After a very down season last year, the XC teams appear to be back. The men are ranked again.

Thanks for pointing that out. I just checked their schedule, and it looks like both men's and women's XC are doing well. I'm going to try to watch an upcoming meet.

Wish there were more ways to watch XC/Track meets. FloTrack is just so expensive

The conference meet on Nov. 1 will be available through the conference. The regional meets are hit and miss for streaming options. Nationals if we make it are on ESPN.

More college meets are on runnerspace than flotrack, also a bit pricey, but not as bad.

The men are now up to 19 in the national rankings and 4 in the regional rankings. The women are at 6 in the regional rankings behind 4 schools ranked in the top 8 nationally and one that is receiving votes. Both teams are in position to make the national meet. It will come down to Kolas points since neither team is likely to get one of the auto bids at regionals.

I used to work with cross country teams, so I'm happy to see them doing well!

Today is the MWC championship.

The women placed 6th with our top finisher being Brie Smith. She placed 21st.

The men placed 6th, Logan Garnica placed 13th and was our top scorer.

According to expectations/rankings, that is a pretty disappointing result, correct?

TrueAggieman wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 12:39 pm

According to expectations/rankings, that is a pretty disappointing result, correct?

Looks like a lot of our top runners didn't compete. Which seems weird, since this was a conference championship meet, but I don't really know anything about cross country.

TrueAggieman wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 12:39 pm

According to expectations/rankings, that is a pretty disappointing result, correct?

I’m disappointed by the result and I don’t know why we sat some of the top guys. It looks like the men at least ran as a park through 2k and so I’m guessing we could’ve done better.

It probably won’t matter. They’ll need to show up at the regional meet and place top 5 to get into the championship meet.

shoresy wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 1:42 pm

TrueAggieman wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 12:39 pm

According to expectations/rankings, that is a pretty disappointing result, correct?

Looks like a lot of our top runners didn't compete. Which seems weird, since this was a conference championship meet, but I don't really know anything about cross country.

For XC, winning conference is great, but doesn't really matter as much as how they perform at regionals. It could give them a good boost going into regionals to win conference, but regionals is really where it's at.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/cross-country ... ship-works

Chewie995 wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 2:27 pm

shoresy wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 1:42 pm

TrueAggieman wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 12:39 pm

According to expectations/rankings, that is a pretty disappointing result, correct?

Looks like a lot of our top runners didn't compete. Which seems weird, since this was a conference championship meet, but I don't really know anything about cross country.

For XC, winning conference is great, but doesn't really matter as much as how they perform at regionals. It could give them a good boost going into regionals to win conference, but regionals is really where it's at.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/cross-country ... ship-works

If it is anything like High School, there is no seeding for large events. You show up to a race, take your spot with the rest of your team, with the fastest runners in the front, and then run. The starts are where the most congestion occurs if you have a runners and 30 teams or so in an invitational. When around 200 people try to come out in a large area it can sometimes mean feet get tangled and someone falls. The position your team starts at the beginning is usually based on previous performance.

So this is not like a basketball tournament where you are seeded against other teams and have to play several events to win. In order to qualify for the NCAA championships the team must place high enough or an individual runner can if they have a fast enough time or place high enough at regionals. Sometimes athletes that don't win regionals can surprise people and win at bigger meets.

This explains the process of the whole team qualifying for the NCAA championships. It is how you place at a regional meet, but there are some at-large selections as well based on overall team times.

https://utahstateaggies.com/news/2022/1 ... ionals-bid

It is both an individual and team sport. The top 5 of 7 score, and the lowest score wins. A perfect score is 15 since you score the number of points for the place you come in. The last 2 can influence the overall score by beating out others starting 5 and making them run up higher amounts.

However, if you win the overall race you certainly have the most notoriety in the event, but obviously that doesn't mean the team has won.

TrueAggieman wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 12:39 pm

According to expectations/rankings, that is a pretty disappointing result, correct?

Stomach flu, and not all of the team raced. Hopefully, they feel better by regionals.

https://utahstateaggies.com/news/2024/1 ... ships.aspx

"Sixth place for both the men and women is certainly not where we expected to be at the conference championships," said Gulden. "We've had a stomach virus hit our team over the last 24 hours and we were only able to race five women and six men, some of whom were sick themselves. I'm grateful for their grit and how they fought to represent our team."

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 8:39 pm

This explains the process of the whole team qualifying for the NCAA championships. It is how you place at a regional meet, but there are some at-large selections as well based on overall team times.

https://utahstateaggies.com/news/2022/1 ... ionals-bid

It is both an individual and team sport. The top 5 of 7 score, and the lowest score wins. A perfect score is 15 since you score the number of points for the place you come in. The last 2 can influence the overall score by beating out others starting 5 and making them run up higher amounts.

However, if you win the overall race you certainly have the most notoriety in the event, but obviously that doesn't mean the team has won.

Just FYI, i'm fairly confident that at-large bids are not based on race times. They are based on the number of times you finished ahead the teams currently in the field. So, once all 18 teams get in, the next team that has the most amount of finishes ahead of the 18 teams in the field gets in. Then, they include that 19th team and find the next team with the most finishes ahead of any of the 19 teams, and so on, until all the spots are filled. That's why those big meets with schools from weaker regions are important early in the season. If you can finish ahead of teams that you are better than, but that can also win their region, it's beneficial.

Source: https://gowyo.com/news/2018/11/2/cowboy ... -1986.aspx

AggieInTucson wrote: ↑

November 3rd, 2024, 1:12 pm

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 8:39 pm

This explains the process of the whole team qualifying for the NCAA championships. It is how you place at a regional meet, but there are some at-large selections as well based on overall team times.

https://utahstateaggies.com/news/2022/1 ... ionals-bid

It is both an individual and team sport. The top 5 of 7 score, and the lowest score wins. A perfect score is 15 since you score the number of points for the place you come in. The last 2 can influence the overall score by beating out others starting 5 and making them run up higher amounts.

However, if you win the overall race you certainly have the most notoriety in the event, but obviously that doesn't mean the team has won.

Just FYI, i'm fairly confident that at-large bids are not based on race times. They are based on the number of times you finished ahead the teams currently in the field. So, once all 18 teams get in, the next team that has the most amount of finishes ahead of the 18 teams in the field gets in. Then, they include that 19th team and find the next team with the most finishes ahead of any of the 19 teams, and so on, until all the spots are filled. That's why those big meets with schools from weaker regions are important early in the season. If you can finish ahead of teams that you are better than, but that can also win their region, it's beneficial.

Source: https://gowyo.com/news/2018/11/2/cowboy ... -1986.aspx

You are right, and that was poor wording on my part. What I should have clarified, is that the overall team times would make them the next highest finishers for a NCAA meet. In cross-country the difficulty of a course makes comparing times unfair across the board.

BYU won the Big XII, but from what I can see, the teams still adhere to geography in the regionals, so they won't go up against in conference powerhouses like OK State etc. They will compete in the Mountain Region against USU and:

These were the results from last year's men's Mountain Regionals, and Northern Arizona and BYU were auto qualifiers.

1 Northern Arizona 36
2 BYU 89
3 New Mexico 97
4 Air Force 112
5 Montana State 135
6 Colorado 169
7 Colorado St. 205
8 Wyoming 231
9 Weber State 272
10 Utah State 300
11 Southern Utah 323
12 Utah Valley 327
13 UTEP 334
14 Texas Tech 341
15 Nevada 408
16 Idaho State 454
17 Montana 460

The women’s were:

1 Northern Arizona 39
2 BYU 59
3 Utah 120
4 Colorado 131
5 Utah Valley 136
6 Colorado St. 159
7 New Mexico 178
8 Utah State 217
9 Wyoming 250
10 Air Force 258
11 Montana State 310
12 Texas Tech 324
13 Weber State 359
14 New Mexico St. 432
15 Southern Utah 458
16 Northern Colorado 473
17 Nevada 508
18 Idaho State 532
19 UTEP 551
20 Montana 571

AggieInTucson wrote: ↑

November 3rd, 2024, 1:12 pm

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 8:39 pm

This explains the process of the whole team qualifying for the NCAA championships. It is how you place at a regional meet, but there are some at-large selections as well based on overall team times.

https://utahstateaggies.com/news/2022/1 ... ionals-bid

It is both an individual and team sport. The top 5 of 7 score, and the lowest score wins. A perfect score is 15 since you score the number of points for the place you come in. The last 2 can influence the overall score by beating out others starting 5 and making them run up higher amounts.

However, if you win the overall race you certainly have the most notoriety in the event, but obviously that doesn't mean the team has won.

Just FYI, i'm fairly confident that at-large bids are not based on race times. They are based on the number of times you finished ahead the teams currently in the field. So, once all 18 teams get in, the next team that has the most amount of finishes ahead of the 18 teams in the field gets in. Then, they include that 19th team and find the next team with the most finishes ahead of any of the 19 teams, and so on, until all the spots are filled. That's why those big meets with schools from weaker regions are important early in the season. If you can finish ahead of teams that you are better than, but that can also win their region, it's beneficial.

Source: https://gowyo.com/news/2018/11/2/cowboy ... -1986.aspx

Also, individual runners do qualify if they place high enough in their regions.

USU has only qualified 4 times ever with the men, and twice with the women, but they have sent individual runners there.

Connor Mantz, who was a Smithfield native, won the NCAA title in 2020 and 2021, but he ran at BYU, not USU.

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

November 3rd, 2024, 9:01 pm

AggieInTucson wrote: ↑

November 3rd, 2024, 1:12 pm

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

November 1st, 2024, 8:39 pm

This explains the process of the whole team qualifying for the NCAA championships. It is how you place at a regional meet, but there are some at-large selections as well based on overall team times.

https://utahstateaggies.com/news/2022/1 ... ionals-bid

It is both an individual and team sport. The top 5 of 7 score, and the lowest score wins. A perfect score is 15 since you score the number of points for the place you come in. The last 2 can influence the overall score by beating out others starting 5 and making them run up higher amounts.

However, if you win the overall race you certainly have the most notoriety in the event, but obviously that doesn't mean the team has won.

Just FYI, i'm fairly confident that at-large bids are not based on race times. They are based on the number of times you finished ahead the teams currently in the field. So, once all 18 teams get in, the next team that has the most amount of finishes ahead of the 18 teams in the field gets in. Then, they include that 19th team and find the next team with the most finishes ahead of any of the 19 teams, and so on, until all the spots are filled. That's why those big meets with schools from weaker regions are important early in the season. If you can finish ahead of teams that you are better than, but that can also win their region, it's beneficial.

Source: https://gowyo.com/news/2018/11/2/cowboy ... -1986.aspx

Also, individual runners do qualify if they place high enough in their regions.

USU has only qualified 4 times ever with the men, and twice with the women, but they have sent individual runners there.

Connor Mantz, who was a Smithfield native, won the NCAA title in 2020 and 2021, but he ran at BYU, not USU.

Mantz is currently the top American marathoner. I honestly don't blame him for going to BYU which is a top program where he had a great coach who still coaches him now. But there's about 0 chance USU gets an auto qualifier when we have to compete with BYU and NAU.

There were a few legit D1 runners from the valley who weren't recruited by the previous coaching staff.

In terms of NCAA qualification, it is based on Kolas points for at-large bids. 18 automatic qualifiers and then 13 at-large teams based on beating teams in the field. Each team added adds chances for points for teams. That is why we go to big national invitationals trying to get wins against teams from weaker regions. The mountain regional is one of the 2 or 3 best regions in the NCAA system.

Stucki wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2024, 8:57 am

There were a few legit D1 runners from the valley who weren't recruited by the previous coaching staff.

In terms of NCAA qualification, it is based on Kolas points for at-large bids. 18 automatic qualifiers and then 13 at-large teams based on beating teams in the field. Each team added adds chances for points for teams. That is why we go to big national invitationals trying to get wins against teams from weaker regions. The mountain regional is one of the 2 or 3 best regions in the NCAA system.

Utah is one of the most fertile recruiting grounds for distance runners in the country. The High School athletes definitely punch above their weight. This is a sport where the name on the front of the jersey doesn't matter, if you run faster, you simply win. While I would love to see USU improve to a more elite status, the fact the NAU from the Big Sky is winning NCAA titles shows how training matters more than pomp and circumstance. The state of Utah had several distance runners compete, and even win medals at the Paris Olympics.

The training in the higher altitudes helps when they move to sea level to run races, but that isn't the only factor.

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2022/4/3 ... m=referrer

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2024, 11:21 am

Stucki wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2024, 8:57 am

There were a few legit D1 runners from the valley who weren't recruited by the previous coaching staff.

In terms of NCAA qualification, it is based on Kolas points for at-large bids. 18 automatic qualifiers and then 13 at-large teams based on beating teams in the field. Each team added adds chances for points for teams. That is why we go to big national invitationals trying to get wins against teams from weaker regions. The mountain regional is one of the 2 or 3 best regions in the NCAA system.

Utah is one of the most fertile recruiting grounds for distance runners in the country. The High School athletes definitely punch above their weight. This is a sport where the name on the front of the jersey doesn't matter, if you run faster, you simply win. While I would love to see USU improve to a more elite status, the fact the NAU from the Big Sky is winning NCAA titles shows how training matters more than pomp and circumstance. The state of Utah had several distance runners compete, and even win medals at the Paris Olympics.

The training in the higher altitudes helps when they move to sea level to run races, but that isn't the only factor.

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2022/4/3 ... m=referrer

A bunch of pros train in Flagstaff, so NAU always had the potential to build a power program, and they've capitalized on it. With new roster limits even the BYU rejects in the state should be pretty darn good. Competing with BYU for XC recruits while Eyestone is still there is kind of like being Auburn competing for football recruits with Nick Saban led Alabama.

Gidbob wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2024, 12:14 pm

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2024, 11:21 am

Stucki wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2024, 8:57 am

There were a few legit D1 runners from the valley who weren't recruited by the previous coaching staff.

In terms of NCAA qualification, it is based on Kolas points for at-large bids. 18 automatic qualifiers and then 13 at-large teams based on beating teams in the field. Each team added adds chances for points for teams. That is why we go to big national invitationals trying to get wins against teams from weaker regions. The mountain regional is one of the 2 or 3 best regions in the NCAA system.

Utah is one of the most fertile recruiting grounds for distance runners in the country. The High School athletes definitely punch above their weight. This is a sport where the name on the front of the jersey doesn't matter, if you run faster, you simply win. While I would love to see USU improve to a more elite status, the fact the NAU from the Big Sky is winning NCAA titles shows how training matters more than pomp and circumstance. The state of Utah had several distance runners compete, and even win medals at the Paris Olympics.

The training in the higher altitudes helps when they move to sea level to run races, but that isn't the only factor.

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2022/4/3 ... m=referrer

A bunch of pros train in Flagstaff, so NAU always had the potential to build a power program, and they've capitalized on it. With new roster limits even the BYU rejects in the state should be pretty darn good. Competing with BYU for XC recruits while Eyestone is still there is kind of like being Auburn competing for football recruits with Nick Saban led Alabama.

I have had some relatives, 2nd cousins, that were college material runners. One set some state records. another was a runner-up in XC, and all of them ended up at BYU. I can't say I blame them, if I had crossed over to the elite runner territory and BYU had recruited me, I would have likely done the same.

In the end, unless you can break the 16 min 5K barrier, you aren't going to be noticed, even in the late 90's. I was never quite that fast, and it is just as well. I don't know that I wanted to pursue this past high school anyways.

Four Utah boys teams are in the national rankings right now. Herriman and American Fork are both in the top five, Riverton is 17th and Taylorsville is 24th.

On the girls side, Lone Peak is in the top 10 and Timpview has 2 girls that are nationally ranked with one in the top 5, and possibly #1 after what she did to the Sugarhouse Park course next week.

There is enough talent that all the Utah schools could be very good recruiting only Utah kids, especially on the men's side and to a lesser extent on the women's. BYU had carried much larger rosters than they have in the past which will spread the talent a bit.

Stucki wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2024, 1:43 pm

Four Utah boys teams are in the national rankings right now. Herriman and American Fork are both in the top five, Riverton is 17th and Taylorsville is 24th.

On the girls side, Lone Peak is in the top 10 and Timpview has 2 girls that are nationally ranked with one in the top 5, and possibly #1 after what she did to the Sugarhouse Park course next week.

There is enough talent that all the Utah schools could be very good recruiting only Utah kids, especially on the men's side and to a lesser extent on the women's. BYU had carried much larger rosters than they have in the past which will spread the talent a bit.

I hope we can figure out a way to capitalize on that. I see no reason we can’t be a program that at least qualifies for nationals every year.

USUMAE wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2024, 1:48 pm

Stucki wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2024, 1:43 pm

Four Utah boys teams are in the national rankings right now. Herriman and American Fork are both in the top five, Riverton is 17th and Taylorsville is 24th.

On the girls side, Lone Peak is in the top 10 and Timpview has 2 girls that are nationally ranked with one in the top 5, and possibly #1 after what she did to the Sugarhouse Park course next week.

There is enough talent that all the Utah schools could be very good recruiting only Utah kids, especially on the men's side and to a lesser extent on the women's. BYU had carried much larger rosters than they have in the past which will spread the talent a bit.

I hope we can figure out a way to capitalize on that. I see no reason we can’t be a program that at least qualifies for nationals every year.

The current staff focuses on recruiting in Utah and Idaho but gets a few from outside that footprint. I agree we should be in contention to qualify for nationals every year, qualifying most years.

The girls depth in Utah high school cross is a little lighter than the boys, but there are still enough legit D1 kids to be contenders.

USUMAE wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2024, 1:48 pm

Stucki wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2024, 1:43 pm

Four Utah boys teams are in the national rankings right now. Herriman and American Fork are both in the top five, Riverton is 17th and Taylorsville is 24th.

On the girls side, Lone Peak is in the top 10 and Timpview has 2 girls that are nationally ranked with one in the top 5, and possibly #1 after what she did to the Sugarhouse Park course next week.

There is enough talent that all the Utah schools could be very good recruiting only Utah kids, especially on the men's side and to a lesser extent on the women's. BYU had carried much larger rosters than they have in the past which will spread the talent a bit.

I hope we can figure out a way to capitalize on that. I see no reason we can’t be a program that at least qualifies for nationals every year.

I believe that more frequent at large berths are possible, but with both BYU and NAU in the mountain region, it will be difficult to beat them out for the auto-bids.

Northern Arizona has won 6 of the last 8 NCAA men's titles, and BYU won another one. Both were runner's-up another time. Truthfully Northern Arizona is the Alabama football-like dynasty, and BYU is the formidable challenger. Training at 7,000 feet really an advantage for them, but Wyoming could do the same, so it isn't the only variable.

The BYU women's team seems to be about equal in quality of competition amongst women's teams as the men, and though NAU women's aren't quite as competitive as the men, they are very tough as well, being the runner's-up last year. New Mexico's women have been among the top women's programs in the country over the last decade.

There is a very good chance one of those two wins again this year, but BYU's Big XII foe OK State will have a big say on that.

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2024, 2:07 pm

USUMAE wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2024, 1:48 pm

Stucki wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2024, 1:43 pm

Four Utah boys teams are in the national rankings right now. Herriman and American Fork are both in the top five, Riverton is 17th and Taylorsville is 24th.

On the girls side, Lone Peak is in the top 10 and Timpview has 2 girls that are nationally ranked with one in the top 5, and possibly #1 after what she did to the Sugarhouse Park course next week.

There is enough talent that all the Utah schools could be very good recruiting only Utah kids, especially on the men's side and to a lesser extent on the women's. BYU had carried much larger rosters than they have in the past which will spread the talent a bit.

I hope we can figure out a way to capitalize on that. I see no reason we can’t be a program that at least qualifies for nationals every year.

I believe that more frequent at large berths are possible, but with both BYU and NAU in the mountain region, it will be difficult to beat them out for the auto-bids.

Northern Arizona has won 6 of the last 8 NCAA men's titles, and BYU won another one. Both were runner's-up another time. Truthfully Northern Arizona is the Alabama football-like dynasty, and BYU is the formidable challenger. Training at 7,000 feet really an advantage for them, but Wyoming could do the same, so it isn't the only variable.

The BYU women's team seems to be about equal in quality of competition amongst women's teams as the men, and though NAU women's aren't quite as competitive as the men, they are very tough as well, being the runner's-up last year. New Mexico's women have been among the top women's programs in the country over the last decade.

There is a very good chance one of those two wins again this year, but BYU's Big XII foe OK State will have a big say on that.

We’ll see how NAU performs when coach smith moves on after the track season. BYU will is a powerhouse and will be for the foreseeable future. The mountain region is deep and is a lot of the reason I think we can get more frequent at-large bids.

BYU currently has 27 on their men’s roster. Soon they’ll have to cut that to 17. We’re at 19 and will have to cut that to 17. Ideally this means more local talent to recruit. Would the kids in Utah who aren’t in the top 4 in their class rather languish on BYU’s club team or actually race at usu? I’d hope actually race for us, but if they aren’t getting recruited, aren’t getting scholarship why would they?

The other piece of the puzzle is how deep the mountain region is. I think this actually helps us because once past the NAU/BYU battle there I see a lot of parity. We’re currently 8th after taking a hit for laying an egg at conference. A top 5 finish isn’t out of the question and in our region that’s good enough for an at-large most of the time.

USUMAE wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2024, 3:20 pm

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2024, 2:07 pm

USUMAE wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2024, 1:48 pm

Stucki wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2024, 1:43 pm

Four Utah boys teams are in the national rankings right now. Herriman and American Fork are both in the top five, Riverton is 17th and Taylorsville is 24th.

On the girls side, Lone Peak is in the top 10 and Timpview has 2 girls that are nationally ranked with one in the top 5, and possibly #1 after what she did to the Sugarhouse Park course next week.

There is enough talent that all the Utah schools could be very good recruiting only Utah kids, especially on the men's side and to a lesser extent on the women's. BYU had carried much larger rosters than they have in the past which will spread the talent a bit.

I hope we can figure out a way to capitalize on that. I see no reason we can’t be a program that at least qualifies for nationals every year.

I believe that more frequent at large berths are possible, but with both BYU and NAU in the mountain region, it will be difficult to beat them out for the auto-bids.

Northern Arizona has won 6 of the last 8 NCAA men's titles, and BYU won another one. Both were runner's-up another time. Truthfully Northern Arizona is the Alabama football-like dynasty, and BYU is the formidable challenger. Training at 7,000 feet really an advantage for them, but Wyoming could do the same, so it isn't the only variable.

The BYU women's team seems to be about equal in quality of competition amongst women's teams as the men, and though NAU women's aren't quite as competitive as the men, they are very tough as well, being the runner's-up last year. New Mexico's women have been among the top women's programs in the country over the last decade.

There is a very good chance one of those two wins again this year, but BYU's Big XII foe OK State will have a big say on that.

We’ll see how NAU performs when coach smith moves on after the track season. BYU will is a powerhouse and will be for the foreseeable future. The mountain region is deep and is a lot of the reason I think we can get more frequent at-large bids.

BYU currently has 27 on their men’s roster. Soon they’ll have to cut that to 17. We’re at 19 and will have to cut that to 17. Ideally this means more local talent to recruit. Would the kids in Utah who aren’t in the top 4 in their class rather languish on BYU’s club team or actually race at usu? I’d hope actually race for us, but if they aren’t getting recruited, aren’t getting scholarship why would they?

The other piece of the puzzle is how deep the mountain region is. I think this actually helps us because once past the NAU/BYU battle there I see a lot of parity. We’re currently 8th after taking a hit for laying an egg at conference. A top 5 finish isn’t out of the question and in our region that’s good enough for an at-large most of the time.

And therein is the problem: I know a lot of friends and kids I raced against who were BYU or bust. When the only college in the state that gets ANY attention for XC/Track in the state is BYU, coupled with the state's predominant religion, it's the holy grail of schools, and a chance to sniff at that glory seems to be powerful enough to keep a massive farm team.

Better media coverage of XC in general would help recruiting in general, because then more people would hear about how good USU XC actually is. On the side of scholarships, most of the kids who are on the XC teams tend to be wicked smart (a lot of friends I knew from previous teams were engineering or pre-med), so many of them already have other money, but it would be nice to throw more money their way for scholarships.

EDIT: for clarity and grammar

We never made nationals as a team until Artie took over. If we can become perennial participants at nationals, that would give a better chance at recruiting the individuals that would help us challenge for the podium.

Stucki wrote: ↑

November 6th, 2024, 10:01 am

We never made nationals as a team until Artie took over. If we can become perennial participants at nationals, that would give a better chance at recruiting the individuals that would help us challenge for the podium.

We want the same thing here.

https://www.ksl.com/article/51186147/sa ... mpionships

I wonder how open the coaching staff is to JC transfers and if any of these runners are available. SLCC won the National JC championship two years in a row.

Regionals happen later this week on the 15th in Reno, NV.

They have brought in some JC athletes for both the men and women. It was SLCC's first men's title.

Snow just started a cross-country program this year as well.

Most JC runners are kids who weren't quite ready to compete at D1. With roster sizes being cut, we will probably see more kids going the JC route to get two years of development before they go to a 4 year program.

Stucki wrote: ↑

November 12th, 2024, 10:14 am

They have brought in some JC athletes for both the men and women. It was SLCC's first men's title.

Snow just started a cross-country program this year as well.

Most JC runners are kids who weren't quite ready to compete at D1. With roster sizes being cut, we will probably see more kids going the JC route to get two years of development before they go to a 4 year program.

If I had had the desire after High School, I could have gone that route to develop into a college-distance runner. However, I was done with it after high school, which a lot of HS athletes are.

NowhereLandAggie wrote: ↑

November 12th, 2024, 10:44 am

Stucki wrote: ↑

November 12th, 2024, 10:14 am

They have brought in some JC athletes for both the men and women. It was SLCC's first men's title.

Snow just started a cross-country program this year as well.

Most JC runners are kids who weren't quite ready to compete at D1. With roster sizes being cut, we will probably see more kids going the JC route to get two years of development before they go to a 4 year program.

If I had had the desire after High School, I could have gone that route to develop into a college-distance runner. However, I was done with it after high school, which a lot of HS athletes are.

Same: would've been smarter academically and financially, too