It’s that time of year again when the Wolverines are sprinting into season.
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams are back and ready for action.
After a season opener at the Aggie Invitational hosted by Utah State in Logan, the Wolverines are feeling more confident for upcoming events.
Four neighboring schools, BYU, Weber State, Utah and our very own UVU, were invited to the Invitational.
“Going into the race we didn’t really know exactly how our team would do because of the new kids and young experience,” said head coach Scott Houle. “But all in all I felt both men and women ranged really well and gave us some good excitement for the future of this year.”
Freshman Darian Sharp placed 11th overall at the invite.
“Our first race at Utah State was really good,” Sharp said. “The girl’s team did really well and we are just going to keep getting better and better.”
UVU women’s team finished with 76 points, putting them in second place behind Weber State as the men finished with 86 points, putting them in third behind Weber State and BYU.
With the confidence UVU holds as a young team, expectations are skyrocketing after a successful start to the season.
“Our goal is to win the GWC championship,” Houle said. “That’s always a big goal for us to win as a team as well as individually.”
Not only is the Great West Conference championship in clear sight at the end of the tunnel, but the Regional Championships is once again another goal for UVU.
Utah Valley is in high hopes to move up in rankings in the Regional Championships as the men placed 14th last year. Schools in Colorado, Northern Arizona, Montana and New Mexico will compete against the Wolverines this year.
“Our biggest thing is to make sure we improve as an individual as well as a team [for men’s and women’s],” Houle said. “When we go to meets like Minnesota and our Pre-National meets, those are big gigs for us to go to, and we are excited to see how well we can finish against the rest of the country.”
The Wolverines had a great head start this season and are now running toward a season full of success.
“We have the potential to be a really competitive team,” Sharp said.
