close behind her in 24th was Taylor Jorgensen with a time of 20:53.7. Addison Dalton finished in 40th place with a time of 21:08.3 and Quinn Hagerman finished in 49th with a time of 21:25.9.
Rounding out competition for SUU was Makayla Pitcher in 94th place and a 22:04.4 finish and Madison Patrick in 148th with a time of 23:07.1.
Thunderbirds at Conference Championships
During their tenure in the Big Sky, the Thunderbirds had much success at the conference championship meet, claiming four championships and nine runner-ups during their ten years in the conference.
In their inaugural WAC Championship last season, Southern Utah finished strong with the men finishing in second place and the women finishing in fourth place. The California Baptist Lancers won the championship in both races. The 'Birds hope to continue to improve upon their success from last season.
WAC Pre-Championship Coaches Poll
On Wednesday morning, the Western Athletic Conference released their Pre-Championship Cross Country Coaches Poll. The Thunderbirds came in second for the men behind defending conference champion California Baptist and the women ranked third behind Cal Baptist and the Wolverines of Utah Valley.
2023 WAC Men's Cross Country Pre-Championship Coaches' Poll
|
Rank
|
Team
|
|
1.
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California Baptist
|
|
2.
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Southern Utah
|
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3.
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Utah Valley
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4.
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UT Arlington
|
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5.
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Grand Canyon
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2023 WAC Women's Cross Country Pre-Championship Coaches' Poll
|
Rank
|
Team
|
|
1.
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California Baptist
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|
2.
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Utah Valley
|
|
3.
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Southern Utah
|
|
4.
|
UT Arlington
|
|
5.
|
Grand Canyon
|
Race Info
The 2023 WAC Championships will be held at Zoe Park in Abilene, Texas. The men's 8k will begin at 7:00 a.m. MT with the women's 6k kicking off shortly after that at 7:45 a.m. MT. Live stats will update at the completion of each mile.
Follow Us
Stay up to date during the 2023 Thunderbird Cross Country season by following @SUUTFXC on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Track & Field and Cross Country page on Facebook.
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