Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, September 3
Cheyenne, WY
6:00 PM
Colorado State
vs
Wyoming Invite
CSU Cross Country Season Starts Friday at Wyoming Invite
9/2/2021 12:40:00 PM | Cross Country
The Wyoming Invite is Friday at 6 p.m. in Cheyenne, Wyo.
FORT COLLINS – For the fourth season in a row, the Colorado State cross country programs' season will begin at the Wyoming Invite on Friday in Cheyenne, Wyo. at the Little America Golf Course.
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The women, ranked No. 27 nationally in the USTFCCCA Preseason Coaches' Poll, will hear the starting pistol at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 6:30 p.m. in their respective 5,000-meter races.
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"The meet will be competitive on both sides [men & women]," Colorado State head coach Art Siemers said. "We usually don't get this much competition early in the season, so it will be a valuable rust buster for us."
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Joining the Rams for the meet in addition to host Wyoming are: Colorado, Northern Colorado, Colorado School of Mines, Western Colorado and Colorado Mesa. The stiffest opponent is CU which is ranked 12th nationally on the men's side and eighth on the women's, while both ended last season in the top 15 as well. The NCAA Division II squads of Mines, Western and Mesa will provide some competition, too, as all but one of their six teams are ranked, including both the men and women inside the top-10 for Mines and Western. Since NCAA DII did not hold a championship this past season, the Orediggers are out to defend their national title from 2019.Â
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Last season, which was this past January due to the delayed season per COVID-19, the Rams and Wyoming ran in a dual, so the increased competition of other teams is welcomed by Siemers, who admitted that could have had an affect on the season. The women not as much as they reached the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2007, but the men struggled despite their projection to win the Mountain West. At conference, the Ram women finished third with the men fourth – the same spots in this season's MW preseason coaches' poll.
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"For us, this meet holds significance because we haven't had cross country in the fall or a full season in a year, and we are coming off a strong track season that we want to build off of," said Art Siemers. "Our men underperformed last season in cross country, so we know they are ready to compete well, and this will be a good test for them. The women came back even stronger. We'll know more about our teams after this race. With multiple teams and over 100 student-athletes, it will be a better assessment for both teams and more intel on what we need to work on going into our big meet at Oregon later in the month."
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Men's Team Notes: Almost the entirety of the men's roster returned except for one graduation, but a total of 18 student-athletes remain from last season, including All-Mountain West performer Mason Brown who took 14th at the conference meet. Jared Putney, a junior transfer from Seattle Pacific, represents the only new face in the bunch. USTFCCCA Mountain Region Ranking: No. 8
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Women's Team Notes: The ladies return all 10 runners who competed in this spring's MW conference meet, including All-Mountain West recipients Lily Tomasula-Martin and Lauren Offerman. In all, there are 20 returners on the women's roster and two newcomers – freshman Kealan McNally and sophomore transfer Anna Petr from Wisconsin. USTFCCCA Mountain Region Ranking: No. 5
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MEET INFO:
Date: Friday, September 3, 2021
Where: The Little America Golf Course – Cheyenne
2800 W Lincolnway
Cheyenne, WY 82001
Teams Competing: Colorado, Wyoming, Northern Colorado, Mines, Western State, Mesa
Starting Times: 6:00 p.m. MT – Women's 5K | 6:30 p.m. MT – Men's 5K
Parking: Available on Site
Course: Golf course with a mixture of grasses and a few cart crossings with rubber mats over
them.
Scoring: Unlimited entries and top seven runners will count as a team with top 5 scoring from
each school. No dual meet scoring.
Live Results: https://csura.ms/3kR3fcq. Final results will be available approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the last event
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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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The women, ranked No. 27 nationally in the USTFCCCA Preseason Coaches' Poll, will hear the starting pistol at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 6:30 p.m. in their respective 5,000-meter races.
Â
"The meet will be competitive on both sides [men & women]," Colorado State head coach Art Siemers said. "We usually don't get this much competition early in the season, so it will be a valuable rust buster for us."
Â
Joining the Rams for the meet in addition to host Wyoming are: Colorado, Northern Colorado, Colorado School of Mines, Western Colorado and Colorado Mesa. The stiffest opponent is CU which is ranked 12th nationally on the men's side and eighth on the women's, while both ended last season in the top 15 as well. The NCAA Division II squads of Mines, Western and Mesa will provide some competition, too, as all but one of their six teams are ranked, including both the men and women inside the top-10 for Mines and Western. Since NCAA DII did not hold a championship this past season, the Orediggers are out to defend their national title from 2019.Â
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Last season, which was this past January due to the delayed season per COVID-19, the Rams and Wyoming ran in a dual, so the increased competition of other teams is welcomed by Siemers, who admitted that could have had an affect on the season. The women not as much as they reached the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2007, but the men struggled despite their projection to win the Mountain West. At conference, the Ram women finished third with the men fourth – the same spots in this season's MW preseason coaches' poll.
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"For us, this meet holds significance because we haven't had cross country in the fall or a full season in a year, and we are coming off a strong track season that we want to build off of," said Art Siemers. "Our men underperformed last season in cross country, so we know they are ready to compete well, and this will be a good test for them. The women came back even stronger. We'll know more about our teams after this race. With multiple teams and over 100 student-athletes, it will be a better assessment for both teams and more intel on what we need to work on going into our big meet at Oregon later in the month."
Â
Men's Team Notes: Almost the entirety of the men's roster returned except for one graduation, but a total of 18 student-athletes remain from last season, including All-Mountain West performer Mason Brown who took 14th at the conference meet. Jared Putney, a junior transfer from Seattle Pacific, represents the only new face in the bunch. USTFCCCA Mountain Region Ranking: No. 8
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Women's Team Notes: The ladies return all 10 runners who competed in this spring's MW conference meet, including All-Mountain West recipients Lily Tomasula-Martin and Lauren Offerman. In all, there are 20 returners on the women's roster and two newcomers – freshman Kealan McNally and sophomore transfer Anna Petr from Wisconsin. USTFCCCA Mountain Region Ranking: No. 5
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MEET INFO:
Date: Friday, September 3, 2021
Where: The Little America Golf Course – Cheyenne
2800 W Lincolnway
Cheyenne, WY 82001
Teams Competing: Colorado, Wyoming, Northern Colorado, Mines, Western State, Mesa
Starting Times: 6:00 p.m. MT – Women's 5K | 6:30 p.m. MT – Men's 5K
Parking: Available on Site
Course: Golf course with a mixture of grasses and a few cart crossings with rubber mats over
them.
Scoring: Unlimited entries and top seven runners will count as a team with top 5 scoring from
each school. No dual meet scoring.
Live Results: https://csura.ms/3kR3fcq. Final results will be available approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the last event
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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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