LOGAN, Utah – Several members of Utah State's men's and women's cross country teams ran unattached this past weekend at the Idaho Milk Products College of Southern Idaho Classic and performed extremely well.

Senior Katie Haviland led the way for the Aggie women as she placed third in the 5K race, which was held Saturday at the Twin Falls (Idaho) Country Club, with a time of  17 minutes, 52.36 seconds.

A slew of other Aggies also finished in the top-10 as junior Mica Rivera placed fourth (17:53.62), freshman Mattie Geddes was fifth (18:02.67), sophomore Abby Jensen placed sixth (18:08.81), freshman Morgan French was seventh (18:15.06), sophomore Bailey Brinkerhoff placed eighth (18:18.79), freshman Sammi Lee was ninth (18.19.82) and sophomore Abigail Gray placed 10th (18:27.85).

"It feels great to get a hard effort in and be able to alongside teammates," Rivera said. "Even though we are unattached, we still represent Utah State and we wanted to showcase the hard work we've been doing this fall. I felt strong and focused in my race. I knew Katie would be right next to me and we could help pull our other teammates along and work as a pack. The race played out how we wanted it to and I am excited to build off of it for future races.

"The course was fun," Rivera continued. "It was mostly grass with a few stretches of other terrain. It had a few sharp turns and hills, so it made it a good cross country course."

Mackenzie Meldrum finished just outside of the top-10 as the Utah State freshman placed 11th with a time of 18:37.70, while fellow newcomer Taylia Norris placed 25th with a time of 19:24.35.

Other Aggie placers included sophomores KaryLee Taylor in 17th (19:05.58), Claire Mantz in 21st (19:09.38), Megan Terry in 23rd (19:17.26), Paytin Drollinger in 30th (20:17.32) and Madi Hess in 31st (20:17.32).

"It was very exciting to see so many women's run well," Rivera said. "They know we don't have too many opportunities to race this fall, so we are grateful to have been able to compete in this race and make the most out of it."

It was also a solid day for the Aggie men that competed in the 7K race. Sophomore Camren Todd was the top Aggie finisher as he placed third with a time of 20:59.82.

Just like the women, the men had a number of top-10 finishers as junior Caleb Garnica was fourth (21:16.51), senior Haydon Cooper placed fifth (21:33.50), freshman Justin Hartshorn was sixth (21:41.04), sophomore Spencer Nelson placed eighth (21:51.80), senior Jakob Tew was ninth (21:54.20) and junior Mark Crandall placed 10th (21:58.80).

"It was so nice to get out and race again with the team," Garnica said. "I miss the atmosphere at meets. Even though I am racing unattached, I'm still competing as an Aggie on the inside. I felt pretty good about my race. This one was more of a rust-buster. I do think I could have done better, but I am not too worried about it. I know I can.

"When I crossed the line and looked back, I was so pleased to see my teammates right behind me. I was extremely happy."

Other Aggie finishers on the men's side included sophomore Ethan Field in 13th (22:08.77), sophomore Justin Hodges in 16th (22:31.46), freshman Garrett Faragher in 32nd (23:30.79) and sophomore Thomas Heaps in 38th (24:12.61).

"The course was set up on a beautiful golf course in Twin Falls, right next to the Snake River," Garnica said. "We raced at 5:45 p.m., so the weather was perfect and most of the course was in the shade."

Fans can follow the Utah State track & field and cross country programs at twitter.com/USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at instagram.com/USUTF_XC. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

-USU-