LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The University of Wyoming Cross Country Teams competed at the Battle Born Challenge at Craig Ranch Regional Park in Las Vegas, Nev., on Friday afternoon in the final race before the Mountain West Championships. 

The Cowboys wrapped up an eighth place finish out of nine teams in the "A" race, just seven points away from No. 25 Colorado State University while the Cowgirls took second place in the "B" race with a total of 45 points. 

"There was a lot of growth and progress from the last meet", said Head Cross Country Coach Scott Dahlberg. "In a competition of that quality with many nationally ranked teams, there were certain things we focused on that the crew executed well. We're happy with how they competed tough and as a team. We know there's more in the tank but it's a good step in the right direction as we head into conference in two weeks. We had some young athletes really step up today when they needed to."

In the field for the "A" race with the Cowboys were four teams in the top 25 of the latest USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll. Sophomore Albert Steiner paced the Pokes with a time of 23:55.6 in the men's 8K race for a 29th place finish. Steiner was followed by Seth Bruxvoort (31st), Jerald Taylor (36th), Gus McIntyre (42nd) and Josh Rodgers (67th) in the top five spots for the Cowboys.

The men finished seven total points away from No. 25 Colorado State University. 

Two Cowboys competed in the "B" race about an hour after the first men's race finished. Philip Henry came in with a time of 24:54.8 for a third-place finish while Mason Swingholm notched 12th place. All in all, there were 26 men in their race. 

In the final race of the afternoon the Cowgirls ran a 6K against five teams in the "B" race. Katelyn Mitchem and Kaylee Bentley went three-four in the race with times of 21:12.2 and 21:18.0 respectively. Mitchem and Bentley were followed by Kaleigh Douglass (11th), Abigail Whitman (13th) and Victoria Tenpenny (14th)

The Cowgirls bested teams from Embry-Riddle, Dixie State, and UNLV. 

Next up for the two teams is the Mountain West Conference Championships on March 5th, right back in Las Vegas. 

Team Results 

1. Northern Arizona 20, 2. Stanford 48, 3. Colorado 70, 4. Southern Utah 111, 5. CBU 153, 6. Boise State 154, 7. Colorado State 180, 8. Wyoming 187, 9. Nevada 287.

Team Results 

1. Colorado 21, 2. Wyoming 45, 3. Embry-Riddle 97, 4. Dixie State 107, 5. UNLV 117.

Stay up to date with Wyoming Cross Country and Track & Field by following @wyo_track on Twitter. 

-WYO-