The first conference championship of the "new" Western Athletic Conference is this coming Saturday with coverage on ESPN+ and internationally on WACDN.
Cal Baptist was chosen as the favorite in both the men's and women's sides of the equation. The Texas newbies are slotted #4-7 on the men's side with Abilene Christian as No. 2 right behind CBU on the women's.
Quote:The 2021 WAC Cross Country Championships are this Saturday, Oct. 30 at UC Riverside Agricultural Operations in Riverside, Calif. The men's 8k race begins at 9 a.m. (PT), followed by the women's 6k at 10 a.m. (PT). The championships will air live on ESPN+ for viewers in the United States, while international viewers can find the broadcast at wacdigitalnetwork.com.
2021 Pre-Championship Men's Cross Country Coaches' Poll
Rank School (First-Place Votes) 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. Stephen F. Austin 71
8. UT Rio Grande Valley 63
9. Dixie State 57
10. NM State 48
11. Tarleton 41
12. Seattle U 39
13. Chicago State 12
2021 Pre-Championship Women's Cross Country Coaches' Poll
Rank School (First-Place Votes) 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. Stephen F. Austin 76
7. Seattle U 74
8. Dixie State 68
9. Sam Houston 59
10. UT Rio Grande Valley 51
11. Lamar 44
12. Tarleton 25
13. Chicago State 12
I think either CBU or UVU gets the win.
(10-27-2021 12:35 PM)RobtheAggie Wrote: [ -> ]I think either CBU or UVU gets the win.
At Florida State Pre Nationals, CBU beat UVU , so I'd give the nod to CBU since they just met head to head. CBU ran 2:00:06 and UVU ran 2:01:53. They are both very strong teams and looked impressive against very good competition. CBU was 14th and UVU was 19th out of about 40. And this meet had many of the top teams, NAU, BYU, Arkansas, Colorado etc.
If CBU could go to Nationals, they could place well. Rob, I put a link in for you...
The women's race was really tight between CBU and UVU and I'd say is a toss up. CBU ran 1:46:08 vs 1:46:35 for UVU. Dead heat.
https://live.pttiming.com/xc-ptt.html?mid=2367
Seems like Chicago State sucks at everything.
(10-27-2021 03:42 PM)WAChsenburggemeinde Wrote: [ -> ]Seems like Chicago State sucks at everything.
Their volleyball team is 5-3 in WAC play, 13-7 overall with a few wins over P5 programs. A sport like cross country should not be reflective of an entire department; multiple schools utilize their scholarships in the track & field/cross country different.
No reason to dog on CSU. They are in a terrible situation and are leaving after this year. I hope they find a landing spot somewhere closer to home.
(10-27-2021 03:42 PM)WAChsenburggemeinde Wrote: [ -> ]Seems like Chicago State sucks at everything.
Was looking up Chicago State cross country earlier. They aren't a good team, but in the past most of their runners have been track guys doing cross country as training, and not really distance runners.
This year, they are definitely more competitive. They did record their fastest average in school history this year at their last meet where they finished 10th out of 17. Not setting the world on fire, but a step up from where they've been.
With that said, they will struggle to beat anyone at the WAC meet. They do have a strong front runner, and their other 2-5 runners times have dropped significantly over the course of this season, but the WAC is a very competitive conference in cross country right now. Baby steps I guess.
Chicago St used to be terrible. I think some of you know that I am a Cross Country coach at a DIII NJCAA school. There were some years that my average at best team would have defeated Chicago St. Todor is correct, they have improved quite a bit this year. They are not last in every race they attend.
As important and the WAC Conference Championship is, due to the NCAA not wanting to pay for every conference championship to attend the NCAA Championship, Each team has to qualify through the NCAA Regionals.
Here are the Regions that WAC schools are in.
Midwest - Chicago St - at Iowa State University (Great Course)
Mountain - UVU, NMSU, DSU - at BYU
South Central - ACU, Lamar, SHSU, SFAU, TSU, UTRGV - at Baylor
West - Seattle, CBU, GCU - at Sacramento St
The problem is that the Mountain Region is the strongest in the Nation. UVU might win the WAC but will not qualify out of the Mountain Region. I am looking forward to the next few weekends.
Cal Baptist runs away with men’s title with 15 points
Utah Valley (42), Grand Canyon (110) and Lamar (139) round out the top 4
Pretty dominant performance by CBU on men’s side
Women’s race underway now
Top 4 Women's Results
Utah Valley (34)
CBU (41)
ACU (62)
NMSU (154)
Congrats to the Wolverines for pulling off the upset.
Congrats to UVU and CBU. Now onto to regionals. Glad to see NMSU in 4th for the women.
8 runners in the conference meet under 24:00 is solid. Assuming my information is correct and CBU cannot make it to nationals, they will probably be the best team in the country missing out. Its possible they are a top 25 team. 1:58:41 is a nice time.
Dixie State men and women both impressed me. I'm not surprised though. Its a great place to run and train. Its a place that could really build a great program, like so many other programs in the West. From track last Spring, I knew they were a distance focused program, but they didn't make a whole lot of noise at conference track.
The newcomers, with the exception of Dixie, have a long way to go before they can compete well in this conference.
(10-30-2021 09:12 PM)Todor Wrote: [ -> ]8 runners in the conference meet under 24:00 is solid. Assuming my information is correct and CBU cannot make it to nationals, they will probably be the best team in the country missing out. Its possible they are a top 25 team. 1:58:41 is a nice time.
Dixie State men and women both impressed me. I'm not surprised though. Its a great place to run and train. Its a place that could really build a great program, like so many other programs in the West. From track last Spring, I knew they were a distance focused program, but they didn't make a whole lot of noise at conference track.
[b][b]The newcomers, with the exception of Dixie, have a long way to go before they can compete well in this conference[/b].[/b]
But Dixie wasn't even in the top 5 or have the one of the highest individual winners.
(10-30-2021 09:26 PM)Outsider Wrote: [ -> ] (10-30-2021 09:12 PM)Todor Wrote: [ -> ]8 runners in the conference meet under 24:00 is solid. Assuming my information is correct and CBU cannot make it to nationals, they will probably be the best team in the country missing out. Its possible they are a top 25 team. 1:58:41 is a nice time.
Dixie State men and women both impressed me. I'm not surprised though. Its a great place to run and train. Its a place that could really build a great program, like so many other programs in the West. From track last Spring, I knew they were a distance focused program, but they didn't make a whole lot of noise at conference track.
[b][b]The newcomers, with the exception of Dixie, have a long way to go before they can compete well in this conference[/b].[/b]
But Dixie wasn't even in the top 5 or have the one of the highest individual winners.
3 schools had their mens and women's teams both in the top 5, at least in the results I'm looking at. UVU, CBU, and Dixie. Dixie was 5 on both sides.
If I was an AD in the Intermountin west, I would go all-in on Cross Country. I know everyone could not be NAU or BYU, but training at elevation has such a major advantage over other areas of the nation.
(10-30-2021 09:36 PM)Todor Wrote: [ -> ] (10-30-2021 09:26 PM)Outsider Wrote: [ -> ] (10-30-2021 09:12 PM)Todor Wrote: [ -> ]8 runners in the conference meet under 24:00 is solid. Assuming my information is correct and CBU cannot make it to nationals, they will probably be the best team in the country missing out. Its possible they are a top 25 team. 1:58:41 is a nice time.
Dixie State men and women both impressed me. I'm not surprised though. Its a great place to run and train. Its a place that could really build a great program, like so many other programs in the West. From track last Spring, I knew they were a distance focused program, but they didn't make a whole lot of noise at conference track.
[b][b]The newcomers, with the exception of Dixie, have a long way to go before they can compete well in this conference[/b].[/b]
But Dixie wasn't even in the top 5 or have the one of the highest individual winners.
3 schools had their mens and women's teams both in the top 5, at least in the results I'm looking at. UVU, CBU, and Dixie. Dixie was 5 on both sides.
ACU Women were #3 as a team with the #1 over-all runner. The men will get there, but your comment is off.
(10-31-2021 07:21 AM)RobtheAggie Wrote: [ -> ]If I was an AD in the Intermountin west, I would go all-in on Cross Country. I know everyone could not be NAU or BYU, but training at elevation has such a major advantage over other areas of the nation.
In NAIA and D2 as well, a lot of good teams come from western states-- at least out representing their numbers in either association. Perhaps not all place with elevation, but with room to run. I'd hate to be a distance runner in a heavily populated area. Good runners will come there just because of your location. Look at Adams State historically.
Adams St has traditionally been really strong. Western St. as well. The combination of elevation, plus open space is huge. NAU is an amazing example of this. I would love for WAC schools to really go all in on Cross Country. It is not an expensive sport to have.
(10-31-2021 07:10 PM)RobtheAggie Wrote: [ -> ]Adams St has traditionally been really strong. Western St. as well. The combination of elevation, plus open space is huge. NAU is an amazing example of this. I would love for WAC schools to really go all in on Cross Country. It is not an expensive sport to have.
No.
Sam has always focused a bit more on track and field particularly the sprints and field events.
In Texas, this is what you do. When we were in Southland, Corpus and Lamar focused a bit more on distance, XC. Corpus seemed to load up on internationals in particular but both schools also could use upgraded facilities for track