Rams’ men win program’s first Mountain West Cross Country Championship

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Senior Jerrell Mock clocked an 8k time of 23:49.74 to capture his second individual title at the Mountain West Cross Country Championships and lead the ninth-ranked Colorado State men's cross country team to its first ever MW title on Friday from the UNM North Golf Course.

Mock led a dominant team effort, as the Rams' total of 31 points was 28 points ahead of second-place Air Force (59 points). Cole Rockhold (23:50.59) kicked his way past Utah State standout Dillon Maggard to place second behind Mock, while Eric Hamer (23:56.77) finished in fifth. Grant Fischer (24:03.66) placed eighth, as the Ram finished with half of the conference's top-eight runners. Trent Powell (24:31.50) rounded out CSU scorers with a 15th-place finish.

Mock is only the third two-time Mountain West champion, joining BYU's Kip Kangogo and BYU's Josh Rohatinsky. Mock stands alone as the only male individual in conference history to place second or better three times as the MW Cross Country Championships. In addition, no athlete from any current conference member has accomplished either of those feats other than Mock.

The only current conference member to score fewer than CSU's 31 points was New Mexico, most recently in 2014 (26 points). The only other program in Mountain West history to score fewer points than CSU did on Friday was BYU (most recently 27 points in 2006).

Mock earned MW Student-Athlete of the Year honors for the second time. The Logan, Utah native was also named First-Team All-Mountain West, as were Rockhold and Hamer. Fischer earned Second-Team All-Mountain West honors, while Powell finished just one spot away from picking up All-Mountain West accolades. Sixth-year head coach Art Siemers rounded out CSU's honors with Mountain West Men's Coach of the Year accolades.

The Rams finished seventh on the women's side with 179 points. The Rams were paced by Ali Kallner, who placed 34th with a time of 22:06.01. Macy Kreutz (22:08.59) placed 36th, followed by Dominique Ward (22:14.88) in 40th, Darby Gilfillan (22:18.29) in 43rd and Kate White (22:18.88) in 44th. New Mexico claimed the women's team title with 22 points.

IN THEIR WORDS
Colorado State cross country head coach Art Siemers
"Finishing in second three of the past four years makes this one even sweeter, because this is so hard to do. This was a group that I thought could do it. They work so well together and are so dedicated…it's the best team I've ever been a part of. Some of those guys, like Jerrell (Mock) and Grant (Fischer), were on those teams that finished second multiple times, so it's special for them to get this done. Simply put, it's just fun when great people have great results. We've reached so many of our goals and have some more ahead of us – we'll see if we can keep this dream season going."

On performances by CSU's top-four men's runners:
"Jerrell won his two conference championships the hard way. It's hard to separate yourself from the pack early on in the race and hold on to win. He got about a 10-to-12-second lead today. The plan was for Jerrell to relax in the pack until he thought he could make a big push and hold it to the finish. Cole was going to be a little more patient than the other guys, and he was able to catch Dillon Maggard, one of the best runners in the country. Eric (Hamer) and Grant (Fischer) did a great job, finishing just a few seconds behind those guys."

On Trent Powell and Eric Hamer stepping up:
"Trent (Powell) had a really good race, and we knew he would after what he did at Wisconsin. He looked great there, and he's been training that way all year. He's gaining experience in these bigger races, and now gaining confidence and running really strong. Eric Hamer – compare his performance to last year – he's really starting to establish himself. He's the only one who went with Jerrell for a while, which really helped Jerrell, and had a strong finish. Hats off to them."

STAT OF THE MEET
Every runner that scored for Colorado State's men improved upon their respective finishes from last year. Jerrell Mock finished second in 2016 (first in 2017), while Cole Rockhold placed 13th (second in 2017), Eric Hamer placed 15th (fifth in 2017) and Grant Fischer placed 10th (eighth in 2017). Trent Powell did not run at the Mountain West Cross Country Championships in 2016.

NOTES
- Jerrell Mock has been named All-Mountain West in all four years he has competed in cross country at Colorado State.
- Between cross country and track & field, Mock is now a four-time Mountain West champion, and an eight-time All-Mountain West performer.
- Each of Grant Fischer and Cole Rockhold earned their second respective All-Mountain West honors in cross country.
- Fischer is now a five-time All-Mountain West performer between cross country and track & field.
- Rockhold becomes a four-time All-Mountain West performer between cross country and track & field.
- Eric Hamer's All-Mountain West honor is the first of his collegiate career.
- Art Siemers is the first coach to earn Mountain West Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year honors since 2000, and the second all-time (Del Hessel).

UP NEXT
The Colorado State cross country team returns to action on Friday, Nov. 10 at the NCAA Mountain Regional in Logan, Utah.

Women's 6k Results (out of 83 runners)
34th – Ali Kallner – 22:06.01
36th – Macy Kreutz – 22:08.59
40th – Dominique Ward – 22:14.88
43rd – Darby Gilfillan – 22:18.28
44th – Kate White – 22:18.88
45th – Mary Franke – 22:22.37
47th – McKenna Spillar – 22:26.21
51st – Roxy Trotter – 22:35.95
57th – Devon Peterson – 23:03.38

Men's 8k Results (out of 65 runners)
1st – Jerrell Mock – 23:49.74
2nd – Cole Rockhold – 23:50.59
5th – Eric Hamer – 23:56.77
8th – Grant Fischer – 24:03.66
15th – Trent Powell – 24:31.50
18th – Carson Hume – 24:35.70
22nd – Wayde Hall – 24:43.89
32nd – Forrest Barton – 24:57.87
35th – Satchel Caldwell – 25:00.46

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