Cross Country Geared for Battle Born Meet in Vegas

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FORT COLLINS – When Colorado State lines up Friday in the Battle Born Collegiate Cross Country Challenge it will have been 27 days in-between hearing that starting gun go off, but nevertheless the Rams have stayed prepared, which they have to in this season that leaves no margin for error.

In the next two weeks, the Rams will be racing twice at Craig Ranch Regional Park in North Las Vegas. Meaning tomorrow's meet gives the Rams a chance to preview the course ahead of the Mountain West Championships on March 5^th. Two regular-season competitions and the conference meet to earn a spot into the NCAA Championships.

The last time both Rams competed was on Jan. 23rd in the Wyoming dual, which the women and men were both victorious.

"Despite the lengthy time in between competitions, our training has been consistent, and we have been lucky enough to stay healthy," head distance coach Art Siemers said. "This is probably the premier race in the country going into conference championships for some of these programs, so it will be exciting to see what we can do on both sides [women & men]."

The meet hosted by USA Track & Field Nevada will feature 10 total teams ranked in the Top-25 of USTFCCCA's latest rankings plus another four that are receiving votes.

The CSU men, ranked 25^th, are in a field of nine total schools with only one not being either ranked or receiving votes. Northern Arizona at No. 2 leads the group with No. 5 Stanford and No. 10 Colorado in tow before the Rams, while Wyoming, Boise State and Southern Utah all are receiving votes.

The CSU women have seven opponents who are ranked or receiving votes, including four inside the top-10. The defending conference champion Lobos are ranked fourth nationally with No. 5 Colorado, No. 6 Stanford and No. 9 Washington also competing in Vegas this weekend. Boise State (No. 11), Northern Arizona (No. 16) and Utah (Rec. Votes) round out the nationally recognized in the 12-team field.

The forecast for Friday in Las Vegas calls for sun with a high of 66 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a far cry from what the Rams have had in Fort Collins the past days, weeks, months or even this year.

The meet starts at 10:00 a.m. PT with the men leading off followed by the women's race at 10:45 a.m. Spectators will not be allowed at the meet, but live results will be available.

Coaches' Perspective
Art Siemers
On being able to race at the conference site ahead of the conference meet…
"It always helps to run a course prior to the conference meet. It helps with visualization. Normally, we would practice run a course prior to the conference meet, but to be able to race it is a big advantage. It is one of the reasons why we picked this schedule. Also, with there being no regional this year, the conference meet has doubled in importance. We needed to give our teams every advantage to make it to the NCAAs. We just need to go in and execute."

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