THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Saturday, September 7
New Mexico State at Lori Fitzgerald Invite, Santa Teresa, N.M.
Sunday, September 8
UTSA at TLI Invitaional, Seguin, Texas
UTA at UTA Season Opener, Arlington, Texas
Texas State at UTA Season Opener, Arlington, Texas
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Idaho Vandals
Idaho sent group of five freshmen to the Clash of the Inland Northwest (Sept. 1) and came away with a third place team women's team finish ... all five runners placed in the top 21 running in their first collegiate races ... Idaho's men sent a partial group of mostly freshmen and first-time competitors to the Clash of the Inland Northwest (Sept. 1) finishing third in the team standings behind No. 26 Washington State and Gonzaga.
Louisiana Tech
Notes not available.
New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies competed at the 2012 Lobo Invite (Aug. 31) to open up the new season ... senior Cournty Schultz crossed the finish line first, earning the first WAC Cross Country Athlete of the Week honor for 2012 ... her sister Camille finished just behind her in second ... for the men Jonah Ruybalid led the way finishing sixth overall ... Ruybalid is entering 2012 coming off a 2011 season where he finished first for NM State in six of the seven events he competed in ... the meet was not scored ... the Aggies will face their more proximal rival UTEP at the Lori Fitzgerald Invitational in Santa Teresa, N.M., on Friday, Sept. 7.
San Jose State Spartans
San Jose State's season-opener found them in San Francisco, Calif., (Sept. 1) running in the USF Invitational ... the women placed seventh in the 19 team field ... the men scored a ninth overall, finishing better than eight other schools at the meet ... for the women junior Aylin Mejia was San Jose State's top-finisher in 24th place with a time of 18:48.20 ... Rebecca Garcia followed in 34th (18:57) ... sophomore Mueen Ghoury finished the 8K course in 26:32.00, leading the way for the men ... the Spartans are next in action on September 14, at the San Francisco State Invitational and again the following the day at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego, Calif.
Seattle University Redhawks
The Seattle University women's cross country team had a strong showing in the UW/SU Open ... all of the veterans who competed in the event for the second straight year improved on their times from 2011 ... newcomer Becca Lassere, who posted a time of 17:58.01 to finish 13th ... for the men Erik Barkhaus crossed the finish line first with a time of 22:22.28, earning the first WAC Cross Country Athlete of the Week honor of the season ... Junior Jeff Baklund showed a strong finishing kick in earning a sixth-place finish ... the Redhawks top runners will head to the National Catholic Championships at the University of Notre Dame in two weeks, while everyone else stays close to home by competing in the UW Sundodger Invitational in West Seattle.
University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks
The Mavericks enter 2012 looking to better their fifth (m) and seventh-place (w) finishes in the 2011 Southland Conference Championships ... the men return five runners who participated in last year's conference meet, with the top returner being Cody Widener, who placed 36th in 26:41 in the 8K ... UTA freshmen, Virgilio Martinez and Craig Lautenslager, figure to be among the top three Mavericks this year ... on the women's side just three team members have ever competed at a conference championship, all at last year's SLC Championships. The highest returning finisher is Hannah Nilsson, who placed 31st (23:04) ... the Mavs begin their first season in the WAC hosting at home with the UTA Season Opener on Sept. 8.
UTSA Roadrunners
UTSA opened its 2012 campaign at Texas (Sept. 1) ... the Roadrunners men lost the dual meet by just one point ... sophomore Mike Medrano was the team's top finisher in fourth place ... UTSA welcomes back eight letter winners from last year's squad that finished second in the Southland Conference ... seniors Daniel Balbontin and Ivan Garcia lead a roster that features three juniors, five sophomores and four freshmen ... the UTSA women defeated Texas (Sept. 1) by nine points and were led by sophomore Samantha Fish's second-place performance ... the team's top-six scorers from last year's Southland Championships all return ... Nina Herrera and Alyssa Diaz both earned All-Southland accolades and Carly Kitts was tabbed the Southland Freshman of the Year ... both teams will be back in action on Saturday at the TLU Invitational.
Texas State Bobcats
The Texas State women's team opened the season with a sixth-place team finish at the Bear Twilight ... the Cats had three runners finish in the top 50 ... the Bobcat men were paced in the 6K by junior Cameron Shoppach with a time of 19:54 ... senior Esperanza Lopez was the top Bobcat on the women's side, crossing the 4K finish line in 14:33 ... Texas State will next compete at the UT Arlington Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 8.
Utah State Aggies
Aggies junior Kyle McKenna placed third overall (18:49.73) in the men's 4 mile race at the Aggie Invitational ... the men finished fourth ... the women placed third ... senior Alex Litzsinger finished fifth (17:58.79) in the women's 5K ... freshmen Tylee Newman and Jacqueline Winterton crossed the finish line in 10th (18:10.68) and 18th-place (18:40.52), respectively ... the Utah State women had three of the top 25 athletes in the 5K race ... Utah State will next compete on Sept. 25 at the Montana State Open on in Bozeman, Mont.
WAC NOTES
Seattle University's Erik Barkhaus and New Mexico State's Courtney Schultz Have Been Named the WAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week
Seattle University's Erik Barkhaus and New Mexico State's Courtney Schultz have been named the Western Athletic Conference men's and women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Aug. 27 - Sept. 2.
Barkhaus, a redshirt senior from Whitefish Bay, Wis. (Whitefish Bay HS), placed first individually at the UW/SU Open race in Seattle this past Friday. Barkhaus earned the top spot in the Redhawks season opening 4.5 mile race, crossing the finish line in 22:22.28. Barkhaus finished just .49 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Barkhaus improved his time by 11 seconds compared to his 2011 race. Barkhaus competed the 2011 season competing mostly as an unattached runner. The UW/SU Open was his first race representing the Redhawks since the 2010 Great West Conference Championships.
Schultz, a senior from Cloudcroft, N.M. (Cloudcroft HS), won the Lobo Invitational individual title in the Aggies first race of the 2012 season, finishing the 5K course in 18:11.9. Schultz, the 2011 WAC Champion, edged out her sister Camille by 4.8 seconds for the races top spot.
Other Men's Nominees: Jeff Osborn, Idaho; Jonah Ruybalid, New Mexico State; Kyle McKenna, Utah State.
Other Women's Nominees: Halie Raudenbush, Idaho; Hannah Mittelstaedt, Seattle; Esperanza Lopez, Texas State; Alex Litzsinger, Utah State.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2012 WAC Cross Country Championship travels to Ruston, Louisiana. This year's championships will be hosted by Louisiana Tech University and will take place at the Lincoln Parish Park Course on Saturday, Oct. 27. The Utah State men and Idaho women claimed the championships last year.
October 27, 2012
Ruston, Louisiana
Host: Louisiana Tech
Course: Lincoln Parish Park
Admission: Free
NCAA REGIONALS
The 2012 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country, Friday, Nov. 9. WAC teams will be represented in three locations. The West Region will be held in Seattle, Wash., (Washington). The Mountain Region will be held in Fort Collins, Colo., (Colorado State), while the South Central Regional (Arkansas) will take place in Fayetteville, Ark.
November 09, 2012
Great Lakes Region - Wisconsin
Mid Atlantic Region - Penn State
Midwest Region - Missouri State
Mountain Region - Colorado State
Northeast Region - Fairfield
South Region - Florida State
South Central Region - Arkansas
Southeast Region - Charlotte
West Region - Washington
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2012 Cross Country National Championships once again travels to Louisville, Ky. The race will take place at E.P. "Tom Sawyer" State Park.
November 17, 2012
E.P. "Tom Sawyer" State Park
3000 Freys Hill Road
Louisville, KY 40241-2132
Ticket Info: 502/852-515
