Utah State’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams began practicing for the 2015 campaign on Monday, and there was plenty of excitement surrounding the programs.
“As usual, any time you begin a new season the anticipation is high and that’s not just from the coaches, but the student-athletes, as well,” veteran head coach Gregg Gensel said. “They’re excited to get back to training and competing, and to meet the new people on the team.”
The Aggies, who are participating in a week long camp this week, officially open the season on Saturday, Sept. 5, when they host the Utah State Invitational on the newly-named Steve and Dona Reeder Cross Country Course. This will be the 11th straight year the Aggies have opened at home.
“Coming back this year, we did a pretty good job of bringing some new people in and communicating during the summer of what they needed to do,” Gensel said. “We’re excited to see where they’re at and how well we can gel as a team, which is why we go to camp. We try to get to know each other, work on some things, do a little conditioning and get ready for the first meet.”
On the men’s side, Utah State was picked to finish sixth in the Mountain West this season in a preseason poll of the conference’s head coaches, while the women were tabbed seventh.
The Mountain West Championships will be hosted by Nevada on Friday, Oct. 30, at Montrêux Golf Course in Reno, Nevada. Utah State’s men finished fifth with 152 points at last year’s championships, while the women captured seventh with 180 points.
The NCAA Mountain Region Championships will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Nov. 13 – eight days before the NCAA Championships in Louisville on Nov. 21.