Cross Country Set to Race in Logan This Friday
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah cross country team will send a select group of runners this week up to Logan, Utah, for the Steve T. Reeder Memorial on Friday, Oct. 8, at the Steve & Dona Reeder XC Course.
STEVE T. REEDER MEMORIAL
Date: Friday, Oct. 8
Time: 3:45 p.m. (MT)
Where: Steve & Dona Reeder XC Course
Field: #2 BYU, College of Idaho, UNLV, #10 Utah, Utah State (Host), Weber State, Westminster
Course Map: View Map
THE LINE UP
Utah is sending Maren Busath, Martina Conner, Emma Earl, Kaitlyn Mercer, Natalie Platil and Maddie Reed to this week's meet at the Steve T. Reeder Memorial in Logan, Utah. Reed will be making her collegiate debut while Mercer competes in her first cross country race since October of 2019.
Busath made her collegiate debut in the season-opener at the UVU Invite, crossing the finish line at 19:47.4 for 23rd. Conner also made her collegiate debut at that meet, but wasn't able to finish due to an injury.
IN THE RANKINGS
Utah moves up one spot after an idle week in the latest USTFCCCA National Poll and checks in at No. 10 – its first time cracking the top-10 since taking third at the Pac-12 Championships back in 2019. In the USTFCCCA Mountain Regional Poll, the Utes held steady at No. 4.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah made a splash in just its second race of the year by capturing the Dellinger Invitational and beat out five ranked teams, including then-No. 6 Arkansas, for its first victory since winning the Joe Piane Invitational in 2019.
Ariel Keklak paced the Utes, taking fourth with a time of 20:13.0 for her fifth-career top-10 finish. Following behind her were Emily Venters (20:15.5) and Simone Plourde (20:17.1) who took fifth and sixth, respectively. Bella Williams just missed out on another top-10 finish with a time of 20:22.3 for 11th overall.
Cara Woolnough along with Keelah Barger rounded out the list of top-25 finishers for Utah with Woolnough closing out the group of top-5 scorers for Utah at 19th (20:31.7). Barger was not too far behind and posted a time of 20:34.0 for 24th overall.
Along with Keklak and Plourde, Lisha Van Onselen, Lauren Peterson and Brooke Manson all set new PRs in the 6k. Van Onselen took 35th with a time of 20:49.4 with Peterson crossing the finish line at 21:11.6 for 59th while Manson came in at 22:02.1.
PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS COME TO SLC
Utah is set to host its first Pac-12 Cross Country Championships since joining the league in 2011 this season on Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Regional Athletic Complex. The men's 8k race will kick things off at the RAC on Pac-12 Networks before the women close things off with the 6k race.
Stanford will look to defend its titles on both the men and women's side and become the first school to sweep the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships on both sides since Colorado did it in 2015 and 2016.
Since realignment, Washington is the only school to have an individual win on the same year it has hosted on the women's side with Haley Herberg winning the 2020 title while Stanford checks in as the only team on the men's side with an individual winner the same year it hosted in Grant Fisher back in 2018. The Cardinal men is also the only team to claim the team title the same year it hosted the championships
UP NEXT
The Utes will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 15, when they compete at the FSU Invite/Pre-Nationals and get a first-hand look at Apalachee Regional Park - site of the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
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