Utah State Cross Country Travels to Fresno for Mountain West Championships

Utah State’s [University] men and women’s cross country teams head to California this weekend [Oct.31, Nov.1] to compete in the 2014 Mountain West Championships. Conference races will be held at Woodward Park in Fresno Calif. Friday, Oct. 31.

The women's six-kilometer race begins at 11 a.m. (MT) with the men’s eight-kilometer race starting at 11:45 a.m. (MT), Fans can follow the action at the 2014 Mountain West Championships live and for free on the Mountain West Network.

The USU women were picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West Pre-Championship Coaches' Poll, improving one position from the sixth spot they received in the Midseason Coaches' Poll. On the other side, the men remained locked in to finish sixth as voted on by the league's coaches.

"We're excited about the upcoming Mountain West Championship and the recent coaches' poll being released,” said USU head coach Gregg Gensel. “The coaches' poll says we will be in the middle of the pack. We're excited to improve on that and to see how we improve those expectations for the rest of the season."

In the women's poll, New Mexico (100) secured the top spot with 10 first place votes. Boise State (90) came in second, receiving one first-place vote. At the third and fourth spots are Wyoming (80) and Colorado State (73) finishing ahead of the Aggie women.

In the men's poll, New Mexico (49) also claimed the number one ranking with seven first-place votes. Close behind, Colorado State (43) came in second receiving the other first-place vote. Boise State (37), Wyoming (26) and Air Force (25) fill out the third through fifth spots ranking before the Aggie men's position at sixth.

Senior Eric Shellhorn has paved the way for the Aggie men all season being their top finisher in three out of the four regular season meets, showcasing his abilities by finishing 17th (25:23) out of 301 runners at the Roy Griak Invitational in Falcon Heights, Minn., on Sept. 27.

Sophomore Tori Parkinson has paced the Aggie women as their top finisher at each meet this season. Parkinson finished the season strong, placing 13th (20:50) at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Oct. 18.

Both the Utah State men and women rank 13th in the Mountain Regional Team Rankings, according to the latest rankings released by the United States Track & Field And Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

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The results will also be available on TheMW.com Cross Country Championships Central page.

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics website.