Fort Lewis College Athletics

Men's and women's cross country moves up in USTFCCCA poll

10/25/2023 1:59:00 PM

By: Angela Roberts, Assistant AD-Communications

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Following an impressive showing at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships, the Fort Lewis College men's and women's cross country teams have moved up in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) ranks, announced on Wednesday.

The men's team jumped seven spots to No. 23 after entering last week's poll for the first time since 2003. The Skyhawks were simply incredible at the RMAC Championships, coming away with a fourth-place finish after being selected to finish eighth according to the preseason poll. Fort Lewis finished ahead of Colorado Christian, UCCS, New Mexico Highlands, and CSU Pueblo—programs that came in ranked ahead of the Skyhawks in the regional and national polls. Fort Lewis ran for an average time of 25:09.4 with a 34-second spread, the second-best spread in the field and behind only No. 1-ranked Colorado School of Mines.

For their efforts, the men's team earned a program-record four All-Conference accolades. Named Second Team All-Conference was the lineup of senior Henry Barth (16^th), sophomore Bean Minor (18^th), sophomore Eli Smith (26^th), and junior Caden Resendez (28^th).

The women's team has moved into the No. 24 spot following a strong, sixth-place finish at the RMAC Championships. The Skyhawks ran for a 1:44.0 spread, the four-best mark among programs to finish in the top six. Freshman Linda Weigang led the team with an impressive 16th-place finish and was just the second freshman student-athlete to cross the finish line. Her time of 21.45.0 marks a new 6k personal best, and she ran for a 5:51 average. Senior Katie Heck finished narrowly behind Weigang, crossing the line in 17th place with a time of 21:47.2—22 seconds faster than her outing at the Lewis Invitational, her season-opener at sea level. The duo earned Second-Team All-Conference accolades for their efforts.

The Fort Lewis programs have turned their attention to the South Central Regional meet which will take place on Saturday, November 4 in Lubbock, Texas. The men's team has moved into the No. 6 slot in the region while the women are at No. 9.

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