Qualifying an entire team at the Mountain Region Championships would be tough for the University of Utah cross country team?eight of the teams in the field were placed in the Top 35 teams in the nation.
However, the Utah men’s team came through with their best finish ever at the Mountain Region Championships. Utah finished 6th out of 17 men’s teams.
The women’s team did not finish as well, but did finish No. 8 of 18 teams.
Ute runner Teren Jameson had his worst finishing place of the year as he finished 3rd overall, but he will run in the NCAA Championships even if the team does not qualify.
The men’s team has a chance of qualifying as their 6th place finish might be good enough, pending the results of other regional championships.
Besides Jameson, the other All-Conference runner for the Utes was Colby Frazier. He finished 14th overall.
That was the last Top 20 finisher for the Utes. The next best placing for the Utes was B.J. Christensen, who finished 32nd.
The women’s team did not have a Top 30 finisher. Tara Hall led the team, as she finished 31st overall. The next Utah runner was Elise Greenwood at 42nd.
The winners of the Mountain Region Championships were Colorado in the men’s division, and top-ranked BYU completely dominated the women’s competition.
The tournament might finish the year for the Utah cross country team if the men’s team does not qualify. However, it has been a very good year, as they have broken into the Top 25. All individuals on the team that do not qualify for the NCAA Championships, which will take place Nov. 19, will set their sights on the track and field competition.