CSU Cross Country Set to Close Season at NCAA Championships

Nov. 18, 2016

2016 NCAA Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships
Saturday, Nov. 19 | Terre Haute, Ind.
LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course
Women's 6k: 9 a.m. MT/11 a.m. ET
Men's 10k: 10 a.m. MT/12 p.m. ET
Live Video: FloTrack
Live Results: Record Timing

Colorado State Cross Country: Meet Notes | Twitter

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado State men's cross country team is set to make its third NCAA Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships appearance in four years, as the Rams travel to Terre Haute, Ind. for Saturday's national meet.

Competition will begin in the women's 6k at 9 a.m. MT/11 a.m. ET. Representing CSU in women's competition are junior Darby Gilfillan, who makes her second national championships appearance, as well as senior Janelle Lincks, who makes her NCAA Championships debut.

The men's 10k will begin immediately after women's competition, with a tentative start time slated for 10 a.m. MT/12 p.m. ET. All-American Jefferson Abbey is set to make his fourth NCAA Championships appearance, while fellow All-American Jerrell Mock makes his third. Junior Grant Fischer, a key cog to CSU's 19th-place national finish in 2014, makes his second appearance at the national meet.

This weekend's competition will be streamed live through FloTrack and is available to subscribers. Live results will be provided by Record Timing. Links to each can be found above.

CSU's men's team is one of six teams from the Mountain Region to reach the NCAA Championships. The Rams will once again face unanimous No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 2 Colorado, No. 4 BYU, No. 19 UTEP and No. 25 Southern Utah. From the Mountain West, CSU is set for a rematch with No. 29 Boise State.

Abbey and Mock will be looking to repeat as All-Americans after finishing 13th and 19th, respectively on the national stage last season. The men's team enters the meet ranked 14th in the nation by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), its highest ranking since 2003.

Five Rams Earn All-Region Honors at NCAA Mountain Regional
- En route to an impressive fourth-place team finish at the competitive NCAA Mountain Regional, three members of CSU's men's team turned in All-Region performances. Jerrell Mock once again led the Rams with a ninth-place finish, while Jefferson Abbey placed 18th and Grant Fischer placed 21st to earn a place on the All-Region team.
- The Rams nearly had five All-Region performers on the men's side. Anthony Laurita finished in 32nd, while Cole Rockhold placed 34th. All-Region honors are awarded to the top 25 finishers.
- On the women's side, each of Janelle Lincks and Darby Gilfillan picked up All-Region honors en route to individual bids to the NCAA Championships. Lincks placed 13th, with Gilfillan right behind in 14th.

CSU Men Tie Program Record for All-MW Selections
- One of the most prominent strengths of this season's CSU men's cross country team has been its depth. At the 2016 MW Championships, the CSU men finished with five of the top 14 overall to earn five All-Mountain West selections. That ties the program record, set in 2013.
- Jerrell Mock earned first-team honors, while each of Jefferson Abbey, Grant Fischer, Anthony Laurita and Cole Rockhold picked up second-team honors.
- The Rams nearly finished with seven All-Mountain West performers. CSU finished with two runners just outside the top 14, as Eric Hamer and Carson Hume placed 15th and 16th, respectively.

Mock Only MW Runner in 2016 to Earn Multiple Athlete of the Week Honors
- Redshirt junior Jerrell Mock continued his impressive start to 2016 with a second-place finish at the 2016 Washington Invitational to earn his second Mountain West Cross Country Men's Athlete of the Week award on Oct. 4, 2016.
- Mock shaved more than 90 seconds off his Griak 8k time en route to a time of 23:35.5 and a second-place finish. Mock finished only behind three-time defending national champion Edward Cheserek of Oregon, but in front of a field of multiple All-Americans.
- Mock became the only men's Mountain West cross country athlete to earn multiple MW weekly honors this season. Hs is the only male athlete in program history to win multiple weekly MW awards in a single season, and the only CSU cross country athlete to do it since April Thomas in 2007 and Elizabeth Roodell in 2000.

CSU's Men's Squad Showing Depth
- Colorado State's men's cross country team ran with some of the top teams on the West Coast at the Washington Invitational, finishing with 39 points, just behind then-No. 3 Oregon (26 points). The Rams defeated then-No. 21 Washington and then-No. 24 Washington State.
- En route to their second-place team finish, the Rams placed each of their top-five runners amongst the overall top-11 finishers. Jerrell Mock led the men's team with a second-place finish, followed closely by Grant Fischer (seventh), Eric Hamer (ninth), Jefferson Abbey (10th) and Cole Rockhold (11th).
- Amongst the highlights of the Rams' impressive team showing was its close finish behind Oregon. Each of the top four runners for CSU and Oregon finished in the top 10; however, the Rams' Rockhold placed ahead of Oregon's No. 5 runner, Blake Haney (12th place).
- CSU's depth continued to play a role in shaping a big 2016 campaign, as the Rams posted strong performances from No. 3 through No. 5 runners to back up the consistent Mock and Fischer at the prestigious Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. Notably, Carson Hume - normally the Rams' No. 6 runner - finished as CSU's No. 4 runner at the meet to help lift the team to an impressive top-10 finish.

Jerrell Mock Named MW XC Men's Athlete of the Week after Griak Win
- Following his big win at the Roy Griak Invitational, Jerrell Mock earned his first Mountain West Cross Country Men's Athlete of the Week honor on Sept. 27, 2016.
- Mock's victory marked the first time since 2010-11 (Arizona) that individual athletes from the same school had won back-to-back individual titles at the Roy Griak Invitational, as teammate Jefferson Abbey won the individual title last season. In Griak records that date back to 1986, only five other programs have accomplished that feat.
- The Logan, Utah native has steadily improved upon his previous Griak performances, as he finished in second behind only Abbey last season. Mock has placed no lower than seventh, which was his finish in his freshman season.

CSU Men's Team Earns Highest Ranking from USTFCCCA Since 2003
- In what has turned out to be a remarkable season for CSU's men's cross country team, the Rams enter the NCAA Championships with a No. 14 ranking from the USTFCCCA - their best since 2003.
- Colorado State's men's cross country squad has been ranked by the USTFCCCA every week during the regular season, and checked in at No. 21 in the week four (Oct. 4) national coaches' poll, the team's highest ranking during the regular season since 2013 (week four - No. 15). The Rams improved upon that ranking in the most recent poll, ranking No. 17 on Oct. 18, and are currently No. 19.
- This marks the fourth consecutive season in which the CSU men have been ranked for at least five weeks, all under fifth-year head cross country coach Art Siemers. Before the Siemers era, the CSU men's team had not been ranked since 2005.
- The USTFCCCA had previously tabbed the CSU men as high as the No. 24 team in the nation in weeks one (Sept. 13) and two (Sept. 20). The Ram men had climbed up one spot at that point from No. 25 in the preseason poll, which was released on Aug. 30.

Rams in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Cross Country National Coaches' Poll
Preseason (Aug. 30): Women's - NR | Men's - No. 25
Week One (Sept. 13): Women's - NR | Men's - No. 24
Week Two (Sept. 20): Women's - NR | Men's - No. 24
Week Three (Sept. 27): Women's - NR | Men's - No. 29
Week Four (Oct. 4): Women's - NR | Men's - No. 21
Week Five (Oct. 18): Women's - NR | Men's - No. 17
Week Six (Nov. 1): Women's - NR | Men's - No. 19
Pre-Championship (Nov. 14) - Women's - NR | Men's - No. 14

CSU Receiving Recognition in Numerous Polls
- Heading to this weekend's meet, the Colorado State cross country team has received recognition from various national and regional polls and rankings.
- The CSU men's team received high praise from FloTrack in the preseason. In FloTrack's 2016 Saucony Flo50 Men's Team XC Rankings, the organization rated the CSU men's cross country squad as the 10th-best in the nation. The Rams' men's squad checks in at No. 14 in the nation in FloTrack's most recent rankings.
- In their 2016 Saucony Flo50 Men's Individual XC Rankings, CSU's Jerrell Mock has been ranked as high as the No. 9 individual men's athlete in the nation. Mock began the season ranked at No. 15 individually.
- In the preseason, MW coaches declared the CSU men the team to best for the 2016 season. League coaches voted the CSU women as the conference's third-best team. The two teams held their respective positions in the MW Midseason Men's and Women's Cross Country Coaches' Poll.
- The Rams' men's squad ranks at No. 5 in the Mountain Region in the final USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Regional Cross Country Rankings, while the CSU women's squad checked in at No. 7 regionally.

Rams in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Cross Country Regional Rankings (Mountain Region)
Preseason (Aug. 29): Women's - No. 6 | Men's - No. 6
Week One (Sept. 12): Women's - No. 6 | Men's - No. 6
Week Two (Sept. 19): Women's - No. 6 | Men's - No. 6
Week Three (Sept. 26): Women's - No. 6 | Men's - No. 5
Week Four (Oct. 3): Women's - No. 7 | Men's - No. 5
Week Five (Oct. 17): Women's - No. 8 | Men's - No. 4
Week Six (Oct. 31): Women's - No. 7 | Men's - No. 5

The Return of Two All-Americans
- CSU cross country All-Americans Jefferson Abbey and Jerrell Mock made their respective 2016 debuts this season at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational. In the preseason, Abbey was tabbed FloTrack's No. 12 individual male athlete in the nation, while Mock was ranked 15th individually.
- Neither Abbey nor Mock ever finished outside of the top-20 in any meet during each athlete's respective 2015 campaigns, and are the only CSU duo since 1961 to garner All-America honors in the same season (Jerry Schmidt and Jerry Glyde).
- Abbey placed 13th out of 252 athletes in the 10k (30:05.3) at the 2015 NCAA Championships to earn All-America honors and record the best finish by a Ram at the meet since Jon Sinclair in 1979. Mock, who won the individual MW Championship, placed 19th at the NCAA Championships with a time of 30:10.3.

Young Rams Shine at CSU Invite
- With many of the Rams' veteran athletes resting during the CSU Invite, many of CSU's young athletes and newcomers had a chance to lead their respective squads in the season opener. In all, six CSU freshmen placed within the top-50 finishers on Sept. 2, while each of the CSU women finished within the top 40 (89 runners).
- Freshman Anthony Laurita led the men's squad in his first race as a Ram, placing 15th in the college 5k with a time of 15:17. Graeme Schroeder, who ran unattached, was the next-highest finishing freshman, placing 30th (15:30). Redshirt sophomore Trent Powell rounded out notable finishes for the men's squad, clocking a time of 15:17 to place 17th.
- Emma Atwell was the top freshman finisher for the CSU women, running the college 5k in 19:22 to place 38th. Kate White, a redshirt sophomore, finished in 16th with a time of 18:17.

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