FLAGSTAFF, Arizona - The Southern Utah University cross country teams began postseason competition at the Big Sky Championships on Oct. 30. The men's team placed fourth, and the women's team placed fifth.

Head Coach Isaac Wood said,

"Our first conference championship back in the Big Sky was a great opportunity to test our limits and see where we stack up with the rest of our new conference. We finished where we thought we would and had some excellent performances along the way." 

Men's 8K Recap

The Thunderbirds crossed the line with an average time of 25:03 for a team score of 93. They finished behind the host, Northern Arizona University (20), Montana State University (71), and Weber State University (79).

Junior Logan Peel led the SUU runners, crossing the line 11th in 24:20.7. Tyler Saunders and Parker Barnes followed closely, finishing 17th (24:53.0) and 18th (24:55.8). Jacob Russell rounded out the Thunderbirds' top-25 finishes, placing 24th in 25:05.0. 

Team Results: 

11th - Logan Peel - 24:20.7  

17th - Tyler Saunders - 24:53.0 

18th - Parker Barnes - 24:55.8 

24th - Jacob Russell - 25:05.0

32nd - Todd Yeates - 25:18.2

38th - Dax Daley - 25:23.7

39th - Seth Sonerholm - 25:24.4

42nd - Chase Evans - 25:28.7

57th - Amit Cohen - 26:03.7

63rd - Jonah Denison - 26:18.8

Women's 5K Recap

The women's cross country team finished the race in fifth place with a team score of 136, with an average time of 17:38. They finished behind NAU (16), MSU (77), the University of Idaho (97), and Weber State (97). 

Junior Angelina Lione led the Thunderbirds with a 16:49.5 for 13th. Audrey Hales was next to cross the line in 20th (17:03.0), followed by Aspen Hacker in 31st (17:38.1). Kennedy Swain and Tara Bouck rounded out the top five finishes in 41st (17:48.7) and 42nd (17:49.1), respectively.   

Team Results:

13th - Angelina Lione - 16:49.5 

20th - Audrey Hales - 17:03.0  

31st - Aspen Hacker - 17:38.1  

41th - Kennedy Swain - 17:48.7 

42nd - Tara Bouck - 17:49.1

54th - Bella Evans - 18:04.3 

57th - Laurie Davidson - 18:09.2 

59th - Leah Larsen - 18:15.2 

65th - Adelaide Englestead - 18:24.9 

66th - Nixie Killpack - 18:25.6 

Up Next

SUU's cross country teams will wait and see if they are selected to race at the Mountain Regionals hosted by the University of New Mexico on Nov. 13. If the Thunderbirds are selected, the women's race is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m., followed by the men's race at 12:00 p.m.

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