NCAA Regionals come to Fort Collins

The CSU cross country teams have faced many challenges this

season, but their toughest task lies ahead Saturday.

After traveling all over the country for meets in Minnesota,

California and Indiana, the Rams now come home to host the 2004

NCAA Regional meet this weekend.

The meet will be held at Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins

on Saturday. The women lead things off with their 6,000-meter race

at 11 a.m. and are followed by the men’s 8,000-meter race at

approximately 12:15 p.m.

Both teams will try to earn automatic bids to the NCAA

Championships, which they couldn’t accomplish last season. In order

to receive an automatic bid, the teams will have to finish in the

top two spots of this regional meet, which is one of nine regions

across the country this weekend.

For the men’s team, senior Mike Nicks and junior Josh Glaab will

attempt to lead their team to nationals. Nicks was the Rams’ top

finisher at the Mountain West Conference Championships. Glaab and

Nicks placed 16th and 21st in 2003 regionals.

On the women’s side, Nicole Feest and Colleen Blair will try to

lead their team to nationals. The team also returns last year’s

best regional finisher, Crystal Clark. The 2003 ladies just missed

an automatic bid to nationals with a third-place finish in last

year’s regionals and will try to get into that all-important

second-place slot.

Both teams look to carry their momentum from the MWC

Championships on Oct. 30 when the women placed second and the men

finished fourth. This is the Rams’ first meet since then and they

will look to take down conference powers BYU and Air Force.

The men’s team is ranked No. 5 in the United States Cross

Country Coaches Association Mountain Region poll and is ranked 24th

in the nation. BYU is the highest ranked MWC team in the Rams’

region at No. 2, and Air Force is close behind them at No. 4.

Colorado is ranked No. 1 in the region and is the favorite to place

first Saturday.

The women moved up one spot in this week’s national poll and now

sit at 23. BYU, No. 11, is the only other MWC team to make it into

the national top 25. The ladies are also ranked at No. 3in their

region according to the Women’s Intercollegiate Cross Country

Coaches Association Mountain Region poll.