Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, August 31
Cheyenne, Wyo.
6 p.m. MT
Colorado State
at
Wyoming Invite
Rams set to open 2018 season at Wyoming Invite
8/30/2018 12:38:00 PM | Cross Country
Women's 5k scheduled for 6 p.m. MT, men's 5k to follow at 6:30 p.m. MT
Wyoming Invite
Friday, Aug. 31
Women's 5k: 6 p.m. MT
Men's 5k: 6:30 p.m. MT
Little America Golf Course - Cheyenne, Wyo.
Hosted by Wyoming
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado State cross country team is set to open its 2018 campaign this Friday at the Wyoming Invite.
The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. MT from the Little America Golf Course in Cheyenne, Wyo. The women's 5k is scheduled to begin first, with the men's 5k to follow at 6:30 p.m. MT. Opponents for each of the Rams' women and men include Colorado (ranked No. 7 in men's cross country, No. 2 in women's cross country), Air Force (ranked No. 16 in men's cross country), Northern Colorado and host Wyoming.
"This will be a good test for us," Colorado State cross country head coach Art Siemers said. "This meet will be a piece to our training for when we go up against the best teams in the country at the Nuttycombe in a month. Colorado will probably run part of their team, and Air Force usually runs their whole team. Wyoming is much improved and will have their whole squad out there. Given that, this meet will be a good measure of where we are on both the women's and men's sides, and then we'll build off of that."
Colorado State's men enter this season ranked at No. 9 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA), marking the Rams' highest preseason ranking in men's cross country in program history. Additionally, CSU enters 2018 as the favorite to win the Mountain West title, as projected by conference head coaches.
On the women's side, Colorado State is receiving 11 points in USTFCCCA national polling, positioning the Rams as the third team outside of the nation's top-30 ranked schools. CSU's women also sit as the coaches' association's No. 5-ranked team in the Mountain Region, marking their highest position in a regional ranking since 2012.
Final results and a full recap from the Wyoming Invite will be posted to CSURams.com as soon as each are available.
Rams' No. 9 Preseason Ranking is Highest All-Time from USTFCCCA
- The Colorado State men's cross country team enters the 2018 season with its highest preseason ranking in program history, as the Rams were tabbed the No. 9 team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (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.
- On the women's side, Colorado State has the third-highest points total of any team receiving votes outside of the national top 30. CSU is receiving 11 points, sitting just six points behind the No. 30 San Francisco women and within 10 points of No. 29 Ohio State (19 points) and No. 28 Dartmouth (20 points).
Rams Women and Men Rank in the Top Five in Mountain Region
- CSU's men will once again represent a loaded Mountain Region, and checks in at a program-best preseason regional ranking of No. 4. National No. 1 and the two-time defending national champion Northern Arizona leads the region, followed by the nation's No. 2 team, BYU, then No. 7 Colorado. The Mountain Region's four preseason national top-10 teams are the most of any region (West Region – three).
- In regional rankings, the Colorado State women check in at No. 5, marking the Rams' highest Mountain Region ranking on the women's side since being tabbed the region's No. 4 squad on Oct. 29, 2012.
- Colorado State finished fourth in the men's 10k and seventh in women's competition at the 2017 Mountain Regional. CSU's men placed behind only then-No. 1 Northern Arizona, then-No. 2 BYU and then-No. 5 Colorado to finish fourth in the crowded region. The Rams' men defeated then-No. 12 Southern Utah, then-No. 16 Air Force and then-No. 23 Utah State, while the women placed ahead of then-No. 29 Northern Arizona.
Rams Projected to Win Men's Mountain West Title
- The Colorado State men's cross country team has been voted by conference head coaches as the favorite to win the Mountain West title for the upcoming 2018 season. The conference released the results of the 2018 MW Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll on Thursday, Aug. 23.
 - Colorado State men's cross country received four first-place votes and 46 points overall, matching its preseason tally prior to its 2017 campaign. Colorado State is predicted to repeat as conference champions after winning its first-ever Mountain West cross country title in men's competition last season.
 - CSU's men won last year's conference crown in one of the most dominant team performances in the history of the meet, as the Rams' 31 points were the second-fewest ever tallied by any current conference member (26 – New Mexico, 2014). The Rams defeated second-place Air Force (59 points) by a 28-point margin.
- The majority of the top seven returns from that CSU team, including 2017 MW cross country runner-up Cole Rockhold and fifth-place finisher Eric Hamer. No other school returns any male athlete that finished higher than Rockhold or Hamer at the MW Championships in 2017. Trent Powell, who placed 15th in the conference last year, and Carson Hume, the meet's 18th-place finisher in 2017, give the Rams more returners from 2017's top-18 conference finishers than any other men's team (four for CSU, three for Boise State).
All-America Performer Highlights Rams' Returners
- Among the returners for the preseason No. 9 CSU men is senior Cole Rockhold, who led the Rams to their ninth-place NCAA finish with an All-America-caliber 32nd-place individual finish.
- That marked the first All-America honor in cross country for Rockhold, who currently owns a combined five First-Team and Second-Team All-America honors. Among his top NCAA performances were respective sixth-place finishes in the mile and 3,000 meters, each garnering First-Team All-America distinction.
- Notably, Rockhold's three indoor All-America honors rank as the third-most by any female or male athlete in program history.
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Friday, Aug. 31
Women's 5k: 6 p.m. MT
Men's 5k: 6:30 p.m. MT
Little America Golf Course - Cheyenne, Wyo.
Hosted by Wyoming
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado State cross country team is set to open its 2018 campaign this Friday at the Wyoming Invite.
The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. MT from the Little America Golf Course in Cheyenne, Wyo. The women's 5k is scheduled to begin first, with the men's 5k to follow at 6:30 p.m. MT. Opponents for each of the Rams' women and men include Colorado (ranked No. 7 in men's cross country, No. 2 in women's cross country), Air Force (ranked No. 16 in men's cross country), Northern Colorado and host Wyoming.
"This will be a good test for us," Colorado State cross country head coach Art Siemers said. "This meet will be a piece to our training for when we go up against the best teams in the country at the Nuttycombe in a month. Colorado will probably run part of their team, and Air Force usually runs their whole team. Wyoming is much improved and will have their whole squad out there. Given that, this meet will be a good measure of where we are on both the women's and men's sides, and then we'll build off of that."
Colorado State's men enter this season ranked at No. 9 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA), marking the Rams' highest preseason ranking in men's cross country in program history. Additionally, CSU enters 2018 as the favorite to win the Mountain West title, as projected by conference head coaches.
On the women's side, Colorado State is receiving 11 points in USTFCCCA national polling, positioning the Rams as the third team outside of the nation's top-30 ranked schools. CSU's women also sit as the coaches' association's No. 5-ranked team in the Mountain Region, marking their highest position in a regional ranking since 2012.
Final results and a full recap from the Wyoming Invite will be posted to CSURams.com as soon as each are available.
Rams' No. 9 Preseason Ranking is Highest All-Time from USTFCCCA
- The Colorado State men's cross country team enters the 2018 season with its highest preseason ranking in program history, as the Rams were tabbed the No. 9 team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (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.
- On the women's side, Colorado State has the third-highest points total of any team receiving votes outside of the national top 30. CSU is receiving 11 points, sitting just six points behind the No. 30 San Francisco women and within 10 points of No. 29 Ohio State (19 points) and No. 28 Dartmouth (20 points).
Rams Women and Men Rank in the Top Five in Mountain Region
- CSU's men will once again represent a loaded Mountain Region, and checks in at a program-best preseason regional ranking of No. 4. National No. 1 and the two-time defending national champion Northern Arizona leads the region, followed by the nation's No. 2 team, BYU, then No. 7 Colorado. The Mountain Region's four preseason national top-10 teams are the most of any region (West Region – three).
- In regional rankings, the Colorado State women check in at No. 5, marking the Rams' highest Mountain Region ranking on the women's side since being tabbed the region's No. 4 squad on Oct. 29, 2012.
- Colorado State finished fourth in the men's 10k and seventh in women's competition at the 2017 Mountain Regional. CSU's men placed behind only then-No. 1 Northern Arizona, then-No. 2 BYU and then-No. 5 Colorado to finish fourth in the crowded region. The Rams' men defeated then-No. 12 Southern Utah, then-No. 16 Air Force and then-No. 23 Utah State, while the women placed ahead of then-No. 29 Northern Arizona.
Rams Projected to Win Men's Mountain West Title
- The Colorado State men's cross country team has been voted by conference head coaches as the favorite to win the Mountain West title for the upcoming 2018 season. The conference released the results of the 2018 MW Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll on Thursday, Aug. 23.
 - Colorado State men's cross country received four first-place votes and 46 points overall, matching its preseason tally prior to its 2017 campaign. Colorado State is predicted to repeat as conference champions after winning its first-ever Mountain West cross country title in men's competition last season.
 - CSU's men won last year's conference crown in one of the most dominant team performances in the history of the meet, as the Rams' 31 points were the second-fewest ever tallied by any current conference member (26 – New Mexico, 2014). The Rams defeated second-place Air Force (59 points) by a 28-point margin.
- The majority of the top seven returns from that CSU team, including 2017 MW cross country runner-up Cole Rockhold and fifth-place finisher Eric Hamer. No other school returns any male athlete that finished higher than Rockhold or Hamer at the MW Championships in 2017. Trent Powell, who placed 15th in the conference last year, and Carson Hume, the meet's 18th-place finisher in 2017, give the Rams more returners from 2017's top-18 conference finishers than any other men's team (four for CSU, three for Boise State).
All-America Performer Highlights Rams' Returners
- Among the returners for the preseason No. 9 CSU men is senior Cole Rockhold, who led the Rams to their ninth-place NCAA finish with an All-America-caliber 32nd-place individual finish.
- That marked the first All-America honor in cross country for Rockhold, who currently owns a combined five First-Team and Second-Team All-America honors. Among his top NCAA performances were respective sixth-place finishes in the mile and 3,000 meters, each garnering First-Team All-America distinction.
- Notably, Rockhold's three indoor All-America honors rank as the third-most by any female or male athlete in program history.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Cross Country
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