No. 13 Rams men set to compete at NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday

This Week
Colorado State Rams at NCAA Cross Country Championships
Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018
Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course | Madison, Wis.
Hosted by Wisconsin
Men's 10k – 10:45 a.m. MT/11:45 a.m. CT
Coverage: FloTrack (subscription required) | Live Results | Meet Information

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The No. 13 Colorado State men's cross country team will finish off its 2018 campaign this Saturday at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

The NCAA Championships are held from the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison, Wis. The Rams are scheduled to compete in the men's 10k at 10:45 a.m. MT/11:45 a.m. CT on Saturday. Subscribers to FloTrack may follow the meet through live video, while live results are available to all for free. Links to each are above and on the cross country schedule page on CSURams.com. Final results and a full recap of the action will be posted to CSURams.com at the conclusion of competition.

"Recently, our best runner, Cole Rockhold, a five-time All-American, got injured and won't be running at nationals," Colorado State cross country head coach Art Siemers said. "Our goal is to be a top-10 program every year, and we still think that we can still go for a top-10 finish. The guys have really stepped up in every workout, and the gap in training has been inches between the top guys and the No. 5, 6 and 7 guys on our team. That's key for the NCAA Championships. We have to have our top five in the top 100 and two in the top 50, and then we'll have a team that could place in the top 10. We're going to try to run to that expectation."

This marks the fifth season in the past six in which the men's cross country team has competed for an NCAA title, and the sixth consecutive year that Colorado State has had any form of representation at the national championships. Prior to head coach Art Siemers' now-seven-season tenure, CSU had not qualified for the NCAA Championships on the men's side since 2004.

CSU is one of seven men's teams from the Mountain Region to qualify, giving its region two more teams at nationals than any other in the nation. The Rams are one of four Mountain West teams at NCAAs, a number that is matched only by the ACC and the Pac-12.

Colorado State competed in Madison, Wis., two additional times during the 2018 regular season, as the Rams also ran at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational and at Pre-Nationals. Among the notables between those two meets was a program-best sixth-place finish for CSU at the Nuttycombe, which featured a field that compares closest among regular-season meets to the NCAA Championships. The Rams defeated 11 ranked teams at the meet.

In 2017, Colorado State placed ninth at NCAAs, the fifth-best national finish by any CSU Athletics program all-time, as well as the Rams' highest finish in men's cross country since 1978. The year before that, Colorado State was 17th at NCAAs, which was at the time its best national finish since 2003.

Among those with NCAA Championships experience on this year's squad are Eric Hamer and Carson Hume, who have competed at nationals in men's cross country twice previously. Senior Trent Powell also brings NCAA Championships experience after running at last year's meet. Hamer and Hume both received All-Region and All-Mountain West distinction following their respective performances at this year's regional and conference meets.

"Those two guys – Eric and Carson – their goals are to be All-Americans," Siemers said. "To do that, you have to be in the top 40, but both are very capable. If they do that for us, and if each man on the team executes their race to their capabilities, that really sets us up to have a strong team finish. It sounds easy, but the NCAA Championships are deep. Every runner is competitive."

Rams Well-Represented in USTFCCCA Rankings After Program-Best No. 9 Preseason Ranking

Following the men's team's best preseason ranking (No. 9) in program history, Colorado State cross country continues to be well-represented in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) national rankings throughout the regular season.
Each team has been in the national top 30 in at least one week this season. CSU's men's team has been ranked 10th or better in four different polls, in the top 15 in seven polls and no lower than 17th this season.
On the women's side, Colorado State entered the USTFCCCA's national rankings for the first time since the week one poll in 2008.
Additionally, this season's week one poll marked the first time since week one of the 2005 season that Colorado State's women's and men's cross country teams have been ranked concurrently.
The Colorado State men's cross country team entered the 2018 season with its highest preseason ranking in program history, as the Rams were tabbed the No. 9 team in the USTFCCCA Preseason DI National Coaches' Poll. The organization released its preseason rankings on Tuesday, Aug. 28.
Before this year's preseason poll, Colorado State men's cross country had previously been slotted as high as at No. 16 in any preseason ranking (2002). With this year's poll, has now been ranked in the preseason in five consecutive years, dating back to a No. 30 preseason ranking in 2014. The Rams were ranked preseason No. 18 prior to last year's ninth-place national finish.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Cross Country National Coaches' Poll
Preseason (Aug. 28): Women's – RV | Men's – No. 9
Week One (Sept. 11): Women's – No. 30 | Men's – No. 10
Week Two (Sept. 18): Women's – RV | Men's – No. 11
Week Three (Sept. 25): Women's – RV | Men's – No. 10
Week Four (Oct. 2): Women's – NR | Men's – No. 9
Week Five (Oct. 16): Women's – NR | Men's – No. 17
Week Six (Oct. 30): Women's – NR | Men's – No. 14
Week Seven (Nov. 12): Women's – NR | Men's – No. 13

Rams' Men Match Program's Highest USTFCCCA Regional Ranking

In addition to its strides in the national rankings, Colorado State has also stacked up well in the highly competitive Mountain Region.
On the men's side, Colorado State has ranked fourth in each of the first four Mountain Region rankings this season. That matched its highest regional ranking from the organization in program history before the Rams climbed to No. 3 in week four, a new program best.
Colorado State exceeded its regional ranking heading into the NCAA Mountain Regional, placing fourth behind only a trio of top-10 teams (Northern Arizona, BYU and Colorado).
On the women's side, the Rams ranked within the region's top five in multiple weeks to start their 2018 campaign. That marks the first time the women's team is in the region's top five in consecutive weeks for the first time since 2011.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Cross Country Regional Rankings – Mountain Region
Preseason (Aug. 27): Women's – No. 5 | Men's – No. 4
Week One (Sept. 10): Women's – No. 5 | Men's – No. 4
Week Two (Sept. 17): Women's – No. 5 | Men's – No. 4
Week Three (Sept. 24): Women's – No. 6 | Men's – No. 4
Week Four (Oct. 1): Women's – No. 10 | Men's – No. 3
Week Five (Oct. 15): Women's – No. 9 | Men's – No. 5
Week Six (Oct. 29): Women's – No. 10 | Men's – No. 5

Eric Hamer and Carson Hume Named USTFCCCA All-Region

After leading the Rams at the Mountain West Championships, seniors Eric Hamer and Carson Hume once again paced the Rams at the NCAA Mountain Regional. The duo finished fifth and 13th, respectively, to earn All-Region honors.
Hamer and Hume each earned their first All-Region honors of their respective careers. Hamer improved from a 39th-place finish in 2017, while Hume improved upon a 56th-place finish.
According to NCAA records dating back to 1997, only two Rams have finished as high as Eric Hamer in an NCAA regional meet. Jefferson Abbey also placed in the top five at the NCAA Mountain Regional in 2015, while Bryan Berryhill placed second in 2000.
In order to be named USTFCCCA All-Region, potential recipients of the accolade must have finished among the top 25 in their respective regional.

Eric Hamer, Carson Hume Earn All-Mountain West First Team Honors

Colorado State received standout performances form Eric Hamer and Carson Hume en route to a third-place team finish at the Mountain West Championships. Hamer placed second individually, while Hume finished third.
Hamer finished the 8k in San Diego with a time of 24:37.4, while Hume clocked a time of 24:38.9. The two led for the majority of the race before their respective second and third-place finishes.
Hamer's All-Mountain West recognition is the third of his career and his second in cross country. He also earned All-Mountain West honors in the 10,000 meters in 2018, and was one of four Rams in that race to break the previous meet record in the event.
Hume's All-Mountain West accolade was the first of his career in cross country or track & field.

Cole Rockhold Named Mountain West Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Oct. 2

Following his performance at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, Colorado State's Cole Rockhold was named the men's Mountain West Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, Oct. 2.
This marks the fourth weekly accolade Rockhold has earned in his career, and his second in cross country. Rockhold, a 2017 All-American in cross country, is the first Ram to receive weekly recognition from the Mountain West in 2018.
Rockhold led Colorado State to its highest-ever finish at the loaded Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, as the Rams placed sixth of 33 teams and ahead of 11 ranked teams. The senior finished in ninth place of 224 runners, marking the highest finish by any individual Ram in the meet's 10-year history. No Ram had previously finished in the top 10 at the Nuttycombe, as former CSU All-American Jerrell Mock's 16th-place finish in 2017 was the former top performance by a CSU athlete at the meet.

Rams Register Top Team Performance, Individual Performance at Nuttycombe in Program History

The Colorado State men's cross country team placed sixth of 33 teams to match its highest all-time team finish at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, while CSU's women finished 21st in a field of the same size. The 21st place for the Rams' women was an eight-place improvement from last season.
The Rams were paced by senior Cole Rockhold (23:29.3), who turned in a ninth-place finish (of 224 runners), the highest by any Ram individually in the men's 8k in the 10-year history of the meet. Fellow senior Eric Hamer clocked a time of 23:42.5 to place 22nd, the third-highest all-time by any Ram at the meet.
CSU's men finished ahead of 11 ranked teams, and bested its projected finish in terms of USTFCCCA ranking. The Rams entered as the coaches' association's seventh-highest ranked team competing at this meet.
In the women's championship 6k, then-No. 27 Georgetown, Texas (receiving votes) and five other power conference programs were among the teams defeated by CSU. Leading the Rams in that field, which featured 15 ranked teams overall, was senior Bailey Ness (20:58.8), who was 73rd of 227 runners. Senior Ali Kallner joined Ness in the top 100, stopping the clock in 21:10.4 to take 94th place.

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