Cross country runs well in Wisconsin

OGDEN, Utah – The Weber State men's and women's cross country ran in one of the most competitive races outside of the National Championships on Friday morning. The Adidas Wisconsin Invitational featured 20 of the top 30 teams in both races. The men's team placed 31^st while the women's team finished 33^rd.

Jamie Stokes was the first runner across the line for the Wildcats as she placed 78^th with a time of 21:03 on the 6,000 meter course. Both Ellie Child and Hailey Ricks were close behind as they placed 115^th and 157^th respectively. Paige Dilmore and Taylor Cox, the Wildcats fourth and fifth runners all year, competed well against the stacked field as they finished 203^rd and 206^th.

“For the women it was one of their better races of the season,” WSU head coach Paul Pilkington said. “The field had 20 of the best teams in the nation but we still ran a solid race. We still need to close the gap between our first and fifth runner.”

On the men's side, it was Mike Hardy who led the Wildcats as he placed 52^nd with a time of 24:22 over the 8,000 meter course. Both Trevor Ricks and Thomas Worob finished within seconds of each other finishing 151^st and 155^th respectively. Jason Kearns had a solid day as he was the Wildcats fourth runner finishing in 188^th while Tyler Robinson finished out the top five finishing 209^th.

“Mike had a good race and they rest of the team ran solid as well,” Pilkington said.

The Wildcats will return to training as they prepare for the Big Sky Conference Championships that will take place on November 1 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.