Colorado Heads To NCAA Regionals

BOULDER - The University of Colorado cross country program will participate at the NCAA Mountain Regions on Nov. 12 in Provo, Utah. The event will be hosted by Brigham Young University and the top two teams will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championships along with the top-four of the top-25 individual racers not affiliated with the top two teams.

The event will be held at the East Bay Golf Course. The men will run the 10k at 11 a.m. local time and the women race the 6k at 12 p.m. An awards ceremony will follow at 1.

The third-ranked Colorado men's team has won 11 of the last 13 qualifying races and 15 overall. The 10th-rated women won the race last year after a string of runner-up finishes to BYU. The CU women also took top honors in 1986, 1987, 1996 and in 2000. The last men's individual title CU took was in 2003 when Dathan Ritzenhein took the top honors. Renee Metivier won the individual crown in 2004. Metivier became the fourth CU women to earn this honor and it marked just the fifth time a Buff won the race on the women's side.

Colorado swept both races last year as both teams went on to sweep the NCAA Championship titles. The victories at regions marked the first time since 2000 that both CU teams have finished first at the event.

Seniors Bret Schoolmeester and Billy Nelson will lead the Colorado men. Both earned All-Big 12 honors two weeks ago at the Big 12 Championships. Sophomore Stephen Pifer took fifth overall and lead CU to its 10th consecutive Big 12 Championship. Schoolmeester was the top CU racer at the NCAA Mountain Regions last season. He finished third overall in 29 minutes and 48 seconds.

Senior Christine Bolf has won all three races this season. She is the top returning harrier from last season's race. Bolf finished fifth overall (20:51). Sophomore Liza Pasciuto finished 12th overall and was the fifth CU racer. Pasciuto took sixth overall at the Big 12 Championships. The Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Jenny Barringer, has finished second for the Buffs in every event this season, including the Big 12 Championship. The Buffs are currently ranked 10th.

The NCAA Championships will be run Monday, Nov. 21 in Terra Haute, Ind.