Runnin’ Utes picked fourth in preseason poll

The Runnin’ Utes are selected to finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference, according to a preseason media poll released Thursday.

The annual poll, which is voted on by conference media, picked defending regular-season champion San Diego State to repeat as MWC champions this year. BYU and Air Force were also selected to finish ahead of the Utes. Rounding out the rest of the conference were New Mexico, UNLV, Colorado State, Wyoming and TCU, respectively.

No Utes were selected to the preseason All-Mountain West team this year, but newcomer Stephen Weigh was selected to be Top Freshman in the conference.

Oliver named MWC Swimmer of the Week

Sophomore Adam Oliver, one of Utah’s top distance swimmers, was named MWC Swimmer of the Week for his performance during the first week of the 2006-2007 swim season.

During the Beehive Rallies last Thursday, Oliver was on the first place relay team in both the 3×100 backstroke and 3×500 freestyle events. Two days later, Oliver finished first in both the 500 and 1,000-meter freestyle distance swims in a meet against the Denver Pioneers.

Oliver is one of the key components to the men’s team, and his success in the distance races has made the men’s side of the swim team one of the deepest in recent years.

The swim team travels to San Diego this weekend to take on the UCSD Tritons.