#16 Utah Cross Country Set for Pac-12 Championships on Friday

Friday, November 1

Monmouth, Ore.

12:00 PM

University of Utah

Pac-12 Women's Cross Country Championship

#16 Utah Cross Country Set for Pac-12 Championships on Friday

10/30/2019 11:50 AM | Cross Country

Meet Central 2019 Pac-12 Championships Course Map Live Results

Utah's top runners back in action for the conference championship.

#16 Utah Cross Country Set for Pac-12 Championships on Friday

Date: Friday, November 1, 2019
Location: Ash Creek Preserve Course | Monmouth, Oregon
Host: Oregon State
Time: 1:10 p.m. (MT)
Live TV: Pac-12 Networks
On Call: Jim Watson, Tom Feuer
Utah Media Guide: 2019 Cross Country Media Guide (PDF)
Cross Country Statistics: 2019 Season Statistics (PDF)

Starting Line
The No. 16-ranked Utah cross country team gears up as they'll make the trip to Monmouth, Ore., to compete at the 2019 Pac-12 Cross Country Championships. The meet will take place at the Ash Creek Preserve Course and is slated to begin at 12:10 p.m. MT with the men's 6k race following with the women's 6k race at 1:10 p.m. MT. Catch the action live on Pac-12 Networks, which will begin coverage at noon (MT).

In the women's 6k, Utah will face stiff competition going up against three teams ranked in the top-5 nationally with the No. 2-ranked Stanford Cardinal coming in as the favorite over Pac-12 defending champion No. 20 Oregon. At last year's championships, the trio of Feeny, Williams and Woolnough led the Utes - finishing in 21st, 36th and 44th to help Utah secure the seventh-place finish.

Utah Runners
Scarlet Dale
Poppy Tank
Bella Williams
Cara Woolnough
Sarah Feeny
Emma Christensen
Trina Moreno
Ellie Lundgreen
Grace Burnett
Anna Busatto

Ranked Pac-12 Teams
#2 Stanford
#3 Washington
#5 Colorado
#20 Oregon
RV: Oregon State

In the Rankings
The Utes come in at No.16 in the nation according to the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' poll. This marks the third-consecutive week and fifth overall the Utes have been in the national rankings. In the Mountain Region, the Utes sit in sixth and continue to look up at BYU - who has been on top of the region throughout the season. The highly competitive Mountain Region contains three teams that rank in the top-11 of the nation in No. 4 BYU, No. 5 Colorado and tied at No. 11 are Northern Arizona and New Mexico.

Fresh Legs
Heading into the postseason, Utah will be running at full strength and determined to make a statement in the Pac-12 and Mountain Region Championships. Dale, Tank, Williams, Woolnough and Feeny will all have fresh legs competing in only two meets this year whileDale competed in one at the Joe Piane Invite. Christensen and Moreno will compete in their fourth race of the season withLundgreen and Busatto seeing action in their fifth race.

Grace Burnett has compiled an impressive freshman campaign that includes three top-10 finishes to earn herself a spot on the postseason squad. Burnett has competed in all meets except one and will gear up for her sixth race of the season.

Last Time Out
The Utes competed in their final regular season meet hosting the second annual Utah Open at Sunnyside Park. Against local talent, true freshman Grace Burnett paced the Utes and finished third overall in the women's 5k. Karli Branch came in next, placing 10th whileNicole Griffiths (22nd), Sara Leonard (23rd) and Kaitlyn Mercer (25th) crossed the finish-line together to round out the scoring runners for the Utes.

Abby Rasmussen (31st), Astrid Lindgren (36th) and Ashley Licata (39th) completed the entries for Utah. Natalie Platil and Sophie Ryan, who saw their first action of the season, competed unattached and placed 12th and 13th-overall, respectively.

Utah State took home the meet title placing their runners five scoring runners 2-3-5-6-10, totaling 26 points. Utah Valley (48) nudged out Utah (57) by nine points to give the Wolverines the second-place finish.

In the Classroom
The Utah cross country program strives for excellence in both athletics and academics and continues to get it done in the classroom. In the fall of 2018, the cross country team was one of seven teams at Utah that finished with cumulative GPA above a 3.5.

Last season, the Utes had nine student-athletes named to the Pac-12 All-Academic team with four of them being named to the first and second team and five being honorable mentions. Sophomore Cara Woolnough earned first-team honors while senior Anna Busatto and juniors Astrid Lindgren and Natalie Platil were tabbed second-team members. Aubrey Argyle, Emma Christensen, Sarah Feeny, Sarah Newton and former Ute Sadie Wassum were named honorable mention.

This marked the second Pac-12 All-Academic honor Feeny has received (2015) and the first time Woolnough, Busatto, Lindgren, Platil, Argyle, Christensen and Newton were awarded cross country all-academic honors in their careers.

Up Next
The Utah cross country team will host the 2019 NCAA Mountain Regionals on Friday, Nov. 15 at the Rose Park Golf Course in Salt Lake City. The women's race is scheduled to being at 11 a.m. MT, while the men's race will begin at noon (MT).

Fans can follow the Utah cross country program on Twitter (@Utah_trackfield), Facebook (UtahTrackXC) and on Instagram (@UtahTrackXC).

Podcast
Click below to listen to head coach Kyle Kepler in his weekly cross country podcast. In this edition, coach Kepler gives a recap of the Utah Open along with a preview of the 2019 Pac-12 Cross Country Championships.