CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Junior transfer
Paul Roberts made a splash in his Wyoming debut, as the Lyons, Colo., native won the five kilometer Wyoming Invitational with a time of 15 minutes, eight seconds. Roberts led the Cowboys to a second-place finish, upsetting No. 7 Colorado and the No. 16 Air Force Falcons.
For the Cowgirls, freshman
Katelyn Mitchem paced the Brown and Gold, finishing the five-kilometer course in 18 minutes, 28 seconds. With a sixth-place finish overall, Mitchem impressed in her collegiate debut.
Overall, the Cowboys finished second with 46 points, while No. 9-ranked Colorado State won the meet with 32 points. Junior
Christopher Henry finished fifth overall with a time of 15:28, carrying over momentum from a strong sophomore season. Junior
Harry Ewing rounded out UW's top-10 overall finishers, as the Hamilton, New Zealand, native placed 10
th with a time of 15:41. Senior
Michael Downey and sophomore
Jerald Taylor finished off UW's top-five runners as they finished 14
th and 16
th with times of 15:45 and 15:50, respectively.
"Sometimes in the first season meet, it can be hit or miss on how many teams compete full strength," said men's cross country coach
Scott Dahlberg. "We know there were some really good guys out there that we really competed well with. We're happy, and it gives us confidence heading in to Notre Dame here in a couple weeks to go and try to run with some of the teams that make it to the national meet."
The Cowgirls finished fourth with 82 points, while No. 2 Colorado won the team score with 31 points. Mitchem was followed by junior
Ashley Bock, who finished 15
th overall in 18:58, and junior
Kacey Doner, who finished 18
th with a time of 19:17. Seniors
Regan VanDePol and
Kiah Leonard rounded out the Cowgirls' top five, as they finished 21
st and 22
nd with times of 19:22 and 19:37, respectively.
"It shows me how tough they are," said associate head coach
Amanda Clower. "They're running on tired legs today, so I'm excited to see how hard they ran today, that they ran for each other and that they cheered each other on. They encouraged each other throughout the entire race."
The Cowgirls return to the course on Sept. 15, when they head to the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. The Cowboys are back in action on Sept. 28 when they travel to the Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational in South Bend, Ind.
-WYO-
