TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Freshman Camren Todd took it personal when he found out where Utah State's men's cross country team was ranked in this week's NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll.
 
The Aggies checked in at No. 27, not where Todd felt they should be ranked after USU won the Dixie State Invitational in its season-opening meet during the latter part of January.
 
Using that as motivation, Todd helped propel the Aggies to a fourth-place finish out of 20 teams at the Florida State Winter Cross Country Classic on Friday morning at Apalachee Region Park (site of the 2021 NCAA fall cross country championships).
 
"We were still underestimated in the most recent rankings, so it felt good to show where we fit in, in a competitive field," said Todd, who finished 11th with a time of 23:49.3. "We hit our goal of placing in the top five, and we beat some good teams. The future is looking good for the Aggies."
 
On the women's side, the Aggies placed ninth out of 18 teams with 235 points.
 
No. 12 Stanford was the top men's team as the Cardinal finished first with 67 points. No. 6 Iowa State was second (98 points), No. 13 Colorado was third (98) and the Aggies were fourth (160). USU beat three ranked teams in No. 19 Wake Forest, No. 22 Southern Utah and No. 30 Syracuse, which finished fifth, ninth and eighth, respectively.
 
"The men really ran a great race," said Utah State head coach Artie Gulden. "They love to run as a pack and it was so crowded that they had a difficult time finding each other, but they handled that adversity really well. They fought hard the last 2K, moving up from sixth to fourth. Overall, it was a great performance."
 
After Todd, three other Aggies finished in the top 35. Senior Haydon Cooper placed 22nd with a time of 24:05.4, junior Caleb Garnica crossed the line in 31st place with a time of 24:14.4 and sophomore Spencer Nelson finished in 35th with a time of 24:17.1.
 
In the women's race, senior Katie Haviland led the Aggies with a 19th-place finish, crossing the line in 20:43.5. Junior Mica Rivera finished 37th with a time of 21:06.1.
 
"What we did today proves that we are a lot stronger than people think," Haviland said. "We still have more strength that people haven't seen yet. Finishing ninth in a really strong field like this is great, and I'm proud of how hard we have worked as a team to get here, but we still have bigger goals in mind. We definitely had some ups and downs, and this race wasn't perfect, but that just means we have so more to prove."
 
Haviland and the Aggies beat one ranked team in No. 29 Boston College, which placed 11th with 279 points.
 
"The women ran well," Gulden said. "It was great to see them fight so hard. They beat some really good teams, but didn't quite hit the goal of finishing in the top five. We were really close, being within 50 points of it. Overall, they ran strong and fought hard, and we will build on this race into the next few weeks of training."
 
Utah State also had six student-athletes – three men, three women – compete as individuals in the gold races. Sophomore Abigail Gray placed 14th out of 92 with a time of 22:00.6 in the women's 6K race, while fellow sophomore Justin Hodges also placed 14th out of 95 with a time of 25:25.5 in the men's 8K.

UP NEXT: The Aggies will travel to North Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in UNLV-hosted Battle Born Collegiate Cross Country Challenge on Friday, Feb. 19.
 
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.
 
FLORIDA STATE WINTER CLASSIC | February 5, 2021 | Tallahassee, Fla.
Garnet Women's 6K Team Results:
1. Colorado – 5, 11, 16, 17, 23, (38), (39) – 72
2. Stanford – 1, 3, 9, 31, 33, (62), (109) – 77
3. Duke – 19, 25, 27, 28, 29, (45), (86) – 128
4. Oklahoma State – 4, 10, 14, 75, 78 (91), (103) – 181
5. Iowa State – 2, 37, 43, 46, 61, (83), (84) – 189
9. UTAH STATE – 18, 36, 57, 59, 65, (90), (112) – 235

Women's Top-Five Finishers: 1. Ella Donaghu (Stan.) – 20:07.0; 2. Cailie Logue (ISU) – 20:09.1; 3. Zofia Dudek (Stan.) – 20:09.1; 4. Taylor Roe (OSU) – 20:10.0; 5. Rachel McArthur (CU) – 20:19.9.

Utah State Women's Results: 19. Katie Haviland – 20:43.5; 37. Mica Rivera – 21:06.1; 58. Abby Jensen – 21:37.2; 60. Mattie Geddes – 21:39.1; 66. Bailey Brinkerhoff – 21:47.0; 93. Sammi Lee – 22:09.6; 115. Morgan French – 22:39.3.
 
Gold Women's 6K Results:
Utah State Women's Results: 14. Abigail Gray – 22:00.6; 20. Reagan Hoopes – 22:18.7; 27. Megan Terry – 22:51.1.
 
Garnet Men's 8K Team Results:
1. Stanford – 5, 6, 11, 17, 28, (33), (68) – 67
2. Iowa State – 1, 13, 16, 31, 37, (39), (86) – 98
3. Colorado – 2, 7, 20, 27, 42, (51), (83) – 160
4. UTAH STATE – 10, 21, 30, 34, 65, (77), (96) – 160
5. Wake Forest – 4, 14, 22, 57, 87, (99), (103) – 184

Men's Top-Five Finishers: 1. Wesley Kiptoo (ISU) – 22:48.8; 2. Eduardo Herrera (CU) – 23:03.4; 3. Adriaan Wildschutt (FSU) – 23:16.7; 4. Zach Facioni (WFU) – 23:25.0; 5. Cole Sprout (Stan.) – 23:31.6.
 
Utah State Men's Results: 11. Camren Todd – 23:49.3; 22. Haydon Cooper – 24:05.4; 31. Caleb Garnica – 24:14.4; 35. Spencer Nelson – 24:17.1; 67. Darren Harman – 24:46.3; 80. Mark Crandall – 25:01.3; 99. Jakob Tew – 25:23.7.
 
Gold Men's 8K Results:
Utah State Men's Results: 14. Justin Hodges – 25:25.5; 32. Roberto Porras – 26:08.3; 42. Brennan Benson – 26:25.3.

-USU-