Mountain Region Championships Next For The Buffaloes

BOULDER — Colorado's top-five nationally ranked cross country teams will travel to Provo, Utah for the 2021 NCAA Mountain Region Championship this Friday, November 12.
 
BYU will serve as this year's host at Timpanogos Golf Club. The women's 6-kilometer race is scheduled first at 11 a.m. MT, while the men's 10k run is to follow at 12 p.m. MT. There will be a short awards ceremony following the conclusion of the races to honor the top-25 runners in each race with all-region honors. Admission is free and live scoring will be available at runnercard.com.
 
The competition will be tough since the mountain region leads all of nine regions with the most teams ranked in the USTFCCCA top-30 poll with seven women's teams and six men's teams for a total of 13.
 
The CU women enter the meet as the third-ranked team in the nation and are third in the regional poll. New Mexico enters the championship ranked second in both the national and regional polls, but BYU, the top-ranked regional team, is ranked fourth in the national poll. UNM, CU and BYU are separated by 17 points in the national rankings, which could make the race a very interesting one.
 
Adding to the excitement of the meet with be Utah, which is ranked seventh nationally (fourth in the region). The other three teams ranked nationally are Northern Arizona (18th), Colorado State (19th) and Utah State (22nd).
 
On the men's side, Northern Arizona has been the top team in the national and regional polls all season. The Buffs are currently ranked second in both. BYU is third in the region and is the next highest team in the USTFCCCA Poll at eighth. The other three nationally ranked teams are Air Force (11th), Colorado State (22nd) and Southern Utah (26th).
 
Colorado has a tradition of doing well at this meet. The men have won it 21 times, while the women have taken home 15 titles.
 
The top two teams in each race automatically advance to nationals, while 13 other teams will be selected for at-large bids following all nine regional championships. The NCAA will announce those 13 teams during a selection show on Saturday, Nov. 14, starting at 3 p.m. MT. Fans can access the show at NCAA.com.
 
The NCAA Championships are Saturday, November 20, in Tallahassee, Fla.