No. 8 CSU men’s cross country set for 2017 NCAA Championships

2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Saturday, Nov. 18
Men's 10k | 8 a.m. MT/10 a.m. ET
E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park | Louisville, Ky.
Hosted by the University of Louisville

Coverage: Venue Information | Live Results | FloTrack Live Stream (subscription required)
Colorado State Cross Country: Twitter | Performance List

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The eighth-ranked Colorado State men's cross country team is set to close its banner 2017 campaign this Saturday at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships.

This year's NCAA Championships will be held at the E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park cross country course in Louisville, Ky., and is slated to begin at 7 a.m. MT/9 a.m. ET with the women's 6k championship race. The Colorado State men will run in the men's 10k shortly following that race, with a start time tentatively scheduled for 8 a.m. MT/10 a.m. ET.

Final results and a full recap of the action will be posted to CSURams.com as soon as each are available. FloTrack subscribers will be able to follow the meet in its entirety with a live stream of each race.

"Right now we're healthy, and that's really important at this time of year," Colorado State cross country head coach Art Siemers said. "It's a long season between all of the travel and hard training we're putting in. Our goal was to stay consistent throughout the year, and then try to finish with our best performances. I think our guys are primed and ready for that. We've had a great last few weeks of training and we're starting to taper right now. If all goes right, we think we'll have our best performance at nationals."

This marks the fourth season in the past five in which the men's cross country team has competed for an NCAA title, and the fifth consecutive year that Colorado State has sent at least an individual to the national championships. CSU is one of seven men's teams from the Mountain Region to qualify, as well as one of four men's teams to qualify from the Mountain West.

The Mountain Region tied the West Region for most bids to the NCAA Championships (seven men's teams each), while the Mountain West's four men's teams that qualified rank behind only the six from the Pac-12. The CSU men dominated the MW Championships three weeks ago, as the Rams' 31 points at the meet stack up as the lowest total by any men's MW team since 2014 (26 by New Mexico). The Rams followed their first men's MW cross country title with a fourth-place finish at the loaded NCAA Mountain Regional, which featured half of the USTFCCCA's current top-eight-ranked teams in the nation.

"To have the kind of finish we want to, we just need to go out there and do what we've been doing all year," Siemers said. "We're a solid team and have multiple guys up front that can be potential All-Americans. If we can keep our guys up front that have been up front all year, and then close the gap between them and our other guys, then who knows what could happen? That's the great thing about the NCAA Championships. You put all of the best teams in the country on the line at the same time and a lot can happen. If our guys go out and execute, we can surprise some really good teams and have a great performance."

Before winning the team's first MW cross country title, the Rams began what is unfolding to be a historic campaign with their first-ever team title at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational. The men went on to place sixth at the loaded Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, which ranks as the most comparable meet to an NCAA Championships-caliber field. CSU placed ahead of 14 ranked teams at that meet, and finished only behind current top-ranked Northern Arizona, No. 3 Syracuse, No. 4 Portland, No. 6 Stanford and No. 7 Furman.

CSU Men Win First Mountain West Cross Country Championship
- Senior Jerrell Mock captured his second individual title at the Mountain West Cross Country Championships to lead the Colorado State men's cross country team to its first ever MW title on Friday, Oct. 27, from the University of New Mexico's North Golf Course.
- As a team, CSU was dominant. The Rams' 31 points topped the next closest team, Air Force, by 28 points. Cole Rockhold kicked past Utah State standout Dillon Maggard to place second behind Mock, while Eric Hamer took fifth and Grant Fischer placed eighth.
- Mock is only the third two-time Mountain West champion, joining BYU's Kip Kangogo and BYU's Josh Rohatinsky. Furthermore, 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.
- Each of Mock, Rockhold, Hamer and Fischer were named All-Mountain West, while Trent Powell's 5th-place finish was just one place shy (top 14) of All-Mountain West honors.
- Mock was named Mountain West Men's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year for the second time in his career, while sixth-year head coach Art Siemers was named MW Men's Coach of the Year.

Rams' Men Ranked Eighth, Match Best All-Time Ranking from USTFCCCA
- The Colorado State men's cross country's team has steadily risen up the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) poll all season, reaching a No. 8 ranking in the week six and seven coaches' polls. That matches CSU's highest cross country ranking from the USTFCCCA all-time, with its only other No. 8 ranking coming in 2003.
- The Rams entered this season ranked as the No. 18 team in the nation by the USTFCCCA, and held that position in each of the week one and week two polls. Following the program's first-ever team title at the Roy Griak Invitational, the Rams rose to No. 15 in week three and No. 11 in week four.
- CSU's sixth-place finish at the stacked Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational prompted a two-spot move to No. 9 in the subsequent rankings. The Rams finished above 14 ranked teams and five teams that were each ranked in the top seven by the USTFCCCA in week five.
- The Rams moved up one more spot to No. 8 following their first-ever men's team title at the Mountain West Cross Country Championships.
- Additionally, CSU's women received votes in the USTFCCCA week three poll following a sixth-place finish at the Griak. Colorado State had not received votes or been ranked on each of the women's and men's sides in the same week since 2005.
- No. 18 is the second-highest preseason ranking the Rams' men have ever received from the USTFCCCA, and their highest preseason position since 2002. The Rams' No. 18 ranking in week one was also their highest in week one since 2002, while their No. 18 ranking in week two was their best in that week since 2003.
- CSU's men finished 17th nationally in 2016, the program's top final ranking since 2003.
- Colorado State cross country has been ranked in the preseason in each year dating back to 2014 under sixth-year head cross country coach Art Siemers. The Rams have been ranked by the USTFCCCA for 35 consecutive polls, dating back to the week three rankings in 2013, and have been in the top 20 for nine consecutive weeks (since week five in 2016).
- CSU is currently the highest-ranked men's cross country team in the Mountain West.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Cross Country National Coaches' Poll
Preseason (Aug. 29): Women's – NR | Men's – No. 18
Week One (Sept. 12): Women's – NR | Men's – No. 18
Week Two (Sept. 19): Women's – NR | Men's – No. 18
Week Three (Sept. 26): Women's – RV | Men's – No. 15
Week Four (Oct. 3): Women's – NR | Men's – No. 11
Week Five (Oct. 17): Women's – NR | Men's – No. 9
Week Six (Oct. 31): Women's – NR | Men's – No. 8
Week Seven (Nov. 13): Women's – NR | Men's – No. 8

Rams' Men Finish Fourth Regionally, Women Place Seventh
- In its final meet before the NCAA Championships, the Colorado State men placed fourth at the 2017 Mountain Regional, while the women finished seven.
- Colorado State's men's cross country team began the 2017 season ranked in the top five in the highly competitive Mountain Region. Following their performances at the Roy Griak Invitational and the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, the Rams moved up to No. 4.
- CSU's women's squad was tabbed the preseason No. 7 team in the Mountain Region entering 2017, and had risen to No. 6 regionally prior to their current No. 10 standing.
- CSU's men placed fourth in the 2016 Mountain Regional to reach the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2016. The Rams toppled then-No. 15 UTEP in the regional, and placed behind only the nation's top three teams at the time (No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 2 Colorado, No. 3 BYU).
- The Rams' women placed sixth in their region one year ago, as then-senior Janelle Lincks and 2017 senior Darby Gilfillan earned All-Region honors en route to berths to the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Cross Country Regional Rankings – Mountain Region
Preseason: Women's – No. 7 | Men's – No. 5
Week One: Women's – No. 6 | Men's – No. 5
Week Two: Women's – No. 6 | Men's – No. 5
Week Three: Women's – No. 6 | Men's – No. 5
Week Four: Women's – No. 7 | Men's – No. 5
Week Five: Women's – No. 9 | Men's – No. 4
Week Six: Women's – No. 10 | Men's – No. 4
Final: Women's – No. 7 | Men's – No. 4

Griak Title Leads to USTFCCCA NCAA Di Men National Athlete of the Week Honor for Mock
- Following his second consecutive individual title at the Roy Griak Invitational, Colorado State senior Jerrell Mock was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division I Men National Athlete of the Week on Monday, Sept. 25.
- Mock earned the national honor after becoming just the third men's individual in meet history to capture the Griak title in consecutive seasons. The senior is the first to repeat as champion since 2002-03 (BYU's Kip Kangogo).
- With Mock's second Griak crown, Colorado State became the only program in meet history to have the individual men's champion in three straight seasons. Former CSU All-American Jefferson Abbey started that streak with his individual title in 2015.
- Mock led the then-18th-ranked Colorado State men to their first-ever team title at Roy Griak Invitational, as the Rams topped a field that included then-No. 20 UCLA and then-No. 25 Michigan State. The Rams finished with 47 points to top the Spartans (55 points) and the Bruins (63 points).

Rams Make History as Mock, Spillar Earn MW Athlete of the Week Honors
- Following their performances at the Roy Griak Invitational, McKenna Spillar and Jerrell Mock were named the respective women's and men's Mountain West Cross Country Athletes of the Week. The league announced those selections on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
- Mock earned his accolade following his second consecutive individual title at the Roy Griak Invitational, while Spillar was the highest Mountain West finisher (30th) at the meet. Mock's performance hoisted the Rams to their first-ever team title at the Griak, while Spillar helped the Rams improve from 13th in 2016 to sixth this season.
- It was the second time this season that Colorado State swept Mountain West athletes of the week, marking the first time a school has done so twice in a single season was in 2012 (New Mexico). However, in each of those weeks, UNM's men's selection was a co-athlete of the week. The most recent school to sweep MW honors outright was BYU in 2010; no other current conference member has ever swept league honors outright twice in a single cross country season.
- No Mountain West school this season has as many weekly conference accolades as Colorado State's four. Utah State has three, while New Mexico has one.

Gilfillan and Powell Named MW Athletes of the Week After Opening Weekend
- With their performances at the CSU Duals, Colorado State's Darby Gilfillan and Trent Powell were named the respective women's and men's Mountain West Cross Country Athletes of the Week on Sept. 5.
- Those accolades were the first weekly conference honors for each of Gilfillan and Powell. Additionally, that was the first time that any Mountain West school has swept the weekly women's and men's conference cross country honors since 2014 (Wyoming's Holly Page and Amos Bowen), as well as the first time that Colorado State has since 2012 (Kaitlin Hanenburg and Alex Muntefering).
- Gilfillan was the top collegian in the CSU Duals women's 5k, finishing in 17:35. Among the runners defeated by Gilfillan were track & field NCAA champions Sage Hurta and Dani Jones, as well as All-Americans Madie Boreman and Makena Morley.
- Powell placed second of 120 runners (including unattached entries), clocking a time of 14:52 to improve upon his previous best cross country 5k by 25 seconds. CU All-Americans Joe Klecker and Zach Perrin were among the runners that Powell finished ahead of at the CSU Duals.

Trio of All-Americans Highlight 2017 Roster for Rams' Men
- Among the returners for Colorado State men's cross country in 2017 are three athletes that have earned an All-America honor during cross country or track & field: Jerrell Mock, Grant Fischer and Cole Rockhold.
- Mock has been a consistent low stick for the Rams in each of the past two cross country seasons, finishing as the Rams' No. 1 runner in each meet in 2016 and as an All-American in 2015. Among Mock's most notable cross country finishes are individual victories at the 2016 Roy Griak Invitational and 2015 Mountain West Championships, as well as a runner-up finish at the 2016 conference meet and a 19th-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
- Fischer emerged as a consistent No. 2 runner for the Rams during the 2016 cross country season, earning All-Region and All-Mountain West honors. Fischer carried that over to the 2017 indoor and outdoor track & field seasons, earning All-America honors in the indoor 5,000 meters and in the 10,000 meters.
- Rockhold was an All-Mountain West performer for the 2016 cross country season, placing 13th at last year's conference meet. During 2016-17, Rockhold went on to add an individual MW title in the 3,000 meters before earning First-Team All-America honors in the event at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and Honorable Mention All-America honors in the outdoor 5,000 meters.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results