PROVO, UTAH – After a successful regular season for both the men's and women's teams, both squads competed in the NCAA Mountain Regionals, where the Wolf Pack saw success from both sides.
The men's team finished the race in 12th out of 17 teams. This improved their finish from 18th place in 2019. The women's team would also improve their finish by finishing in 13th out of 19 teams. In 2019, the women's team finished in 19th place. Coach Kirk Elias was impressed by both teams' performance.
"Today was a very good day for both squads," Elias said. "We had our best performance of the year for each team."
The women's team saw an impressive performance from freshman Tierney Wolfgram, who finished second overall in the women's 6k. Her time of 20:20.4 secured the freshman a place at the NCAA Nationals in Tallahassee. This is the first time a Pack member has qualified for Nationals in 40 plus years, Wolfgram becoming the second all-time. This is also the highest finish by a Pack member since the new format change.
"Tierney Wolfgram will become Nevada's first woman to run at a NCAA National Cross Country Championship with a brilliant effort finishing second," Elias said.
As mentioned, the men's team saw an impressive performance in regionals. Junior Andrew Ribeiro finished in 63rd with a time of 31:48.6. Sophomore Daniel Sayo hustled just behind him in 64th with a time of 31:52.6.
The next three men finishers all finished with Nevada personal bests. Junior Adam Sjolund finished in 71st with a time of 32:02.6. This time beating his older personal best by a minute. Junior Jared Marchegger finished in 79th with a personal best time of 32:17.1. This time beating his personal best by almost three whole minutes. Lastly, just behind him was junior Carson Leavitt who finished in 80th with a time of 32.17.7. This beat his previous best by almost four minutes.
The women's team saw some great performances from their veterans. Junior Tabatha Walford finished in 71st with a time of 22:13.7. Senior Alexis Melendrez would finish in 98th with a time of 22:46.5. Lastly, junior Kate Rye finished the meet with a time of 22:57.7. This earning the junior a 98th place finish.
Final times for the women's side include sophomore Marena Middleton who finished in 101st place with a time of 23:08.8. True freshman Madelyn Shipman finished in 113th with a time fo 23:58.0. The final women's runner was junior Kalia Pfeffer, who finished in 118th with a time of 24:28.0.
Final times for the men's side include back-to-back finishes from a couple of juniors. Alex Mendoza finished in 94th with a time of 33:06.1. Just behind him was Brian Kipchumba who finished with a time of 33:08.6.
History has been made for the Pack, and Tierney Wolfgram is still writing it. She will continue her amazing first cross country season with the Pack next week on Saturday Nov. 20 at the NCAA Nationals Meet.
