Nov. 13, 2004

FT. COLLINS, Colo. - Utah State's Ashley Johnson finished 16th in the women's race and Trever Ball placed 23rd in the men's event at the NCAA Mountain Region Cross Country Championships in Ft. Collins, Colo.

The Aggie women tied for third in the meet, while the men were seventh. Colorado dominated the meet as both of their men and women's teams cruised to their respective titles.

"I am proud of them. They came through and played great." said USU head coach Gregg Gensel "You have to go out and try hard to see who goes to Nationals and currently our women are on the bubble."

Johnson, a sophomore from Hyrum, Utah., covered the 5,000-meter course in 21:16.4. She and teammates Lida Ripplinger, who finished 18th in 21:38.0, Tiffany Stickland, who finished 23rd in 21:48.1, earned all-region honors as top-25 finishers. Kristen Guymon was USU's next finisher placing 35th in a time of 22:02.5.

On the men's side, Ball, a junior, ran the 10,000-meters in 30:40.8. He was followed by David Danley (30:47.7.) and Clark Bryner (30:59.5), who placed 28th and 32nd respectively.

Both the men and women's Aggies will find out if they earned a spot at the NCAA Championships later next week. The championships will be held in Terre Haute, Indiana on Nov. 22. 2004.

Men's Team Results
1. Colorado		40
2. Brigham Young	62
3. Air Force		106
4. New Mexico		136
5. Colorado State	138
6. Northern Arizona	182
7. UTAH STATE		184
8. Montana State	220
9. Southern Utah	252
10. Utah		254
11. Idaho State		264
12. Weber State		292
13. Texas Tech		347
14. Montana		362
15. Wyoming		381
Men's Individual Results
1. Matt Gonzales, New Mexico	  	 29:45.1
2. Mircea Bogdan, Texas-El Paso  	 29:47.4
3. Bret Schoolmeester, Colorado  	 29:48.0
4. Josh Roharinsky, Brigham Young 	 29:52.7
5. Brent Vaughn, Colorado		 30:03.6
USU's Men's Individual Results (10,000 meters)
23. Trever Ball		30:40.8
28. David Danley	30:47.7
55. Steve Strickland	31:37.5
56. Jason Holt		31:40.1
90. Ben Kessen		33:26.0
98. Nathan Lloyd	34:02.7
Women's Team Results
1. Colorado		32
2. Brigham Young	54
3. UTAH STATE		129
3. Colorado State	129
5. Wyoming		154
6. Northern Arizona	196
7. Weber State		202
8. Montana State	211
9. Utah			247
10. Air Force		264
10. Texas Tech		264
12. New Mexico		306
13. Nevada-Reno		337
14. Texas-El Paso	357
15. Montana		374
16. Idaho State		429
Men's Individual Results
1. Renee Metivier, Colorado		20:05.4
2. Ida Nilsson, Northern Arizona	20:25.1
3. Laura Turner, Brigham Young		20:31.6
4. Sara Slattery, Colorado		20:46.8
5. Christine Bolf, Colorado		20:51.0
USU's Women's Individual Results (5,000 meters)
16. Ashley Johnson	21:16.4
18. Lida Ripplinger	21:38.0
23. Tiffany Strickland	21:48.1
35. Kristen Guymon	22:02.5
39. Stacie Lifferth	22:08.6
77. Sarah Dimick	23:12.2
95. Rebecca Bostwick	23:38.3