LOGAN, Utah – Four members of Utah State's cross country and track & field programs fared extremely well at the USATF Cross Country Championships, held last Saturday at Mission Bay Park in San Diego, California.
 
Freshman Chase Leach placed second with a time of 25:50 in the Under 20 Men's 8K race, while fellow freshmen Garrett Woodhouse and Will Dixon finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with times of 26:44 and 26:57.
 
Leach produced the second straight top-three finish for the Aggies in the men's under-20 race after Bridger Altice, who is in his junior season at Utah State, took third in 2020 at Mission Bay Park.
 
"After regionals, we took a break from training. It was a long season, so I took a couple of weeks off, and then started back up again," Leach said. "I haven't been training for too long. I've only had a few workouts in, so I wasn't really sure what my fitness level was. I just wanted to come out here and contend for the top-three spots."
 
On the women's side, freshman Kaybree Christensen placed third with a time of 23:51 in the Under 20 6K race.
 
"I honestly was just hoping to be somewhere in the top, so it's a huge surprise and success for me to be able to place in the top three," Christensen said.
 
Christensen helped Utah State place an athlete in the top four in the under-20 race for the second straight championship, following Bailey Brinkerhoff, now a junior with the Aggies, finishing fourth at Mission Bay Park in 2020.
 
Additionally, Dillon Maggard, who is in his third season as a volunteer assistant coach with USU's track & field and cross country programs, placed second (out of 58 competitors) with a time of 30:34 in the men's 10K championship race.
 
All five Aggies qualified to represent the USA at the Pan American Cross Country Championships, slated to be held in Brazil, on March 26. It is uncertain whether those championships will actually take place.
 
However, the Aggie qualifiers will be able to compete in the NACAC Cross Country Championships in Honduras on Dec. 10.
 
Maggard, a nine-time All-American during his time at Utah State, finished 1.1 seconds behind Shadrack Kipchirchir.
 
"It was intense," Maggard said. "I really wanted to get the win. I let it come down to 200 meters and Shadrack outkicked me there. I kind of wish I would have ratcheted it down a little bit more, maybe with a K to go. I tried to keep it honest, but it is hard to stay disciplined when you're hurting pretty bad. Overall, I'm happy with my effort and happy with my performance."
 
For more information on the Utah State track & field/cross country programs, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at USUTF_XC.
 
-USU-