The Montana State men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the 2010 NCAA Mountain Region championships, Saturday, Nov. 13 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The women's 6-kilometer race will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by the men's 10-kilometer event at 11:45 a.m. The championship will be held at the Rose Park Golf Course near the Salt Lake City airport.
Seven different conferences will be represented, including the Big Sky, Mountain West, Big 12, Conference USA, Western Athletic, The Summit League and the Great West.
Known as one of the most competitive regions in the country, the men's field includes No. 7 Northern Arizona, No. 9 Colorado, No. 10 New Mexico, No. 15 Brigham Young and No. 38 Montana State. The women's race will feature No. 8 Colorado and No. 10 New Mexico.
The top two teams will receive an automatic berth to the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championship, while 13 at-large berths will also be up for grabs. In addition, four individual runners will earn entry that is not part of a qualifying team.
The MSU men's team will be paced by the one-two punch of Patrick Casey and Nick Atwood. Last fall, the duo finished 21st and 34th, respectively, with Casey missing All-Mountain Region honors by one spot.
“We're going to need everyone firing on all cylinders for a chance at one of the at-large bids,” said MSU head coach Dale Kennedy. “As has been the case all season our success will be in the hands of our Nos. 3-5 guys.
“I think if we can upend one of the four ranked teams ahead of us, we might have a shot to get to the NCAAs,” Kennedy said.
The Montana State women's squad will be paced by Heather Haug, who placed 59th at last year's region race. Keely West and Annelise Weinmann will both be sidelined with injury and the Bobcats will run with just six athletes.
“Our race will be about the future,” Kennedy said. “We have everyone back next year, so this will give us sense and feel for the size of the field. We'll have target goals that we will want to reach.
“The women have had two solid races coming into this weekend, so I would like to see continued progress,” Kennedy said.
The NCAA meet is scheduled for Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind.
