Utah Cross Country Schedule Set for Spring Competition

SALT LAKE CITY – After postponing its traditional fall schedule due to COVID-19, the Utah cross country team will finally get to race this season with the release of its spring schedule.
 
The Utes will compete in a pair of races before getting a couple weeks to train for the Pac-12 Championships. With the unique season due to COVID-19, there will not be an NCAA Regionals meet and will just be the NCAA Championship meet.

XC HAS BEGUN.?
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Ngl that was mega weird to say in January.. nevertheless!! The crew is back in town and getting ready to roll for what may be the most unconventional season yet! ?
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Let's #GOUTES pic.twitter.com/Qu1Em4G24q

— Utah T&F/XC (@Utah_trackfield) January 12, 2021

 
Utah will open its season next Monday, Feb. 1, in Las Vegas at the Silver State Collegiate Cross Country Challenge hosted by USATF Nevada at Craig Ranch Regional Park. The Utes then return to Sin City on Friday, Feb. 19, for the Battle Born Collegiate Cross Country Challenge to wrap up their regular-season. Once again, the race will take place at Craig Ranch Regional Park.
 
The Women of Utah will get an additional two weeks afterwards to prepare for the Pac-12 Championships, which is slated to take place on Friday, March 5, at Chambers Bay Golf Course – host of the 2015 U.S. Open. Utah had its best finish in the Pac-12 Championships last season since joining the conference in 2011, placing third in one of the toughest conferences nationally. 
 
Without NCAA Regionals, teams will be selected for the NCAA Championships (March 15) by the following criterion per the NCAA release this past fall. The minimum of competitions to be considered for selection is one.
 

• Conference championship performance holds the most weight.
• After the conference championship, a team will be evaluated on its body of work for all competitions, regardless of the time of year they occurred. (This includes teams that do not have a conference championship.)
• Common opponents and head-to-head competition against Division I opponents only will be used when comparing teams.

 
Meanwhile, the following criterion will be used to select individuals for the championships…

• The top individual finisher at each conference championship who is not part of a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA championships (maximum of 32 individuals depending on how many conferences host a conference championship).
• The remaining individual spots will be selected at large by the committee to fill the field to 38. This includes individuals that did not have the opportunity to compete in a conference championship.

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