Air Force Heads to NCAA Mountain Regional
11/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 11, 2015
The Air Force cross country team, which includes the 21st-ranked men's squad, returns to action this week, when it travels to Albuquerque, N.M., for the 2015 NCAA Mountain Region Championships on Friday, Nov. 13. The meet, hosted by the University of New Mexico, is slated to begin at noon.
Meet Notes 06: at NCAA Mountain Region Championships 
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
The NCAA Mountain Region Cross Country Championships will take place throughout the UNM North Golf Course in Albuquerque. The women's 6K race will begin at noon (MT), while the men's 10K will follow at 1:00 p.m. Results are scheduled to be posted on LiveRunningResults.com. There will be no video streaming of the meet.
WHO TO WATCH | THE AIR FORCE LINEUP
A total of nine men – Sean Bapty, Jacob Bilvado, Dan Caddigan, Patrick Corona, Matt Dorsey, Kyle Eller, Andrew Johnston, Andrew Milliron, Daniel Shellhouse – and six women – Katie Burnham, Hannah Everson, Carina Gillespie, Lindy Long, Samantha Skold, Giulianna Vessa – are entered in the regional meet.
WHO'S WHO
Air Force, BYU, Colorado, Colorado State, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Southern Utah, Texas Tech, Utah State, Utah Valley, UTEP, Weber State and Wyoming will compete in both the men's and women's races, while Nevada, Northern Colorado and Utah will compete in just the women's event.
A LOOK AT THE REGION
A total of 10 nationally-ranked teams reside in the Mountain Region – including the nation's top-ranked squads for both the men (Colorado) and women (New Mexico). The men's field also features No. 3 BYU, No. 11 UTEP, No. 21 Air Force and No. 25 Colorado State, while the women's lineup includes No. 2 Colorado, No. 20 Utah, No. 24 BYU and No. 25 Weber State. In addition, Southern Utah is receiving votes in the men's national standings.
HOW IT WORKS
The regional championship meet serves as the primary feeder to the upcoming NCAA Cross Country Championships. The top two teams from each of the nine regional championship sites – West, Mountain, Midwest, South Central, Great Lakes, South, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast – as well as the top four individuals not on an advancing team, will receive an automatic berth to the national meet. The remainder of the teams and individuals are chosen on at at-large basis.
MEN MOVE UP TO 21ST IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
Following its conference title at the Mountain West Championships, the men moved up five spots to No. 21 in the USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll. It is the highest ranking for the Falcons since it held the same placement during Week 2 of the 2005 season. The conference win also kept Air Force at No. 4 in the Mountain Regional Rankings – a placement that is tied for the highest since regional standings began in 2010.
AIR FORCE WINS MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP
Backed by two of the top-three finishes and all five scoring runners placing within the top 21, the men captured the Mountain West Championship on Oct. 30 – marking the program's first team title since 2003.
THE NEXT COURSE
The 2015 season comes to a close next Saturday (Nov. 21) at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Louisville.
