Cross Country Undaunted with Regional Task

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – In the USTFCCCA Regional Preview that gives a glimpse of four of the nine regions prior to this weekend's races, it says, "How could we start anywhere but the Mountain Region?"

Both the men and women's sides contain a region-high seven nationally ranked teams apiece. The Rams head into both races pinned in the seventh spot, which with the strong region is still on the cusp of earning an at-large selection into next weekend's NCAA Championships. The last time both Ram teams advanced to the NCAAs was 2004. The women reached the national meet earlier this year in the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 campaign for the first team since 2009 and finished 23^rd, while the men last made it to the big meet in 2018 when they strung together their second-consecutive ninth place showing.

Friday's regional races mark a return for event as it was bypassed in the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 campaign. The Mountain Region gets underway at the Timpanogos Golf Club in Provo, Utah with the women's 6,000-meter race at 11 a.m. MT followed by the men's 10K at 12 p.m. MT. Weather forecast conditions straddle the 50-degree mark with little wind and precipitation chances.

"The good thing is the Mountain West is so strong, so it is not like we went into a weak conference meet and now are going to a strong regional meet," head coach Art Siemers said about the competition. "Being in a competitive conference really prepares us physically and mentally for a tough region. We've done really well here before, and I believe the teams are looking forward to doing it again."

Since the women's race has four teams inside the national top-10, the USTFCCCA article broke down Friday's earlier race first. Host BYU, ranked fourth nationally, gets the friendly edge in the regional rankings but have the nation's No. 2-ranked New Mexico and No. 3 Colorado in tow. All three won their respective conference titles, while Pac-12 runner-up Utah holds the fourth spot in the regional rankings before Northern Arizona who won the Big Sky. Next are the No. 2 and 3 finishes in the MW of No. 22 Utah State and the No. 19 Rams. The last time the CSU women finished in seventh or better was in 2017. Earlier this season, the women were ranked as high as 12^th nationally – one spot shy of the highest-ever position in 2007.

The nation's top-two men's teams of NAU and CU battle it out at the top followed by fellow conference champions No. 8 BYU and No. 11 Air Force. The 26^th-ranked Southern Utah Thunderbirds, which finished behind in the Lumberjacks in the Big Sky, provides a strong No. 5 in the region before the No. 21 Utah State and No. 22 Rams standoff. The two latter teams – the Aggies and Rams – have beat each other once. First, CSU finished right ahead of USU at the Nuttycombe Invitational, finishing 10^th and 11^th, respectively but then the Aggies flipped the script at the conference meet going third and fourth. The last time the CSU men finished in seventh or better at regionals was in 2018 when they placed fourth for the third year in a row, earning a spot at NCAAs each time.

A different program has won the women regional title in each of the past three editions with BYU taking top honors in 2019, New Mexico doing so in 2018 and Colorado before that for the fifth time in a row. On the men's side, either the Lumberjacks or the Buffs have taken the regional crown since 2011.

For both Rams' teams it is about getting back on pace as both steadily improved in each race through the season before taking a slight step back at the conference meet. Prior to the MW, both the men and women's teams were ranked inside the top-20 of the USTFCCCA National Poll for the first time since 2003.

The top-2 teams per gender in each region automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, while the other teams will be at-large selections during an NCAA Selection Show on Saturday at 5 pm ET. Then, after teams have been determined, 40 additional individuals per gender are selected to compete based on finish at their respective regional championships (38 are automatic selections; two are at-large).

More from Art
Head coach Art Siemers
On practice since conference and health…
"We've tapered a bit in practice since the conference meet and have looked really sharp. Mason [Brown] has been improving every day since the conference meet. He went into the MW meet not being able to run every day the week before, which affected him a bit as he wasn't very crisp. He looks great now, so we are going in all healthy, fit, and ready to run our best. That goes for both sides. We've had a great cycle of training and that's all you can ask for – going into the regional meet healthy. I believe both teams have the mindset of going into this strong Mountain Region with the determination of getting an at-large bid for NCAAs."

USTFCCCA Mountain Region (MEN)
Team (National Ranking)
1. Northern Arizona (1)
2. Colorado (2)
3. BYU (8)
4. Air Force (11)
5. Southern Utah (26)
6. Utah State (21)
7. Colorado State (22)
8. Montana State
9. Weber State
10. Utah Valley
11. UTEP
12. Wyoming
13. Idaho State
14. Nevada
15. New Mexico

USTFCCCA Mountain Region (WOMEN)
Team (National Ranking)
1. BYU (4)
2. New Mexico (2)
3. Colorado (3)
4. Utah (7)
5. Northern Arizona (18)
6. Utah State (22)
7. Colorado State (19)
8. Weber State (RV)
9. Air Force
10. Utah Valley
11. Southern Utah
12. Wyoming
13. New Mexico State
14. Montana State
15. Idaho State

Men's Roster: Calvin Banta, Dawson Besst, Mason Brown, Jacob Brueckman, Thomas Chaston, Brock Dykema, Tanner Norman

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

MEET INFO:
NCAA Mountain Regional Headquarters: https://csura.ms/3wCIUgt
Live Results: https://csura.ms/3onLQtB
Date: Friday, November 12, 2021
Where: Timpanogos Golf Club
380 E. 1860 S. Provo, Utah 84606
Starting Times: 11 a.m. MT – Women's 6K Race | 12 p.m. MT – Men's 10K
Scoring: Seven entries per school with all 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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