Brigham Young
VOLLEYBALL: The No. 17 BYU women's volleyball team will kick off its 2007 season this weekend at the Hawkeye Challenge hosted by the University of Iowa. The Cougars will face Marquette on Friday night before taking on host Iowa Saturday night.
Cross country
BYU IS TOP PICK: BYU was selected to win the 2007 Mountain West Conference championship in both men's and women's cross country in a vote by the league's coaches. BYU collected five first-place votes and 25 total points to capture the top spot in the men's poll. The BYU women's team received seven first-place votes and gathered a score of 63 to capture the top position in the women's poll. Utah was picked to finish sixth in the women's poll. "I think that is a prediction based on our performance from last season," said head coach Kyle Kepler. "Our goal is to finish in the top four of the league."
SOCCER: The BYU women's soccer team will conduct a free youth soccer clinic Saturday for girls ages 8-12 at the BYU Indoor Practice Facility and Haws Field, both located west of the Smith Fieldhouse.
Utah
VOLLEYBALL: For the first time in its history, Utah was invited to participate in the 2007 AVCA College Volleyball Showcase, hosted by defending NCAA champion Nebraska, Aug. 24-25. The Utes begin the year against UCLA, then face either Tennessee or Nebraska. The game against UCLA will be televised live by CSTV.
Weber State
EX-'CAT TO COMPETE: Former Weber State runner Lindsey Anderson will compete this weekend at the 11th annual International Federation of Athletic Federations World Track and Field Championships in Osaka, Japan. Anderson is one of four Americans who will compete in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
CROSS COUNTRY: The Weber State men's and women's team were each selected to finish second in the 2007 Big Sky Conference cross country coaches polls, released Wednesday. The Wildcats won the men's and women's titles in 2006. Northern Arizona was favored to win both the men's and women's titles. The Lumberjacks have won five of the last six Big Sky meets.
Southern Utah
CROSS COUNTRY: Southern Utah has been picked first and second in the men's and women's preseason cross country poll released by the conference offices Wednesday. The men
were a unanimous first-place selection with nine first-place votes. The women's team picked up a single first-place vote behind favored Oral Roberts, with eight first place votes. The cross country season begins Sept. 1 in Pocatello at the Idaho State Invitational.