MADISON, Wis./SUNNYVALE, Calif. (October 13, 2018) – The Cowboys placed fifth out of 35 teams at a stacked Pre-Nationals race in Wisconsin – finishing ahead of six nationally-ranked teams – with a score of 191. The fifth-place finish is the best finish by the Cowboys at a Pre-Nationals race, according to available records. In California, the Cowgirls finished fourth out of 24 teams with a score of 174 at the Bronco Invite.
 
Leading the way for the Cowboys, junior Paul Roberts finished the 8-kilometer course 12^th overall with a time of 24:08.2, the fifth-fastest 8k time for a Cowboy since 1990. It is also the highest known finish for a Cowboy at a Pre-Nationals race. Junior Christopher Henry finished 30^th overall with a time of 24:29.1, while fellow junior Harry Ewing placed 36^th as he crossed the line in 24:33.2.
 
"The meet went well," men's cross country coach Scott Dahlberg said. "The strength of today's race was in our pack. The guys really keyed off each other and used that to keep pushing. Our pack split between two and five was 20 seconds, which really helped contribute to our score. The goal for today was to beat as many of those ranked teams as we possibly could. I think the guys really gained some good confidence and are starting to see the potential they have as a group."
 
Junior Daniel Hintz placed 45^th with a time of 24:36.7, and junior Michael Downey crossed the line in 24:49.2 to place 72^nd. The 191 points helped Wyoming finish ahead of No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 9 Colorado State, No. 15 Southern Utah, No. 20 Michigan, No. 22 Ole Miss and No. 26 NC State. Wyoming also finished ahead of Utah State, Duke and Gonzaga who are all receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA poll.
 
Additionally, sophomore Jerald Taylor placed 170^th with a time of 25:46.9, while senior Jonah Henry finished 224^th with a time of 26:41.7.
 
It was a really fun day," Dahlberg said. "The guys are in a good place. They're excited, but they're also ready for the conference and regional championships coming up."
 
While the men were running in Madison, the Cowgirls were off on their race in Sunnyvale. Junior Ashley Bock was Wyoming's top finisher for the second-consecutive meet, as she navigated the 6-kilometer course in 20:46.4, the third-fastest 6k time for a Cowgirl since 1990. Freshman Katelyn Mitchem finished 28^th with a time of 21:06.4, which is the 13^th fastest 6k time since 1990.
 
"The Cowgirls raced so tough today, together as a tight pack of five," associate head coach Amanda Clower said. "To be two seconds out of second today is great. These girls have really come together as a team in the past couple of weeks."
 
Senior Regan VanDePol placed 31^st with a time of 21:11.7, while fellow senior Emily Person finished in 21:26.7 to place 49^th. Senior Solana Quistorff placed 63^rd with a time of 21:40.2 to round out Wyoming's scorers.
 
Additionally, junior Kacey Doner finished in 83^rd place with a time of 21:54.5, freshman Kaylee Bentley finished 105^th with a time of 22:06.9. The pair of freshmen Addi Iken and Michelle Renner placed 116^th and 155^th with times of 22:10.7 and 22:43.6, respectively.
 
Both teams are back in action in two weeks at the Mountain West Championships. The meet is hosted by San Diego State on Friday, Oct. 26.