Nov. 12, 2004

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State's cross country teams will compete at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships on Saturday. The meet, hosted by Colorado State,will take place at the Collindale Golf Course if Fort Collins, Colo. The women will run six kilometers beginning at 11 a.m. while the men will run 10-kilometers at 12:15 p.m.

The men are coming off a second-place finish at the Big West Championships where juniors Trever Ball and Clark Bryner finished first and second respectively. Senior David Danley finished 11th. The Aggies have finished in first or second 11 of the last 13 years.

Last year USU finished sixth in the regional meet and did not qualify for the NAA Championships. Current Aggies that ran last year include Danley, who placed 23rd. Bryner 40th, Ball 51st, and Carsen Cambell, who finished 96th. The Aggies are currently ranked seventh in the NCAA Mountain Region Polls.

The Mountain Region is one of the strongest in the nation with five teams ranked in the top 25, Colorado (4), BYU (9), Air Force (14), New Mexico (20) and Colorado State (24).

The women finished third at the Big West Championships losing only to nationally ranked UC Santa Barbara and Idaho. Sophomore Ashley Johnson led the Aggies by finishing fifth. Lida Ripplinger and Tiffany Stickland finished seventh and 15th respectively.

USU's women placed eighth at last year's regional meet led by Johnson, who finished 13th. Current aggies that ran at last years meet include Ripplinger, who placed 40th, Strickland 60th, and Sara Dimmick, who finished in 94th.

The Mountain Region currently has three women teams nationally ranked, Colorado (3), BYU (11) and Colorado State (23).

The top two teams at the region meet will advance to the NCAA championships as well as at-large bids given to both teams and individuals who compete well at regionals.