The University of Utah Cross Country team finished in 11th place at this year’s NCAA Mountain Regional competition on Friday, Nov. 9 at the East Bay Golf Course in Provo. The team was led by junior Sarah Feeny who placed 25th overall with a time of 20:46.6.
Following Feeny across the line was Redshirt freshman Cara Woolnough. Woolnough finished in 47th place with a time of 21:14.2. Rounding out the top three scorers for the U was sophomore Bella Williams. Williams crossed the finish line with a time of 21:21.9, which earned her 56th place.
Also running for the U was senior Sadie Wassum, freshmen Sophie Ryan, Kennedy Powell and Scarlet Dale. Wassum finished with a time of 21:41.1 which gave her 77th place. Ryan finished in 89th with a time of 21:56.7. Powell finished her six-kilometer course with a time of 22:05.1. Dale started the race for Utah but did not finish.
The team scored 294 total team points which garnered them 11th place. The No. 1 nationally ranked New Mexico defended their title when they took first overall in the meet with 41 total team points.
The top ten was rounded out by No. 4 Colorado (53 total team points) who took second, No. 9 BYU (85 total team points), No. 22 Southern Utah (155 total team points), Air Force (170 total team points), No. 5 Northern Arizona (214 total team points), Utah State (222 total team points), Weber State (243 total team points), Colorado State (280 total team points) and Nevada (286 total team points).
Also competing in this meet were Wyoming, UTEP, Montana State, Utah Valley, New Mexico State, Idaho State, Montana, Texas Tech and Northern Colorado.
The team will not know if they qualify for nationals until Saturday, Nov. 10 at 5 pm. The team is looking to make it back to the championship meet after not going last year, snapping a two-year streak of qualifying for the meet. If they do qualify, the team will travel to Madison, WI next Friday, Nov. 16. The lineup, as well as set time for the race, will be announced later in the week.
If the team does not qualify for the NCAA Championships, some of the team will turn their attention to running distance races for the Track and Field team. The indoor season is set to start on Dec. 1 in Ogden UT. This year’s seniors include Wassum, Hannah Allred, Makenzie Clark and Megan Killian.
