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Inaugural Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championship To Be Held On Friday The women’s 5K race will begin at 4:30 p.m., with the men’s 8K at 5:05 p.m.
Oct. 27, 1999
Colorado Springs, Colo. - The inaugural Mountain West Conference men’s and women’s cross country championships will be held Friday, Oct. 29, at East Bay Golf Course in Provo, Utah. The event will also be the first-ever championship in any sport in the Mountain West Conference. The women’s 5K race will begin at 4:30 p.m., with the men’s 8K at 5:05 p.m.
The women’s race will feature third-ranked and host BYU as well as No. 22 Colorado State. The Cougars were ranked No. 1 in the preseason and were runner-up at last year’s NCAA Championship. Individually, BYU’s Laura Heiner recorded the league’s fastest time this year and will vie for the women’s title along with teammates Elizabeth Jackson, Sharolyn Shields and Tara Rohatinsky. Colorado State’s Elizabeth Roodell and Utah’s Johanna Nielson will also make a strong run at the championship.
On the men’s side, 13th-ranked BYU and 15th-ranked Utah are the favorites for the team title. In their only meeting of the season at the Pre-NCAA Invitational in Bloomington, Ind., Oct. 16, the Cougars finished in eighth place in the elite field of 35, while the Utes were close behind in 10th. The race for the individual title will go down to the wire. BYU’s John Hedengren and Utah’s Travis Hildebrand and Chris Merkley each own two of the league’s six best times this year.
This event signifies the kickoff of the Mountain West Conference’s Fall Sports Championship season. Following cross country, the women’s soccer championships will be held on Nov. 3-6, in San Diego, Calif. All eight conference teams will participate including regular-season tri-champions San Diego State, BYU and Utah. The Aztecs earned the number one seed in the tournament due to the tie-breaking criteria.
A complete list of fall championships and dates is listed below:
Cross Country Championship – Oct. 29, Provo, Utah
Women’s Soccer Championship – Nov. 3-6, San Diego, Calif.
Women’s Volleyball Championship – Nov. 24-27, Provo, Utah
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