Falcons Head to NCAA Mountain Region Championships
11/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 11, 2010
The varsity members of the Air Force cross country team returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 13, when they travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the 2010 NCAA Mountain Region Championships. The meet, one of nine regional competitions taking place around the country, will be held at the Rose Park Golf Course. Action begins at 10:30 a.m., with the women's 6000-meter race. The men's 10,000-meter event will follow at 11:30 a.m.
Meet Notes 06: at NCAA Mountain Region Championships 
MEET INFORMATION
The women open the regional competition with the 6000-meter race at 10:30 a.m. The men will compete in their first 10K race of the season at 11:45 a.m. The course, which winds along the perimeter and fairways of Rose Park Golf Course, is flat and almost entirely on grass.
HOW IT WORKS
The top two teams from each of the nine regions, as well as 13 at-large teams from around the country, will be selected to the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 22. In addition, the top four runners from each region, not on an advancing team, will earn a spot at the national meet. The NCAA Championship selections are scheduled to be announced on Sunday (Nov. 14).
WHO'S WHO
There will be 20 teams in the women's field and 17 squads in the men's heat. Schools providing both a men's and women's squad are Air Force, BYU, Colorado, Colorado State, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Southern Utah, Texas Tech, UTEP, Utah State, Utah Valley, Weber State and Wyoming. Nevada, Northern Colorado and host Utah only field women's programs.
IN THE RANKINGS
The women's race features three nationally ranked teams, as well as a pair that are receiving votes. Texas Tech is ranked third in the USTFCCCA Women's Top-30 Poll, while Colorado and New Mexico are ranked eighth and 10th, respectively. Colorado State and BYU are receiving votes. On the men's side, Colorado and New Mexico are ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, while BYU is ranked 15th and Montana State is receiving votes.
LAST YEAR AT THE MEN'S REGIONAL RACE
Highlighted by a fifth-place finish from Justin Tyner, the men finished sixth in the team standings at the 2009 regional meet in Albuquerque, N.M. Zach Nordahl finished 31st, while Jon Rock and Jim Walmsley also placed within the top 40. With his all-region finish, Tyner became the first Falcon since 2007 to earn a spot at the national championship meet.
LAST YEAR AT THE WOMEN'S REGIONAL RACE
Finishing 63rd and 64th, respectively, Ally Romanko and Katie Lynch paced the women's team to a 13th-place finish in the team standings. All five scoring runners finished within the top 85, including Auriele Fain, Katherine Ward and Kate Kanetzky.
BENSON NAMED MWC COACH OF THE YEAR
Head coach Juli Benson was selected by her peers as the Mountain West Conference Men's Head Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the conference championships. Benson became the second Air Force coach to earn the league's top coaching honor, joining former coach Mark Stanforth (1999, 2003).
TYNER TAKES SECOND AT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Justin Tyner claimed a second-place finish at the Mountain West Conference Championships on Oct. 29, matching the program's highest placement ever at the MWC meet. Running at an elevation of 7,200 feet, Tyner clocked a time of 25:09.5 to finish just eight seconds off of the meet winner.
A LITTLE HISTORY LESSON
Justin Tyner's runner-up finish marked the third time in program history that an Air Force runner has placed second at the MWC Championships. Tyner joins Nick Wilson (2005) and Ben Payne (2003) as conference runner-ups. Tyner, who placed third at last year's meet, also became just the second Air Force runner to claim two first-team all-conference honors in a career.
DUO EARNS FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
In addition to Justin Tyner's second-place finish at the MWC Championships, Air Force earned another all-conference first-team selection from Jon Rock, who placed sixth in a time of 25:15.8. The pair marked the first time since 2007 - and only the fourth time ever - that two Falcons have claimed first-team honors at the same championships.
WARD SHINES AT CONFERENCE MEET
Katherine Ward became the first female runner since Nicole Graham in 2005 to earn all-conference honors, as she garnered second-team accolades with a 13th-place finish at the MWC Championships with a 6K time of 22:27.6. Ward's placement was the best for the women since 2005 and the third-best finish ever at the MWC meet.
MEN TAKE THIRD AT CONFERENCE MEET
Backed by all-conference finishers Justin Tyner (second) and Jon Rock (sixth), the men placed third in the team standings at the MWC Championships. Jeremy Drenckhahn finished 15th, while Jim Walmsley placed 18th. Isaiah Bragg, competing in the first conference meet, rounded out the scoring runners with a 30th-place finish.
WOMEN MATCH BEST FINISH IN SINCE 2004
For the second straight season, the women placed fourth at the MWC Championships - matching the squad's best finish at a conference meet since 2004. Behind Katherine Ward's 13th-place finish, Melissa Fuerst (24th), Carley Gross (29th) and Morgan Mosby (30th) all finished within the top 30. Kate Kanetzky rounded out the scoring runners with a 43rd-place finish.
COMING UP
The 2010 cross country season comes to a close on Monday, Nov. 22, with the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.
