Cross Country Set for Mountain West Championships

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – After five regular-season meets, the Colorado State cross country programs switch gears into the championship portion of the schedule, starting with the Mountain West Championships Friday on the campus of New Mexico.

With both the men and women's teams ranked inside the top-20 of the USTFCCCA National Poll for the first time since 2003, the Rams are trending upward going into the twilight of the season. After Friday's race, the NCAA Mountain Region (Nov. 12) is scheduled for two weeks out and then the NCAA Championships (Nov. 20) another week and a day following to end the cross country campaign.

Friday's action at the UNM Golf Course will get underway with the men's 8,000-meter race at 10:15 a.m. MT followed by the women's 6K at 11 a.m. MT. The conference award ceremony for both races will cap the early afternoon's festivities. Weather forecast conditions are in the 50s with little wind and no precipitation chances.

"Sometimes there are different gameplans going into a race, but with both teams ranked second, we have similar strategies" head coach Art Siemers said. "For the men, we are aiming for Air Force, while the women it is New Mexico. Both teams will be running trying to win a conference title. That's the goal."

The Colorado State women's team is nationally ranked 12^th – one spot shy of the highest-ever position in 2007, which is the year of CSU's only women's title. Going into this year's edition, the Rams are pinned to finish second based on the MW Coaches' Pre-Championship Poll behind the nation's top-ranked team New Mexico. However, the Rams did garner one first-place vote, which didn't come from head coach Art Siemers as coaches can't vote for their own squad. In the three races (Wyoming Invite, Bill Dellinger Invite, Nuttycombe Invite) that the CSU varsity team ran, CSU finished first, second and sixth, respectively, while steadily increasing in the national rankings along the way, starting the season at No. 27.

Spending most of the season unranked, the men's path has been an uphill battle to the nation's radar. It wasn't until their Nuttycombe Invite 10^th-place showing above 15 ranked or receiving-votes teams that pushed the Rams into the rankings and into the No. 19 spot nationally. Similar to the women, the men were picked to finish second in the conference, but behind the Falcons of Air Force, which are ranked 11^th in USTFCCCA. The men last won the conference in 2019.

If the two CSU teams finish second it will mark the best combined finish by the Rams since 2002. The last time that they both finished top three was in 2013 with the men second and women third.

Earlier this year in the shortened spring cross country season, the men finished fourth and the women third at the conference meet held in Las Vegas, Nev. In 2019, the men finished second, while the women were fourth.

More from Art
Head coach Art Siemers
On the strength of conference…
"It's great to have the competition and it makes it more fun certainly to be a part of a conference that can go race at big meets and beat Power 5 schools and represent the conference. Then we come to the conference championships and know that you must work for every kilometer and place to be successful. It really prepares you for the regional and national meets."

Mountain West Pre-Championship Polls:
Men's Cross Country Midseason Poll
Team (First-Place Votes)              Points
1. Air Force (8)                                   64
2. Colorado State                              53
3. Utah State (1)                               52
4. Boise State                                     45
5. Wyoming                                        34
6. New Mexico                                  27
7. Nevada                                           23
8. Fresno State                                  18
9. San José State                               8

Women's Cross Country Midseason Poll
Team (First-Place Votes)            Points
1. New Mexico (10)                        100
2. Colorado State (1)                     90
3. Utah State                                    81
4. Boise State                                   75
5. Air Force                                       63
6. Wyoming                                      51
7. Nevada                                        43
8. San Diego State                          36
9. Fresno State                                32
10. UNLV                                             20
11. San José State                            14

USTFCCCA Rankings: Nationally: Women, No. 12; Men, No. 19
Mountain Region: Women, No. 5; Mountain Region: Men, No. 5

Men's Roster: Calvin Banta, Dawson Besst, Mason Brown, Jacob Brueckman, Thomas Chaston, Brock Dykema, Maximilliano Martinez, Chris Montross, Tanner Norman, Tom Oates

Women's Roster: Claudia Burgess, Emily Chaston, Ivy Gonzales, Ashlyn Hillyard, Lauren Neugeboren, Lauren Offerman, Anna Petr, Kylie Poole, Annabel Stafford, Lily Tomasula-Martin

MEET INFO:
Conference Championship Headquarters: https://csura.ms/3Cr8mro
Live Results: http://www.rtspt.com/events/mw/2021-XC/
Live Stream: http://csura.ms/Live (Mountain West Network)
Date: Friday, October 29, 2021
Where: UNM North Golf Course
2201 Tucker Ave. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87131
Men Teams Competing: #11 Air Force, #23 Boise State, #19 Colorado State, New Mexico, #21 Utah State, Fresno State, Nevada, San Jose State, Wyoming
Women Teams Competing: Air Force, #RV Boise State, #12 Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, #1 New Mexico, #28 Utah State, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming
Starting Times: 10:15 a.m. MT – Men's 8K Race | 11:00 a.m. MT – Women's 6K Race | 11:45 a.m. MT – Men's Race Award Ceremony | 12 p.m. MT – Women's Race Award Ceremony
Parking: Free and available at the club house.
Course: The UNM GOLF Course consists of a flat start for the first 800 meters before it turns down a slight hill, back up a slight elevation and then back the same hole. From there the course goes back and forth on three holes of straight level ground before making the loop and starting again. The finish line is on a fairway. The elevation is approximately 5,300 feet.
Scoring: 10 entries per school with seven having the ability to score.

For More on Colorado State Track & Field and Cross Country follow: Twitter – CSUTrackFieldXC | Instagram – csutrackfieldXC | Facebook – Colorado State Track & Field/Cross Country

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