Rams Head to Championships with Something to Prove

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – As whole, both genders in the program are after the same thing at the Mountain West Championships. The only difference between the men's and women's cross country teams at Colorado State is the push is coming from different perspectives.

While the women have been on the national radar all season and continued to make their blip bigger on the screen, the men have recently come into view after an outstanding performance at the Nuttycomb Invitational a few weeks back. There, the men beat a bunch of ranked teams to vault into the 19th spot of the USTFCCCA rankings. There, the women beat a bunch of ranked teams, which they had been doing, to jump from 21^st to 12^th.

So, being good at the Mountain West Championships this Friday in Albuquerque, N.M., is important for both, but it carries more importance for the men.

"We have to stay on the gas, for sure," Tanner Norman said of the men's team. "I think we beat Utah State by three points, and that's a team we need to beat again. And going into regionals, we need to have all the positive momentum we can get this year.

"That was the first time we've gone out and beat a bunch of teams we weren't really supposed to beat. We've been running well this fall, but to go and have a performance like that, that was the first time we went out and ran to what we know we're capable of doing. To be able to carry that momentum into the postseason is huge for us."

Coach Art Siemers knows how it all works. A year ago, the women used a strong kick at the end of the year to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships and walked away with a top-25 finish despite their lead runner, Lily Tomsula-Martin, getting spiked and fading.

This year, the men are trying to take the same route as the women did last year, and a great final kick starts at the championships and needs to continue at the NCAA Mountain Regional – both of which are stacked fields – to prove their point.

"On the men's side, it's probably more important," Siemers said. "The men had a tough last two years. I think last year helped us grow, but this was our first really good race, and to back it up is going to be really important, and on the men's side, there's even more depth than the women's side with four nationally ranked teams."

The women know what that is all about and what it feels like, and they much prefer the position they are in now.

The reality is their inclusion in the NCAA Championships is pretty much a lock, as long as they continue to perform the way they have been. Still, it doesn't mean they have any intention of easing up on the gas pedal, either.

Womens XC practice

"We definitely have to stay very focused and engaged and not take where we are for granted," Claudia Burgess said. "We just have to focus on the team and running together. I'd say we definitely still have to stay focused, but we're going into championship season in a much different place than we're usually in, and that's exciting, but I don't think anybody has relaxed about it.

"We can't think that way because we obviously don't want to lose any of the opportunities that we have now, but I personally don't feel like I'm thinking that way, because I'm so used to us going into these races with a lot on the line and really trying to prove ourselves still. I think we can go into these races, honestly, preparing more for nationals this time, because usually we're tapering and trying to have our best peak performances at conference and regionals, but this time, we're going into these races knowing they don't matter as much, but we're not letting our guard down. We're still going in and giving our strongest races, but it's more changing the long-term mindset of peaking at nationals."

Air Force will head into the Mountain West men's race ranked 11^th, and in the Rams' part of the neighborhood, there is a crowd with Utah State at 21, Boise State at 23. Siemers wants them to use the design of the field to make

The field at Nuttycomb was big and varied, and as Siemers said, it is easy to lose sight of your teammates and your targets. Not so this week, where everything is in clear view.

More importantly, the Rams have to stay in view of each other. Their coach says they have to run better as a pack, which is something the women have been doing consistently this season. No one is more focused on the fact than the runners themselves.

"Especially with the smaller field, being able to find each other is going to be a lot easier when it comes to those four, five and six guys," Norman said. "If you can keep the two and three close to them and keep them up instead of everyone going and when guys start to struggle they lose contact ... That's where the most points are going to be won or lost right there. That's a big deal.

"You can see it as the race plays out. You know where you are. With the field being so small, you know where you are and you know if you're running well or you're not. In a big race, you have guys yelling at you, but at the conference meet, you can see it all happening."

The Mountain West field for the women isn't as stacked, but it does carry a bigger task – No. 1 New Mexico. The regional field will be more loaded for them, but this week provides an opportunity to challenge the best in the nation before having to do it the two meets which will follow.

Again, Burgess likes the place the team is at, because there is a confidence in being one of the teams in position instead of trying to position themselves in the picture. New Mexico is a great measuring stick for them, and will be week after week.

"It's really exciting go finally feel like we have a good chance against these other teams who have made big names form themselves," she said. "We're at a level where we're competing with them, and it's really exciting. I think things can always get better. We already have such a great pack, like I think our top five were within 17 seconds in our last race. Our pack is very solid and put together, but of course, it can always improve, we can get closer together. We all train together, so I don't see why we can't get closer.

"It is so much more exciting. Usually were trying to prove ourselves, and now we're just focusing on being the best we can at nationals. It does make this a whole new level of excitement. We've already started to prove ourselves and what we're capable of and we should be ranked. Now it's exciting to go in and actually taper and have our peak performance when it really matters."

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