Falcons Head to Utah For Mountain Regional

The Air Force cross country team returns to action this weekend, as it travels to Provo, Utah, for the NCAA Mountain Regional on Friday, Nov. 12. The Falcons' lineup, which includes the 11th-ranked men, will face a stacked field of their regional counterparts for a chance to qualify to the NCAA Championships.

MEET INFORMATION
The year's NCAA Mountain Regional will be held at Timpanogos Golf Course (380 E. 1860 South) in Provo, Utah. The women will kick off the regional meet with a 6K race at 11:a.m. (MT), while the men will follow at noon with their first 10K of the season. Admission is free for the meet, while live results will be available via RunnerCard.com (direct links can be found on the team's schedule page at GoAirForceFalcons.com).

WEATHER WATCH
The forecast for Friday in Provo is sunny, with a high of 55 and a low of 37.

THE STARTING LINE
Air Force entered 20 runners into the NCAA Mountain Regional– Luke Combs, Sam Gilman, Ryan Ioanidis, Ryan Johnson, AJ Kedge, Will Kitzhaber, Scott Maison, Sean Maison, Ethan Marshall and Nick Scheller for the men, and Maddie Edwards, Rayna Fruchey, Stephanie Gregersen, Halle Hamilton, Jenna Kill, Lindsey Peters, Ally Peterson, Tiaree Towler, Sydney Weaber and Rebecca Wusinich for the women.

WHERE TO FIND THEM
The women will race out of Box 3, while the men will start in Box 15.

SCOUTING THE WOMEN IN THE MOUNTAIN REGION
The women's Mountain Region boasts more nationally-ranked teams (seven) than any other region. Backed by three of the top-four teams – No. 2 New Mexico, No. 3 Colorado, No. 4 BYU, the 19-team field includes No. 7 Utah, No. 18 Northern Arizona, No. 19 Colorado State, No. 22 Utah State, a Weber State team that is receiving votes in the latest coaches' poll, and squads from Air Force, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Nevada, New Mexico State, Southern Utah, Texas Tech, Utah Valley, UTEP, and Wyoming.

SCOUTING THE MEN IN THE MOUNTAIN REGION
Like the women's field, the men's Mountain Region boasts an NCAA-leading seven nationally-ranked programs – more than any of the other nine regional races. The 18-team lineup includes the nation's top-two squads – No. 1 Northern Arizona and No. 2 Colorado, as well as teams from No. 8 BYU, No. 11 Air Force, No. 21 Utah State, No. 22 Colorado State, No. 26 Southern Utah, a Montana State that is receiving votes, and teams from Idaho State, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Texas Tech, Utah Valley, UTEP, Weber State, and Wyoming.

HOW IT WORKS
The regional meets serves as the primary feeder into the upcoming NCAA Cross Country Championships. The top two teams from each of the nine regional 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 into the national meet, while the 13 remaining teams are chosen by the NCAA Division I Cross Country Committee on an at-large basis from across the country.

MEN REMAIN 11TH IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
Following an impressive fifth-place performance at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, the men vaulted up 19 spots to No. 11 in the Oct 19 edition of the USTFCCCA National Rankings – and remained at that spot in the Nov. 2 rankings. That is the men's second-highest national placement since 2003 and marked the 38th-straight poll where the men have been mentioned in the national conversation (either ranked or receiving votes) – a program-best streak that dates back to the opening poll of the 2017 season.

MEN DEFEND MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP
The men successfully defended their conference title on Oct. 29, as it easily won the 2021 Mountain West title. Claiming a conference-record eight all-conference selections, the men tallied 27 points – the lowest conference-winning total since 2014 – to earn a 37-point victory over the rest of the field and become the first men's team since 2013-14 to claim a MW title in back-to-back years. Ryan Cole was named Coach of the year, while Sam Gilman (second), Ryan Ioanidis (third), Will Kitzhaber (sixth) and Scott Maison (seventh) earned first-team all-conference honors and Luke Combs (ninth), Sean Maison (10th), Ryan Johnson (11th) and Ethan Marshall (13th) were named second-team all-MW.

HAMILTON NAMED FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
As the top true freshman finisher in the women's 6K race, Halle Hamilton was named the Mountain West Female Freshman of the Year. Placing 15th in the 97-runner championship and leading the Falcons to a fourth-place finish in the team standings, Hamilton became the first Air Force female to be named the league's top freshman – and the third-straight overall, joining Ryan Johnson (2019) and Luke Combs (2020).

THE NEXT COURSE
The 2021 season wraps up next Saturday (Nov. 20), when the top teams in the nation converge on Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla., for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The official list of qualifiers will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show on NCAA.com at 5:00 p.m. (ET), on Saturday, Nov. 13.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Luke Combs

Maddie Edwards

Rayna Fruchey

Sam Gilman

Stephanie Gregersen

Halle Hamilton

Ryan Ioanidis

Ryan Johnson

AJ Kedge

Jenna Kill

Will Kitzhaber

Scott Maison

Sean Maison

Ethan Marshall

Lindsey Peters

Ally Peterson

Nick Scheller

Tiaree Towler

Sydney Weaber

Rebecca Wusinich

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