LARAMIE, Wyo. – Competing in her first Mountain West Cross Country Championships, sophomore Ana Weaver earned second-team all-conference honors to help lead Utah State's women's team to a third-place finish on Friday at the Jacoby Golf Course.
 
Utah State's 24th-ranked men's team also placed third as senior Camren Todd and grad senior Darren Harman also earned second-team all-MW honors.
 
Weaver, a transfer from BYU, completed the six-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 24.1 seconds to help the Aggies, who were predicted to finish fourth, record 99 points. Senior Mica Rivera nearly gave Utah State a pair of second-team all-league honorees as she placed 15th with a time of 20:27.2.
 
"It was a really good race for us," Weaver said. "A couple girls did not have great races, but the altitude really made it hard to breathe for some people. But, we pulled it together. People stepped up and we finished strong. I'm really proud of our team.
 
"Our conference is super deep with New Mexico and Colorado State. I'm really proud that we could show up for today and have some momentum going into regionals. I'm just super grateful to be here with this team. Our coaches are so selfless and always putting the team before them."
 
No. 2 New Mexico captured the team title with 24 points and No. 20 Colorado State placed second with 61 points.
 
"The ladies ran really well," said Utah State head coach Artie Gulden. "They executed the race plan well. It's great that Ana is all-conference. Mica fought like crazy and almost got there for all-conference. Her last 1,000 meters was very strong and she was fighting the whole way. Emma (Thornley) and Abby (Jensen) worked really well together through the race. Kaybree (Christensen) was great for us stepping up to be our fifth.
 
"Overall, it was a strong effort for the women. Beating Air Force after they had beaten us a couple of weeks ago is nice. Beating Wyoming on their home course is nice. Now, we look forward to two weeks from now and trying to qualify for the NCAAs."
 
Jensen, a senior, was the third Aggie to cross the line as she placed 20th with a time of 20:34.2, while Thornley (20:38.8) and Christensen (20:51.3) both sophomores, finished 24th and 32nd, respectively, to round out Utah State's five scoring runners.
In the men's 8K race, Utah State scored 74 points to place third. No. 5 Air Force captured the team title with 20 points and Colorado State finished second with 47 points.
 
"Colorado State came to play today for both the men and the women," Gulden said. "They ran really well. Congrats to Colorado State for racing really well – both the men and women. Our men raced well. They executed the race plan pretty well, especially the first loop. We got a little antsy the second loop, but the guys fought hard."
 
The Aggies were without senior Spencer Nelson, who Gulden said is "kind of dinged up," and then had freshman Stewart Brown suffer an injury during the race.
 
Todd placed ninth with a time of 23:58.4 to lead the Aggie finishers. Harman finished 10th with a time of 24:00.2 and grad senior Mark Crandall crossed the line in 16th place with a time of 24:07.8.
 
Rounding out the five Utah State scoring runners was junior Yonas Mogos in 18th (24:17.9) and junior Max Wehrli in 21st (24:20.4).
 
"We did a good job of following the race plan," Todd said. "We went out and grouped up, and went with the race plan and stayed patient. The altitude makes it hard for sure. Coming up 2,500 feet is a big difference. We raced tough and are ready for the regional meet, where we need to qualify for nationals."
 
The Aggies will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 11, at the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The NCAA Championships will take place eight days later on Saturday, Nov. 19, in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
 
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.
 
2022 MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
Jacoby Golf Course | Laramie, Wyoming | October 28, 2022
 
Men's 8K Team Results:
1. No. 5 Air Force – 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, (20), (24) – 20
2. Colorado State – 4, 7, 11, 12, 13, (14), (26) – 47
3. No. 24 UTAH STATE – 9, 10, 16, 18, 21 (25), (30) – 74
4. Wyoming – 5, 23, 27, 28, 39, (41), (42) – 122
5. Boise State – 19, 22, 29, 32, 37, (38), (40) – 139
6. New Mexico – 15, 17, 31, 33, 44, (45), (50) – 140
7. Nevada – 34, 35, 36, 43, 46, (47), (48) – 194
8. San José State – 51, 52, 53, 55, 57, (58) – 268
9. Fresno State – 49, 54, 56, 59, 60 – 278

Men's Top-Five Finishers: 1. Sean Maison (AFA) – 23:37.8; 2. Ryan Johnson (AFA) – 23:38.8; 3. Ethan Marshall (AFA) – 23:40.9; 4. Thomas Chaston (CSU) – 23:41.6; 5. Jacob White (WYO) – 23:42.1.
 
Utah State Men's Results: 9. Camren Todd – 23:58.4; 10. Darren Harman – 24:00.2; 16. Mark Crandall – 24:07.8; 18. Yonas Mogos – 24:17.9; 21. Max Wehrli – 24:20.4; 25. Brennan Benson – 24:29.5; 31. Bridger Altice – 24:42.9; 41. Caleb Garnica – 25:04.9; 44. Devin Pancake – 25:09.8; -- Stewart Brown – DNF.

Women's 6K Team Results:
1. No. 2 New Mexico – 1, 3, 4, 6, 10, (12), (14) – 24
2. No. 20 Colorado State – 8, 9, 11, 16, 17, (23), (26) – 61
3. UTAH STATE – 13, 15, 19, 22, 30, (39), (40) – 99
4. Wyoming – 5, 18, 24, 31, 32, (44), (45) – 110
5. Boise State – 2, 21, 27, 28, 34, (35), (37) – 112
6. Air Force – 7, 25, 29, 33, 41, (42), (43) – 135
7. Nevada – 20, 36, 46, 47, 50, (51), (53) – 199
8. UNLV – 38, 52, 55, 58, 61, (66), (72) – 264
9. Fresno State – 48, 49, 57, 59, 60, (64), (65) – 273
10. San Diego State – 56, 63, 68, 69, 70, (71) – 326
11. San José State – 54, 62, 67, 73, 74, (75) – 330

Women's Top-Five Finishers: 1. Amelia Mazza-Downie (UNM) – 19:39.3; 2. Yasmin Marghini (BSU) – 19:41.6; 3. Emma Heckel (UNM) – 19:42.8; 4. Gracelyn Larkin (UNM) – 19:49.7; 5. Katelyn Mitchell (WYO) – 19:52.5.

Utah State Women's Results: 13. Ana Weaver – 20:24.1; 15. Mica Rivera – 20:27.2; 20. Abby Jensen – 20:34.2; 24. Emma Thornley – 20:38.8; 32. Kaybree Christensen – 20:51.3; 43. Bailey Brinkerhoff – 21:20.0; 45. Camilla McKinstry – 21:23.3; 46. Sammi Lee – 21:23.5; 49. Morgan French – 21:34.7; 51. Sarah Ellis – 21:38.3.
 
MOUNTAIN WEST CROSS COUNTRY POSTSEASON AWARDS
MW Athlete of the Year
Men: Sean Maison, Air Force
Women: Amelia Mazza-Downie, New Mexico
 
MW Freshman of the Year
Men: Max Sannes, Air Force
Women: Danielle Verster, New Mexico
 
MW Coach of the Year
Men: Ryan Cole, Air Force
Women: Joe Franklin, New Mexico
 
MW Second-Team All-Conference
Utah State Men: Camren Todd, Darren Harman
Utah State Women: Ana Weaver

-USU-