Air Force Men Capture MWC Cross Country Championship

Nov. 1, 2003

Complete Men's Results in PDF Format
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Complete Women's Results in PDF Format
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The Air Force men's cross country team ended BYU's string of six consecutive conference championships Saturday by winning its first Mountain West Conference title in Albuquerque, N.M. The Falcons won the meet with 37 points, four less than second-place BYU, and claimed the school's first MWC team championship.

"It's always fun to win," said Air Force head coach Mark Stanforth. "We're happy with what we did, and now we're looking forward to regionals and nationals. We've had a really good year, but this is the farthest apart we've been (time between first and fifth runner), so we need to tighten it up again."

Air Force, the last team other than BYU to capture a conference championship (the 1996 WAC title), had all five of its runners finish in the top 12. Leading the way was senior Ben Payne, who finished second overall in the 8K race with a time of 24:31. He finished 15 seconds behind the race winner, Kip Kangogo of BYU.

"Ben ran very well today," said Stanforth. "He led the way for most of the race. It came down to three guys with about 2,000-meters to go, then Kangogo just pulled away."

Junior Brian Dumm and sophomore Mark Walter also placed in the top 10 for Air Force. Dumm finished fifth with a time of 24:52, while Walter was seventh in 25:02. Junior Abe Wengel (25:16) and senior Chris Acs (25:21) finished 11th and 12th, respectively. Payne, Dumm and Walter earned first-team all-MWC honors for placing in the top 10. Wengle and Acs were named to the second-team, while Stanforth earned MWC men's coach of the year honors.

In the women's 6K race, sophomore Lindsay Grose led the Falcons to their fifth consecutive third-place finish with a time of 22:55, good for 15th place. Air Force scored 106 points, finishing behind BYU (19 points) and Colorado State (62).

Senior Anne Chumlea finished 20th with a time of 23:12, followed by sophomore Vivian Aspden (22nd, 23:17) and freshmen Ashley Culp (24th, 23:20) and Ashley Snyder (25th, 23:22).

"Our women had a real solid race today," said Stanforth. "All of our runners performed well, which is nothing different than the rest of the season."

Stanforth received his fourth Coach of the Year honor, his second in the Mountain West (1999) and two from the Western Athletic Conference (1994, 1996). Five is the most all-conference winners this team has had in the Mountain West.

The Falcons return home for a triangular meet next Saturday, Nov. 8. Joining Air Force will be the University of Colorado and Northern Colorado. The NCAA Mountain Region Championships will be held on Saturday, Nov. 15 in Ogden, Utah.

2003 Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships

Men's Team Results
1. Air Force 37
2. BYU 41
3. Colorado St. 53
4. New Mexico 123
5. Wyoming 137
6. Utah 173

Men's All-Conference Teams

First Team
Kip Kangogo, Jr., BYU
Ben Payne, Sr., Air Force
Austin Vigil, Sr., Colorado State
Bill Michel, Sr., Colorado State
Brian Dumm, Jr., Air Force
Josh Glaab, So., Colorado State
Mark Walter, So., Air Force

Second Team
Matt Adams, Jr., BYU
Bryan Lindsay, Jr., BYU
Nathan Robison, Jr., BYU
Abe Wengel, Jr., Air Force
Chris Acs, Sr., Air Force
Chad Durham, So., BYU
Nick Wilson, So., Air Force

Men's Award Winners

Runner of the Year
Kip Kangogo, Jr., BYU

Freshman of the Year
Rich Nelson, BYU

Coach of the Year
Mark Stanforth, Air Force

Women's Team Results
1. BYU 19
2. Colorado St. 62
3. Air Force 106
4. Utah 124
5. New Mexico 141
6. San Diego St. 143
7. Wyoming 159
8. UNLV 234

Women's All-Conference Teams

First Team
Michaela Mannova, Sr., BYU
Laura Turner, Jr., BYU
Breanne Sandberg, So., BYU
Marie Nilsson, Sr., San Diego State
Lisa Antonelli, Jr., BYU
Elise Greenwood, So., Utah
Sarah Gonzales, Sr., New Mexico

Second Team
Rena Williams, Jr., BYU
Katie Yemm, Sr. Colorado State
Michelle Carman, Jr., Colorado State
Katie Moon, Jr., BYU
Crystal Clark, Jr., Colorado State
Amber Harper, Fr., BYU
Colleen Blair, Jr., Colorado State

Women's Award Winners

Runner of the Year
Michaela Mannova, Sr., BYU

Freshman of the Year
Amber Harper, BYU

Coach of the Year
Patrick Shane, BYU