Utah State University's cross country program achieved its second title sweep of the season at the Steve T. Reeder Memorial Invitational in Logan, Utah. The Aggies secured both team and individual titles during the event.
In the men's 7k race, the Utah State men's squad took the top four positions to score 20 points for the team victory. Freshman Stockton Stevens led the team with a personal-best time of 21:21.1, marking his fourth individual victory of the season. Following Stevens, senior Logan Garnica finished second with a time of 21:29.5. Freshman Tayshaun Ogomo placed third with a time of 21:32.5, and junior Bryce Hill finished fourth in 21:36.1. Freshman Aidan Neal completed the scoring for the men's team with a 12th-place finish in 22:14.5.
On the women's side, the Aggies tallied 30 points to capture the team title, ahead of second-place Snow College, which scored 46 points. Senior Sarah Ellis won the 5k race with a time of 18:09.5, finishing over 40 seconds ahead of the field for her first career race win. Freshman Addy Duellman finished second with a personal best of 18:53.3, and sophomore Taylor Palmer placed fifth in 19:13.7. Junior Carli Nelson placed eighth in 19:38.1, while freshman Reese Garnica finished 14th in 20:12.8 to round out the scoring.
Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Artie Gulden noted that both teams ran well. Gulden observed that the men's team worked together to keep the group together during the first half of the race before working in pairs. Regarding the women's performance, Gulden stated that the team was broken up early by design to provide Sarah Ellis with a harder effort, noting she was able to cruise during the last mile.
The Aggies are scheduled to return to Terre Haute, Indiana, for the Under Armour Pre-Nationals Invitational on Friday, Oct. 16. Race seeding for that event will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
