UW runners ready for conference

From left, Emily Higgins and Mark Korir

by Wyoming Sports.org

The University of Wyoming cross country teams are set for the 2008 Mountain West Conference Championships in San Diego at the Mission Bay Park on Saturday.

“This is what we have been training for all year long and we are excited to see how we stack up against the rest of the conference,” said UW head coach Randy Cole.

The Cowgirls will take to the 6k race, where last year in Albuquerque, they finished fourth out of nine teams. The Cowgirls return second-team All-MWC runner, junior Emily Higgins, who finished 14th out of 70 runners. Higgins currently has the 13th-fastest 6k time in the conference this season. She is followed by sophomores Alysha Davis and Emily Byra. Junior Erin Heffron and senior Nikki Peterson will also be vying for positioning for the Cowgirls.

“Emily has really been leading this team and has been running very well all season, she has a legitimate shot at being All-Conference again this season,” said Cole.

For the Cowboys, senior Mark Korir will help guide the team to an improvement from last year’s fifth-place finish. Korir has been the runner-up at this meet the last two seasons and enters this year’s race with the top 8k time in the conference. Korir will be followed by fellow seniors Michael Huntington and Brett Schuler. Behind them are sophomores Seth Grossman and Taylor Kelting, and freshmen Greg Miller, Eliud Chirchir, Philemon Kimutai and Ryan Griesbach.

“Mark is really excited for the opportunity to run against the best in the conference and if everything goes to plan, he will be on top,” said Cole. “Like I have been saying all year long, if our guys can just run as a tight pack and really push themselves down the stretch, we can turn some heads this weekend.”

The race will begin at 11 a.m. (Mountain time) for the Cowgirls and noon for the Cowboys.