Cross Country Set to Compete for WAC Championship Saturday

http://www.goutrgv.com SEATTLE, Wash. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley men’s and women’s cross country teams will look to be crowned conference champions as they compete at the Western Athletic Conference Championships Saturday at Jefferson Park Golf Course.   The women will kick off the championships with a 5,000-meter race starting at 11 a.m. with the men following with an 8,000-meter race at 12 p.m.   The Competition There will be seven teams on the men’s side competing for the WAC Championship with eight teams running on the women’s side. Along with UTRGV, Chicago State, CSU Bakersfield, Grand Canyon, New Mexico State, Seattle U, UMKC, and Utah Valley will be competing. CSU Bakersfield does not have a men’s team.   Last Time Out UTRGV last competed at the UIW Invitational where the women’s team finished in second place while the men’s team finished in fourth place as they closed out their regular season.   The women’s team finished five points behind Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for first place with 41 points. Jennifer Zapata led the way with a second place finish after finishing the 6,000-meter race with a time of 22:04.5, which ranks eighth fastest in the program’s Division I era.   The women’s team had two other top-10 finishers as Krysta Martinez finished in fifth with a time of 22:21.6 and Teresa Sova finished in eighth place with a time of 22:30.3.   On the men’s side, Alberto Herrera led the way with a ninth place finish as he finished the 8,000-meter race with a time of 22:40, which ranks fifth fastest in the program’s Division I era.   Rick Montero finished in 17th with a time of 25:16.6 and Rolando Ramon finished in 21st with a time of 25:24.8.   Pre-Championship Coaches’ Polls The Pre-Championship Coaches’ Polls were release earlier this week and the men’s team was picked to finish sixth while the women’s team was picked to finish in fourth.   Utah Valley was picked to win both the men’s and the women’s championships with both receiving six first place votes.   2016 Pre-Championship Men’s Cross Country Coaches Poll Rank Team (First Place Votes) Points 1. Utah Valley (6) 36 2. UMKC (1) 28 T-3. New Mexico State 24 T-3. Seattle U 24 5. Grand Canyon 17 6. UTRGV 12 7. Chicago State 6   2016 Pre-Championship Women’s Cross Country Coaches Poll Rank Team (First Place Votes) Points 1. Utah Valley (6) 48 2. New Mexico State 38 3. Seattle U (1) 33 T-4. UTRGV 32 T-4. Grand Canyon 32 6. UMKC 21 7. CSU Bakersfield 13 8. Chicago State 7     Regionally Ranked The women’s team is one of four teams regionally ranked in the WAC. For the first time in program history the women’s team made it on to the South Central Regional rankings as they currently rank 10th.   Utah Valley is ranked on both the men’s and women’s side. Their women’s team is ranked 15th in the Mountain rankings. Their men’s team is ranked 14th.   New Mexico State’s men’s team is the fourth team in the conference regionally ranked as they rank 15th in the Mountain rankings.     Next Up UTRGV cross country will be back in action on November 11 when they head to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the NCAA South Central Regional Championships, hosted by the University of Arkansas.