LOGAN, Utah — Utah State women's cross country opened the 2024 season with a dominant 5K victory as all five scoring runners finished in the top five, while the Aggie men took second in the 7K with three runners in the top 10 at the Utah State Alumni Challenge on Saturday morning at Steve and Dona Reeder Cross Country Course. The Aggie women came in first with 15 points, while the USU men took second with 47 points in their respective races.  
 
"Both teams performed well today. The men had quite a bit more competition with BYU and Weber State being here, but I thought the ladies executed the race plan," said Artie Gulden, USU's director of track & field/cross country. "Overall, it's tough to compare year to year on cross country courses because the course is inevitably slightly different and the conditions aren't the same, but collectively, the women ran faster than we've ever run at this meet before so that's a good sign and we were holding five or six out so that went really well." 
 
Senior Mimi Miyazawa won the women's 5K with a time of 17:59.14.  
 
"She was really patient and waited," Gulden said about Miyazawa. "She wasn't antsy at all, even when some people had gaps on her. She just measured her effort and waited until the last K and then took off. Her patience was really the key for her today and it helped her run well." 
 
Miyazawa credited her teammates' support as the biggest factor that led to her first-place finish. 
 
"This year I want to prove myself and believe in myself and I couldn't do it without the team pushing me and believing in me," Miyazawa said. "Today was good because we saw each other really packed together and unified and I think that we all believed in each other and just had that momentum together." 
 
Sophomore Caroline Moon (second, 18:01.95), junior Malia Lowe (third, 18:08.04), junior Sarah Ellis (fourth, 18:08.82) and sophomore Natalie Swain (fifth, 18:11.50) rounded out the scoring for the Aggie women. 
 
The Aggie men faced strong opponents in No. 2 BYU and Weber State in their race. While none of the teams ran their top squads, competition was strong between the in-state rivals. 
 
"The guys competed really hard," Gulden said. "We were right there with the leader for most of the race — our top five or so. That's a really good sign with what the guys did today." 
 
Freshman Jedidiah Megargel was the top finisher for USU, coming in seventh with a time of 21:05.29. Freshman Michael Moffat took eighth with a time of 21:06.22 and freshman Joseph McKee placed ninth with a time of 21:07.24. Sophomore Joshua Armstrong (11th, 21:08.51) and senior Eric Nelson (12th, 21:10.44) completed the scoring for Utah State. 
 
Dozens of fans supported the runners, jogging from turn to turn to cheer as their teams ran by. Senior captain Brennan Benson said it's the best when USU competes at home.  
 
"We're just super excited to get the season going," Benson said. "I love kicking off the season here at home and getting the fans out here and cheering. We train here so it's fun to be somewhere familiar."  
 
For more information on the Utah State cross country programs, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at USUTF_XC. 
 
Utah State Alumni Challenge 
Steve and Dona Reeder Cross Country Course | Logan, Utah | August 31, 2024 
 
Women's 5K Team Results 
1. UTAH STATE - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (7), (8) - 15 
2. Utah State Alumni - 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, (14), (17) - 49 
3. Westminster - 12, 15, 16, 18, 19 - 80 
 
Women's Top-Five Finishers: 1. Mimi Miyazawa (USU), 17:59.14; 2. Caroline Moon (USU), 18:01.95; 3. Malia Lowe (USU), 18:08.04; 4. Sarah Ellis (USU), 18:08.82; 5. Natalie Swain (USU), 18:11.50. 
 
Utah State Women's Results: 1. Mimi Miyazawa, 17:59.14; 2. Caroline Moon, 18:01.95; 3. Malia Lowe, 18:08.04; 4. Sarah Ellis, 18:08.82; 5. Natalie Swain, 18:11.50; 7. Cameron Moore, 18:18.20; 8. Megumi Ludlow, 18:19.35; 9. Elizabeth Phillips, 18:22.96; 11. Jane Williams, 18:24.39; 12. Cailey Bracken, 18:35.59; 13. Ava Trimble, 18:39.74; 15. Brooklyn Hill, 18:52.70; 16. Meredith Sanford, 18:54.57; 17. Alayna Wardle, 18:59.24; 18. Hazel Baird, 19:04.65; 20. Sara Abbott, 19:28.97; 21. Allie Black, 20:00.54. 
 
Men's 7K Team Results 
1. BYU - 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, (18) - 20 
2. UTAH STATE - 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, (13), (14) - 47 
3. Weber State - 1, 10, 15, 16, 17, (19), (20) - 59 
4. Utah State Alumni - 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, (26), (28) - 115 
5. Westminster - 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, (33), (34) - 149 
 
Men's Top-Five Finishers: 1. Peter Visser (WSU), 20:51,,14; 2. Davin Thompson (BYU), 20:51,88; 3. Caleb Johnson (BYU), 20:59.82; 4. Luke Grundvig (BYU), 21:01.68; 5. Jacob Stanford (BYU), 21:02.19. 
 
Utah State Men's Results: 7. Jedidiah Megargel, 21:05.29; 8. Michael Moffat, 21:06.22; 9. Joseph McKee, 21:07.24; 11. Joshua Armstrong, 21:08.51; 12. Eric Nelson, 21:10.44; 13. Bryce Hill, 21:11.47; 14. Joshua McKee, 21:17.05; 16. Luke Stockett, 21:19.58; 17. Drew Hogan, 21:20.79; 22. Eli Gregory, 21:26.67; 26. LJ Floyd, 21:30.60; 31. John Simmons, 21:38.91; 39. Daniel Larsen, 21:59.92; 44. Caleb Armstrong, 22:08.58. 
 
-USU-