Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Mountain West Championships
Women's cross country wins Mountain West Championship
10/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 27, 2007
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A 12-hour bus ride and a change of venue did nothing to stop the Colorado State women's cross country team as senior April Thomas won the Mountain West Conference women's individual title and the team won the overall title at the 2007 Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championship hosted by the University of New Mexico on Saturday at the campus' North Golf Course. Bryan Berryhill won women's Coach of the Year honors while Jake Keyser and Allison Gohl respectively earned Mountain West Conference men's and women's Freshmen of the Year honors. The men's squad finished in fourth place.
"This is an extraordinary effort," said Berryhill. "Heather didn't have a great race today but her teammates stepped up to win it for the seniors. It was overall team effort. With 500 meters left in the race we were not winning. The girls stepped up and won it on pure desire. This is a great moment for this team and for this program."
For the first time in the nine-year conference history, the Rams captured the women's title with 33 points. The Rams have been runners-up to the BYU Cougars, who had won the conference title for 19 consecutive years, for seven out of the past eight years, most recently coming within nine points of the defending champions in 2006.
Clocking in at 21:20, Thomas led the women's 5K race, earning herself Athlete of the Year honors. Fellow Ram Kirsten Anthony, a junior, followed closely behind to finish with a time of 21:22. CSU's Kristen Hemphill earned the seventh spot, Gohl took eighth while Melissa Thomas finished in 15th. Heather Loseke earned the 17th spot while Chantelle Dron finished in 19th.
"Last night it kind of hit me that this is my last year," said Thomas. "This is the best team I have been on and we couldn't wait to get out and run. There is a big smile on my face that won't go away. It really hasn't hit yet. When I looked back and saw Kirsten I was almost happier for her than I was for me. My sister finished as our fifth point scorer. This is just a great day."
The championships were relocated to New Mexico from San Diego State due to poor air quality caused by the burning wildfires.
