Complete WAC Release | USTFCCCA National and Regional Rankings
DENVER - With the 2021 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships just days away, the league has released how its head coaches feel things will shake out at the UC Riverside Ag Ops Course Saturday morning.
The 2021 WAC Pre-Championship Cross Country Coaches' Polls were unveiled Wednesday morning and the league's coaches have predicted a fourth-place finish for the NM State women's cross country team and a 10th-place finish for the NM State men's cross country team this Saturday.
California Baptist has been picked as the league's favorite on both the men's and women's side. Rounding out the top three squads in the men's realm are Utah Valley and Grand Canyon. On the women's end, Abilene Christian and Utah Valley were selected to finish second and third respectively.
For the Aggies' women's cross country team, the team members are hoping to better their predicted fourth-place finish at this weekend's league race. NM State continues to stay ranked 13th in the United States Cross Country and Track & Field Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mountain Region Rankings. Also ranked in the Mountain Region is Utah Valley (ninth) while Abilene Christian (second) and California Baptist (ninth) appear in the South Central Region and West Region rankings respectively.
NM State men's cross country team has plenty of motivation to prove the doubters wrong as they were chosen to finish above just three teams - Tarleton, Seattle U and Chicago State - Saturday morning. In order to do so, however, they'll have to contend with five teams who are ranked in the latest edition of the USTFCCCA Regional Rankings. Those teams include Utah Valley (10th in the Mountain Region), Lamar (ninth in the South Central Region), Abilene Christian (13th in the South Central Region), Sam Houston (14th in the South Central Region) and California Baptist (seventh in West Region). CBU is also receiving votes in this week's USTFCCCA Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll.
The 2021 WAC Cross Country Championships are set to start Saturday morning in Riverside, Calif. The men's eight-kilometer race begins at 10:00 a.m. MT while the gun for the women's six-kilometer race goes off at 11:00 a.m. MT from the UC Riverside Ag Ops Course. Both the Aggies' men's and women's teams have already traversed that course as they competed in UC Riverside's Highlander Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 16.
For complete coverage of NM State's men's and women's cross country teams as they race for 2021 WAC titles in Riverside this weekend, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Track/XC), Twitter (@NMStateXCTF) and Instagram (@NMStateXCTF).
2021 WAC Pre-Championship Men's Cross Country Coaches' Poll
Place. School (First-Place Votes) | Total Points
1. California Baptist (12) | 144
2. Utah Valley (1) | 131
3. Grand Canyon | 122
4. Lamar | 105
5. Abilene Christian | 97
6. Sam Houston | 84
7. SFA | 71
8. UTRGV | 63
9. Dixie State | 57
10. NM State | 48
11. Tarleton | 41
12. Seattle U | 39
13. Chicago State | 12
2021 WAC Pre-Championship Women's Cross Country Coaches' Poll
Place. School (First-Place Votes) | Total Points
1. California Baptist (8) | 139
2. Abilene Christian (3) | 127
3. Utah Valley (2) | 125
4. NM State | 115
5. Grand Canyon | 99
6. SFA | 76
7. Seattle U | 74
8. Dixie State | 68
9. Sam Houston | 59
10. UTRGV | 51
11. Lamar | 44
12. Tarleton | 25
13. Chicago State | 12
++NM State++
