Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Mountain West Championships
Cross country recap: No. 25 men take third, women take fourth at MW Championships
10/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
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By Nate Lake
Athletic Media Relations
Men's Results | Women's Results | MW Championship Central
FRESNO, Calif. – The Colorado State men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the 2014 Mountain West Cross Country Championships on Friday, taking to their respective courses at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif., to face off against conference foes. The No. 25 men’s team finished third overall, while the women’s team placed fourth. 


The men entered Friday with the goal of ending New Mexico’s string of five straight conference titles, but the Lobos placed five runners in the top eight while Air Force snuck by CSU to take second place. 


Colorado State’s top finisher was freshman Jerrell Mock, who earned second team all-Mountain West honors with his 11th place finish. Mock clocked in at 23 minutes, 51.8 seconds, just in front of teammate Jefferson Abbey. Abbey placed 12th with a time of 23:54 and also earned second team all-conference honors. 


CSU freshman Grant Fischer was a bright spot for the men’s team, running what CSU Head Coach Art Siemers labeled his best race of the year and finishing 16th with a time of 24:16.8. Ram senior Alex Dillenbeck finished immediately behind Fischer, taking 17th with a time of 24:19. 


Andrew Goodman, running in his final cross country conference championship, placed 20th with a time of 24:21.7 – securing a pack split of under 30 seconds for the Rams. While the top five athletes stayed much tighter than in meets prior, Siemers cited the team’s lack of strength in the front-runner position as the main reason Air Force was able to bypass the Rams for second place. 


“We were disappointed in that we didn’t have any strength in the front-runner position this year,” he said. “Air Force’s top two guys put such a lead on us that we were playing catch-up the whole time.”


CSU sophomore Adam Hartman put forth a solid performance, finishing 27th with a time of 24:35.1. Senior Byron Jones finished three places behind Hartman, clocking in at 24:39.8. Senior Joe Marchand finished in 24:52.9, taking 38th, while junior Chris Ganem rounded out the men’s squad with a time of 25:01.7. 


The New Mexico men’s team extended its streak to six straight conference titles, placing five athletes in the top eight of the 8K race, including four consecutive finishers from third to sixth place. “New Mexico put on a show,” said Siemers. “That was a pretty amazing performance by their team today. That’s what happens when you have tradition.”


While the men didn’t run as well as he had hoped, Siemers believes New Mexico’s performance will motivate the Rams to work hard in preparation for their remaining postseason meets. “We want that ourselves, so that should be motivation for our guys the rest of the year. We want to run strong in Regionals and make it to the NCAA Championships.”


On the other hand, the CSU women exceeded expectations with their best team performance of the season. Led by junior Ali Will’s second team all-conference performance, the Rams placed three runners in the top 20 and took fourth place as a team. Will took 14th place with a time of 21:02, up 24 places from her 2013 conference finish. Coach Siemers was incredibly impressed by the veteran leader’s hard work and high finish.


“It’s exciting to see a walk-on make all-conference. It’s pretty impressive how hard she worked over the summer, and she led our girls really well today,” he said. 


Will not only earned second team all-conference honors, but led the Rams to their best team performance of the season thus far. Redshirt freshman Rachael Rudel turned in a 17th-place finish 21:12.7, taking third among freshmen in the 6K race. Fellow freshman McKenna Spillar continued her consistent campaign with a 19th-place finish and time of 21:16.8.


Darby Gilfillan placed 24th with a time of 21:25.6, putting four Rams inside the top 25 in the field of 87 athletes. Junior Laura Yarrow rounded out the Rams’ top five and took 32nd, clocking in at 21:37.3. Yarrow’s finish secured a pack split of just 35.3 seconds, displaying a strong sense of togetherness by the women’s squad. 


“The women ran their best race of the year,” Siemers said. “The goal was top three, but it was pretty exciting to watch the results.” 2013 MW Freshman of the Year Sanne Holland contributed a 34th-place finish with a time of 21:45, while junior Marina Roberts turned in a solid time of 22:12.9 for 43rd. Sophomore Karlee Schwartzkopf and freshman Kara Steinke finished back-to-back, taking 57th and 58th with times of 22:25 and 22:26.4, respectively. 


New Mexico dominated the women’s race, placing all five scoring runners in the top 10 and earning its seventh straight MW cross country title. Boise State, who contributed the top two women’s finishers, placed second while Wyoming took third overall. 


All-conference teams


The top seven finishers from each race earned first-team all-Mountain West honors, and the next seven earned second-team. Jefferson Abbey has now begun his career with two straight second team all-conference honors.


CSU Men’s Second Team all-Mountain West
Jerrell Mock

Jefferson Abbey


CSU Women's Second Team all-Mountain West
Ali Will

The Rams travel to Alburquerque, N.M., on Nov. 14 to continue their postseason schedule with the NCAA Mountain Regional.
Players Mentioned
