NCAA Nationals on the Horizon

PROVO -- After strong performances last week at the NCAA Regionals, eight of BYU’s cross country runners will travel to Terre Haute, Ind. to compete in the NCAA Championships on Monday.

After its performance Saturday, the No. 16 BYU men’s team secured a slot at Nationals.

“We’re really looking forward to the Championships,” said BYU men’s cross country coach Ed Eyestone. “The men are recovering well from Regionals and have a nice opportunity to do well as a team. If we come together the way we know we can, then we should put together a performance that will we’re hoping will put us in the top six nationally.”

Although the BYU women’s team did not receive a slot, junior Angela Wagner will represent the women’s team following her personal performance at Regionals.

“We’re excited for Angela to be at Nationals this year,” said BYU women’s cross country head coach Patrick Shane. “She’s working hard and should be very successful in her race. Hopefully she’ll finish in the top 40, securing her another All-American title; that’s a real mark of achievement.”

The men’s team consists of the following athletes: Jacob Gustafsson, Dan Hinckley, Ryan Merriman, Rich Nelson, Nate Ogden, Kyle Perry and Stephan Shay.

At last weeks meet, Gustafsson, Nelson, Perry, Shay and Wagner earned all-region honors, with Perry and Wagner landing the top spots for the Mountain West Conference Best Time’s List in the men’s 10K and the women’s 6K.

The BYU men’s team is ranked No. 3 in the Mountain Region with Colorado at No. 1 and Northern Arizona at No.2. No other teams from the Mountain Region are nationally ranked.

Representing the Mountain region for the women are Texas Tech (No. 9), New Mexico (No. 21) and Northern Arizona (No. 26).

The women’s 6K will begin at 12:08 p.m. EST (10:08 a.m. MT) and the men’s 10K will begin at 12:48 p.m. EST (10:48 a.m. MT).

The 2008 NCAA DI Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will be televised live Nov. 24 on CBS College Sports from noon until 1:30 EST (10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. MT) with a rebroadcast at 4:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. MT).