NAU, WSU Picked By Coaches
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OGDEN, Utah (August 20, 2013) - The Northern Arizona men and the Weber State women were picked to win the 2013 Big Sky Conference Cross Country titles, according to a vote by the league’s coaches.
The NAU men were a unanimous choice receiving 11 first-place votes for 121 points. The Lumberjacks have won the last six cross country titles and have a total of 22 titles. NAU returns Brian Shrader, Matt McElroy and Futsum Zienasellassie, who all finished first through third, respectively, at the championships in Flagstaff, Ariz., last season.
Southern Utah was picked to finish second with 100 points, only one point ahead of third place Weber State, who received 99 points. The Thunderbirds finished third last season, and are returning Nate Jewkes and Ryan Barrus, their top two runners. The Wildcats lost their top runner in John Coyle and are redshirting Mike Hardy. WSU is returning Thomas Worob, Trevor Ricks and Tyler Robinson.
Selected after WSU was Montana State (4th, 97 points), Sacramento State (5th, 65), Montana (6th, 62), Idaho State (7th, 56), Eastern Washington (8th, 44), North Dakota (9th, 40), Northern Colorado (10th, 22), and Portland State (11th, 20).
The Weber State women were picked to defend its title. The Wildcats return the top individual finisher at last year’s championship in Amber Henry. But lost the second and third place finishers in Sarah Callister and Taylor Thornley.
The Wildcats received nine first-place votes for a total of 118 points. NAU was picked second with 108 points and one first-place vote. The Lumberjacks finished third at last year’s championship and lost top runner in Rochelle Kanuho. NAU returns Rolonda Jumbo and Melanie Townsend.
Picked third was Southern Utah, who received one first-place vote and 97 points. In its first season with the league, the Thunderbirds finished second at last year’s championship.
Finishing after SUU was MSU (4th, 84 points), ISU (5th, 64), SAC (5th, 64), NC (7th, 60), UND (8th, 42), UM (9th, 35), EWU (10th, 27) and PSU (10th, 27).
Voting is calculated by each team receiving 11 points for a first place vote, 10 points for a second place vote, etc. Coaches are allowed to vote for their respective teams. Below are the final results with the number of first place votes in parenthesis.
The 2013 season starts Friday, Aug. 30 with four teams in action, and Saturday, Aug. 31 with two teams competing. Montana State will host the Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 2 in Bozeman, Mont.
Men's Results
|
Place |
School |
Points |
|
1. |
Northern Arizona |
121 (11) |
|
2. |
Southern Utah |
100 |
|
3. |
Weber State |
99 |
|
4. |
Montana State |
97 |
|
5. |
Sacramento State |
65 |
|
6. |
Montana |
62 |
|
7. |
Idaho State |
56 |
|
8. |
Eastern Washington |
44 |
|
9. |
North Dakota |
40 |
|
10. |
Northern Colorado |
22 |
|
11. |
Portland State |
20 |
Women's Results
|
Place |
School |
Points |
|
1. |
Weber State |
118 (9) |
|
2. |
Northern Arizona |
108 (1) |
|
3. |
Southern Utah |
97 (1) |
|
4. |
Montana State |
84 |
|
5. |
Idaho State |
64 |
|
|
Sacramento State |
64 |
|
7. |
Northern Colorado |
60 |
|
8. |
North Dakota |
42 |
|
9. |
Montana |
35 |
|
10. |
Eastern Washington |
27 |
|
|
Portland State |
27 |