LOGAN, Utah – Utah State's men's cross country team was picked fourth in the Mountain West Pre-Championship Cross Country Coaches' Poll, which was released Wednesday afternoon by the conference office.
On the women's side of things, the Aggies were tabbed fifth.
Air Force, which is ranked No. 26 in the nation, claimed the top spot on the men's side, receiving five first-place votes and 60 points, while No. 23 Boise State was second with 55 points and one first-place vote. No. 18 New Mexico was picked third with 53 points and the final three first-place votes, while the Aggies were slated fourth with 40 points.
Wyoming garnered 37 points for fifth. The Cowboys were followed by Colorado State (34) in sixth, Nevada (21) in seventh, Fresno State (13) in eighth and San José State (11) in ninth.
In the women's poll, it was No. 25 Colorado State claiming the top spot with 10 first-place votes and 100 points. Boise State was second with one first-place vote and 87 points, followed by New Mexico in third with 86 points, Wyoming in fourth with 67 points and the Aggie in fifth with 62 points.
Air Force was selected sixth with 58 points, followed by San Diego State (43) and Nevada (34). Fresno State was picked ninth with 27 points, UNLV (26) was 10th and San José State (15) rounded out the poll in 11th.
The Mountain West Championships will be held on Friday, Oct. 27, at Eagle Island Park in Eagle, Idaho. The men's 8K race is slated to begin at 10:15 a.m., with the women's 6K race scheduled for 11 a.m.
Following Friday's Mountain West Championships, the Aggies will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 10, at the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships in Lubbock, Texas.
The NCAA Championships will take place eight days later on Saturday, Nov. 18, in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Utah State's men's program has placed first at four of the six meets the Aggies have competed in this season, while the women have placed first at three of the six meets the Aggies have competed in.
Artie Gulden, a former distance runner at Bucknell University, is in his first season as the director of Utah State's track & field/cross country programs, and his seventh season as the head cross country coach. This is his eighth year overall at USU.
During the 2022 cross country season, Gulden led Utah State's men's team to its fourth-ever trip to the NCAA Championships – all coming under his watch – where the Aggies beat five ranked teams and placed 26th with 618 points.
Two members of the women's cross country team also competed at the NCAA Championships in
Ana Weaver and
Mica Rivera, who placed 53rd and 201st, respectively.
Yonas Mogos led the Aggies on the men's side, as the then-junior was the 85th runner to cross the finish line.
Prior to the NCAA Championships, Mogos earned all-region honors as he placed 23rd at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships.
Gulden coached Weaver to second-team all-conference honors as she placed 15th at the Mountain West Cross Country Championships, where both the Aggie men and women finished third.
On the men's side,
Camren Todd and
Darren Harman also earned second-team all-MW accolades as that duo placed ninth and 10th, respectively.
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.
Men's Cross Country Pre-Championship Poll:
| Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. No. 26 Air Force (5) |
60 |
| 2. No. 23 Boise State (1) |
55 |
| 3. No. 18 New Mexico (3) |
53 |
| 4. UTAH STATE |
40 |
| 5. Wyoming |
37 |
| 6. Colorado State |
34 |
| 7. Nevada |
21 |
| 8. Fresno State |
13 |
| 9. San José State |
11 |
Women's Cross Country Pre-Championship Poll:
| Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. No. 25 Colorado State (10) |
100 |
| 2. Boise State (1) |
87 |
| 3. New Mexico |
86 |
| 4. Wyoming |
67 |
| 5. UTAH STATE |
62 |
| 6. Air Force |
58 |
| 7. San Diego State |
43 |
| 8. Nevada |
34 |
| 9. Fresno State |
27 |
| 10. UNLV |
26 |
| 11. San José State |
15 |
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