RENO, Nev. - In NCAA DI Mountain Regionals on Nov. 15, the Southern Utah University men's cross country team finished 11th in a field of 17 teams and the women's team took 15th in a field of 19, marking a solid close to their 2024 team season.
SUU's Santiago Gaitan posted a strong outing, and while he didn't secure a definitive spot at the NCAA DI National Championships, he could still receive an opportunity to race at nationals if the Montana State University team receives an at-large bid.
Coach Eric Houle said:
"The women's performance was solid, finishing higher than their pre-season ranking. The men struggled a little. Santiago had an excellent performance today, finishing in the top 20 and achieving an All-Region award."
Women's Recap
Scoring 433 points, the women's team took 15th in the 6K race, defeating teams like New Mexico State and the hosting University of Nevada, Reno.
The Thunderbirds leading three crossed the line as a flock, with Madisan DeBos taking 73rd at 21:28.9, Jordyn Bartolomucci finishing 74th at 21:29.9 and Bella Evans earning 75th at 21:32.2. In the final stretch of the race, Audrey Hales passed eight athletes to take 98th with a time of 22:07.9.
Makayla Pitcher closed out SUU's 433 score in 113th with a 22:42.5. Josii Johnson's 23:04.2 put her in 118th and Lia Selander finished 124th with a 23:44.9.
Men's Recap
In their 10K race, the men finished 11th with a score of 250 points, beating both Weber State and Western Athletic Conference rival Utah Valley University by over 75 points.
Santiago Gaitan led the team, taking 20th with a time of 29:44.3 and earning an All-Region award. Jacob Peterson finished in 50th place with a 30:26.2, Coleman Cragun took 57th with a 30:35.9 and Travis Feeny landed 60th with a 30:41.8.
Following in 63rd, Lanse Larsen finished with a time of 30:51.8. Rounding out the Southern Utah team, Bowen Martin and Hayden Harward took 89th and 100th, with times of 31:45.4 and 32:25.1 respectively.
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