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Wyoming Cross Country Teams Finish Emotional 2001 Regular Season at the MWC Championships
A young Cowgirl team improved two places from last year's championships placing sixth.
Oct. 29, 2001
LARAMIE, Wyo. -
A very trying and emotional 2001 cross county season came to a conclusion for the University of Wyoming Saturday in Albuquerque, N.M., at the Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships. Cowboy senior Chris Jons, from Lyman, Wyo., was the first Wyoming runner to cross the finish line in the men's race, placing 34th with a time of 26:27 on the eight-kilometer course. Following Jons for the Cowboys were sophomore Jason Delaney in 36th (27:13), sophomore Joel Hess in 38th (27:48), freshman Arte Huhn in 39th (28:22) and freshman Jeremy Thompson in 40th (28:24). Running against three of the nations top 25 teams (Air Force, 9th, BYU, 16th, Colorado State, 22nd), the Pokes placed sixth out of six teams with 187 points. BYU won a tight men's team race over Air Force with 47 points to AFA's 54. Utah's Teren Jameson won the conference individual title in a time of 23:54. "Reality kicked in for the men today running against three ranked and two other really solid teams," said Wyoming cross country coach Jim Sanchez. "We went against some great competition but the guys went out there and ran as hard as they could and gave everything they had in them. It's a very tough conference and the men did about as good as they could given everything else." A young Cowgirl team improved two places from last years championships placing sixth out of eight teams with 168 points. BYU's women, who are ranked no. 2 in the nation, won the conference title with 17 points over 18th ranked CSU who finished with 45 points. Cowgirl freshman Ashley Mecham, from Green River, Wyo., led the women with a 22th-place finish on the six-kilometer course with a personal best time of 23:02. Rounding out the team scorers for the Cowgirls were freshman Jennifer Thompson (27th, 23:22), junior Stephanie Hanks (32nd, 23:33), sophomore Jennifer Mansell (43rd, 24:49) and freshman LeeAnn Forbes (44th, 24:52). "Overall the women did a great job," Sanchez said. "To put everything into perspective we ran with three freshman and a couple of middle distance runners. Considering everything, the girls stepped up a level and ran very well against some tough teams and they adapted well to running to these conditions." BYU's women swept the first three positions and were led by Tara Northcutt's first-place time of 21:00. The Cowboys and Cowgirls will next compete at the Mountain Region Championships in Provo, Utah, on Nov. 10. Wyoming Individual Results: Men (8K) Women (6K) 34. Chris Jons 26:27 22. Ashley Mecham 23:02 36. Jason Delaney 27:13 27. Jennifer Thompson 23:22 38. Joel Hess 27:48 32. Stephanie Hanks 23:33 39. Arte Huhn 28:22 43. Jennifer Mansell 24:49 40. Jeremy Thompson 28:24 44. LeeAnn Forbes 24:52 41. Matt Hudson 29:02 49. Leslie Howe 26:32 42. Nick Smith 31:38 51. Shay Romine 27:07
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