XC Buffs Prepped For NCAA Championships on Saturday

BOULDER — The University of Colorado cross country teams are both looking to end the season on a high note as both are set to compete at the 2017 NCAA Championships on Saturday, November 18, in Louisville, Ky.

The women enter the meet as the No. 1 team in the country, while the men are ranked fifth overall. This will be the 26th straight NCAA appearance for men, which is the longest active streak on the men's side. For the women, it's the 25th appearance in the last 26 years.

The women's 6-kilometer race is slated first and is scheduled for an 8:45 a.m. MT/10:45 a.m. ET start. The men will run the 10k course second at 9:45 a.m. MT/11:45 a.m. ET at E. P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park. An awards ceremony will follow both races.

Of the 31 women's teams participating at nationals, the CU women will face four other Pac-12 schools in No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 Oregon, No. 22 Washington and No. 23 California. The men will have five league schools in their race: No. 6 Stanford, No. 12 Washington, No. 14 Oregon, No. 16 UCLA and No. 27 Washington State.

The women's team has performed quite well this season, recording several key wins. The Buffs won their third straight Pac-12 Championships (fourth overall), as well as their fifth consecutive NCAA Mountain Region Championship. Prior to post-season competition, the Buffs recorded a second-place finish at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational.

Junior Dani Jones has been the top harrier for CU this season after recording her first All-American honor with a 22^nd place finish at the 2016 championship. She recorded a pair of third-place finishes at the Joe Piane Invitational and pre-nats before winning the Pac-12 Championships. Jones most recently was 12^th at the region championship, where junior Makena Morley led CU with a seventh place finish.

Several Buffs have NCAA racing experience. Senior Kaitlyn Benner is a two-time All-American after finishing 16^th in 2015 and 26^th in 2016. Junior Mackenzie Caldwell recorded a 39^th place finish last season, while sophomore Sage Hurta was 40^th as a freshman; both earning their first All-America honor. Other Buffs who have raced her before include: Val Constien, Melanie Nun and Tabor Scholl. This is the first trip to NCAAs for sophomore Brianna Schwartz and redshirt freshman Madie Boreman.

Colorado's men have also had a good season. The Buffs earned a trio of runner-up finishes at the Joe Piane Invitational, NCAA Pre-Nationals and Pac-12s, before placing third at the region championship on Nov. 18.

Sophomore Joe Klecker, who was 28^th a year ago at NCAAs to record his first All-America honor, has led CU this season. He was fourth overall at the Joe Piane Invitational and went on to take ninth at NCAA Pre-Nationals. Klecker continued to improve, just barely placing second at the Pac-12 Championship, before winning the Mountain Region title on Nov. 10.

Most of the men on the team have had NCAA racing experience. Senior Zach Perrin has been to this meet four times, while seniors Christian Martin, Adam Peterman, juniors Ryan Forsyth and Ethan Gonzales and sophomore Reilly Friedman have all raced once. This will be redshirt freshman Eduardo Herrera's first NCAA meet.

The weather for Saturday in Louisville, Ky. (as of Nov. 15) calls showers and possibly a thunderstorm with a high near 62. There is an 80 percent chance of rain.

2017 NCAA DIVISION I CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Louisville, Ky. (E. P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park)
8:45 a.m. (MT) - Women's 6k Race
9:45 a.m. (MT) - Men's 10k Race
Live Stream: FloTrack.org
Results: http://www.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/external/track-field/results/d1/xc17/index.html

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kaitlyn Benner

Madie Boreman

Mackenzie Caldwell

Ryan Forsyth

Reilly Friedman

Ethan Gonzales

Eduardo Herrera

Sage Hurta

Dani Jones

Joe Klecker

Christian Martin

Makena Morley

Melanie Nun

Zach Perrin

Adam Peterman

Tabor Scholl

Brianna Schwartz