Meet Five | NCAA Mountain Regionals
Friday, Nov. 12 | Provo, Utah | Timpanogos Golf Club (hosted by BYU)
Women's Race (eight-kilometer) • 11:00 a.m. MT | Men's Race (10-kilometer) • Noon MT
Live Results | Entries List | NCAA Regionals Landing Page
THE STARTING LINE
• For the first time since the fall of 2019, the NM State men's and women's cross country teams are set to take part in an NCAA Regional meet. The Aggies, along with the rest of the squads in their region, are bound for Provo, Utah, for the NCAA Mountain Regional meet set for Friday at the Timpanogos Golf Club.
• BYU serves as the host institution for the event which begins with the women's eight-kilometer race at 11:00 a.m. The men's 10-kilometer run will follow at noon.
ABOUT THE REGIONALS
• The NCAA Mountain Regional meet is one of nine taking place at various sites around the country this weekend as teams and individuals from around the nation take aim at spots for the NCAA Cross Country Championships next week.
• Each team that finishes in first and second place on the men's and women's sides at each regional race will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. From there, 13 at-large teams will be chosen by the NCAA Division I Cross Country Subcommittee to fill up the remaining spots available for the national meet.
THE FIELD | WOMEN
• In addition to NM State, 18 other teams will line up in their respective starting boxes Friday morning to vie to a regional crown. The Aggies will be joined by Air Force, BYU, Colorado, Colorado State, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Arizona, Southern Utah, Texas Tech, UTEP, Utah, Utah State, Utah Valley, Weber State and Wyoming.
• Fifteen of the 19 teams competing, including NM State, are within the latest edition of the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Rankings.
• NM State ranks 13th in the latest edition of the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Rankings.
THE FIELD | MEN
• NM State joins 17 other teams at the Timpanogos Golf Course who are competing for a regional title. In addition to the Aggies, Air Force, BYU, Colorado, Colorado State, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Arizona, Southern Utah, Texas Tech, UTEP, Utah State, Utah Valley, Weber State and Wyoming are set to compete in the regional run.
LAST TIME OUT | WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
• A fourth-place finish by the Aggies' women's cross country team and an eighth-place finish by NM State's men's cross country team was the result for NM State at the WAC Championships in Riverside, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 30.
• Richelle Sandin (20:50.3) and Maggie Gibbs (20:57.8) were NM State's top two finishers on the women's side, placing 12th and 16th respectively. Both earned All-WAC Second Team honors for their efforts.
• All of the Aggies' top five finishers placed among the fastest 27 runners at the WAC Championships. Thobile Amon narrowly missed out on an All-WAC honor, placing 22nd in a time of 21:20.0 while Emily Stutesman generated a 24th-place finish by posting a time of 21:32.0.
• Thulisile Amon rounded out the Aggies' top five finishers by getting clocked in a 27th-place time of 21:34.0.
• On the men's side, A strong push over the last 1.4 kilometers by graduate student Cole Shugart allowed him to flirt with All-WAC honors. In 31st place at the 6.6 kilometer mark, Shugart kicked it into high gear over the final stages of the course in order to finish 21st in a time of 24:41.7.
• In addition to Shugart, two other NM State runners finished in the upper half of the 102-man field. Anekin Hetman (25:08.7) placed 35th while Micah Too (25:26.3) posted a 49th-place finish.
COMING UP NEXT
• If any individual runners - or either of NM State's men's or women's cross country teams - make the cut for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, they'll head to Tallahassee, Fla., to take part in the national meet at 9:10 a.m. MT on Saturday, Nov. 20.
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