Utah State's men's and women's cross country teams capped off the regular season on Friday morning, Oct. 16, at the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., according to an Oct. 16 report from Utah State University Athletics.
The men's squad placed 13th out of 44 teams, scoring 342 points. This performance allowed them to finish ahead of Mountain Region opponent No. 26 Utah Valley. In the men's 8k, junior Josh Armstrong paced the Aggies with a time of 23:52.4 to place 41st, a one-minute improvement from his previous time at the Lavern Gibson Cross Country Course. Senior Joseph McKee finished 61st with a season-best time of 24:03.2. Other scorers for the men included junior Walker Cole in 76th, junior Michael Moffatt in 79th, and Garrett Woodhouse in 85th.
The women's squad scored 562 points to place 21st in a 43-team field. Natalie Swain paced the team for the third time this season, finishing 50th with a time of 20:22.9. Senior Brie Smith finished 94th in 20:51.8, and senior Sarah Ellis placed 100th in her first 6k of the season. Junior Ava Trimble finished 120th in 21:04.0, and Hailey Shakespear was the final scorer for the team, finishing 216th with a time of 21:41.0.
The invitational featured several high-ranking programs. On the men's side, No. 8 Syracuse took the team title, while Tulane's Silas Kiptanui won the individual race. In the women's race, No. 2 BYU secured the team victory over No. 1 North Carolina State with 84 points to 88. Hannah Gapes of NC State won the individual women's race.
The Aggies are scheduled to begin their postseason in Boise, Idaho, for the Pac-12 Conference Championship on Friday, Oct. 30.
