Utah State University Athletes Shine in WAC Championships.

by Craig J. Peterson
Oct. 31, 2005 (c) TrueAggies.com

Utah State Men Take Home WAC Cross Country Title While Women Take Second

LOGAN , Utah - The 2005 Western Athletic Conference Men and Women's Cross Country Championships were held Saturday at Eagle Island State Park in Boise , Idaho . Utah State men's team took first place setting a WAC record in the process. Utah State women's team took second place.

Several Aggies were recognized individually including both men's and women's "Freshman of the Year" and men's "Coach of the Year" and "Athlete of the Year." USU women were awarded two First-team all-WAC awards and two second-team all-WAC awards. The men recorded five (out of seven) First-team all-WAC awards and one second-team all-WAC award.

The women ran first this year, with Idaho 's Dee Olson finishing 10 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. Dee went on to capture the women's WAC Athlete of the Year award. The Idaho Vandals claimed four of the first five spots. Utah State 's Tiffany Strickland, the only non-Vandal to finish in the top five, finished second in a time of 17:41.83. Idaho's Dee Olson (17:31.31), Bevin Kennelly (17:55.46), Mary Kamau (17:55.87) and Mandy Macalister (17:58.87) finished first, and third through fifth, respectively.

Utah State 's runner-up score was 13 points shy of Idaho 's 30 points. Taking third was San Jose State with 107 points, while host Boise State claimed fourth with 115. In fifth was both Nevada and Fresno State who tied with 131 points, while New Mexico State finished seventh with 167. Hawaii rounded out the field finishing eighth with 231 points.

The men followed up with Utah State claiming the first four spots and five of the first six. Utah State 's Trever Ball finished first in a time of 24:12.87. Ball was named the men's 2005 WAC Athlete of the Year. Taking second was fellow Aggie Clark Bryner who crossed in 24:49.89. Rounding out the Aggie men was Vance Twitchell in third (25:09.45), Seth Wold in fourth (25:16.08) and Steve Atkinson in sixth (25:29.52).

The Aggie men set a WAC record for lowest team score with 16, narrowly edging out UTEP's record of 17 set back in 1981. In second was Idaho who earned 75 points. Third place was taken by Louisiana Tech with 88 points, while Boise State finished fourth with 99. Rounding out the six-team men's field was San Jose State with 123 points and New Mexico State with 128.

At the conclusion of the races, the WAC announced its all-conference teams and individual honors. The following is a listing of those awards:

WOMEN

First-team all-WAC

Dee Olson, Jr., Idaho
Tiffany Strickland, Sr., Utah State
Bevin Kennelly, Sr., Idaho
Mary Kamau, Sr., Idaho
Mandy Macalister, Jr., Idaho
Ashley Johnson, Jr., Utah State
Kali Baker, Jr., Nevada

Second-team all-WAC

Andrea Buckner, Sr., Fresno State
Vanessa Hawkins, Fr., Utah State
Rebecca Guyette, Sr., Boise State
Amy Egan, Jr., Utah State
Tiffany Hall, Jr., San Jose State
Erica Sahli, So., San Jose State
Breanna Sande, Fr., Boise State

Freshman of the Year : Venessa Hawkins, Utah State
Coach of the Year : Wayne Phipps, Idaho
Athlete of the Year : Dee Olson, Jr., Idaho

MEN

First-team all-WAC

Trever Ball, Sr., Utah State
Clark Bryner, Sr., Utah State
Vance Twitchell, Jr., Utah State
Seth Wold, Fr., Utah State
Ty Axtman, Jr., Boise State
Steve Atkinson, Fr., Utah State
Mobin Ghoury, Jr., San Jose State

Second-team all-WAC

Josh Sifuentes, So., New Mexico State
Tim Marshall, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Todd Griffith, Fr., Utah State
Cody Eaton, So., Boise State
Dale Engler, Sr., Idaho
Kinsey Dinnel, So., Louisiana Tech
Kevin Friesen, Fr., Idaho

Freshman of the Year : Seth Wold, Utah State
Coach of the Year : Gregg Gensel, Utah State
Athlete of the Year : Trever Ball, Sr., Utah State

Click on the following links for complete results:
Women's Results.pdf
Men's Results.pdf