Oct. 28, 2009

Weekly Release: Big Sky Conference Championship

ABOUT THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
The Idaho State Bengals will travel to Greeley, Colo., this week for the 2009 Big Sky Conference Championships hosted by Northern Colorado. This is the first conference championship hosted by the Bears since they joined the conference in 2006. The event will be held at Boomerang Golf Course at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. The ISU women enter the competition ranked No. 10 in the Mountain Region.

SCOUTING THE BIG SKY
Eastern Washington Eagles
Men: Sophomore Kyle King finished second at the Inland Northwest Challenge leading Eastern Washington to a 3-0 finish in the four-team dual scoring meet, defeating Gonzaga, Washington State and Idaho. The EWU men finished a program-best third at the Big Sky Conference Championship last year. Women: The Eagle women lost to Gonzaga and Idaho at the Inland Northwest Challenge. Sophomore Brittney Williams led for EWU finishing 24th. The Eagles finished seventh at the Big Sky Championship in 2008.

Montana Grizzlies
Men: Montana's men are ranked No. 15 in the Mountain Region poll. Sophomore Robbie Brooks led the Grizzlies at the Inland Northwest Challenge finishing 17th. UM finished fourth at the Big Sky Championship last year. Women: Montana's women are ranked No. 13 in the Mountain Region. Sophomore Mary Keetering finished sixth at the Inland Northwest Challenge. Montana finished fifth in last year's conference championship.

Montana State Bobcats
Men: The Bobcats are ranked No. 8 in the Mountain Region. Junior Nick Atwood led MSU at the pre-national meet in Terre Haute, Ind., finishing 48th. Last year, MSU finished fifth at the Big Sky Championship. Women: The Montana State women ran in the non-seeded open race at the pre-national meet. Sophomore Heather Haug set the pace for the Bobcats finishing 16th. MSU finished sixth at the Big Sky Championship last year.

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
Men: The Lumberjacks are ranked No. 5 nationally. NAU finished third at the pre-national meet on the Indiana State campus with 115 points. Zambia native, junior Jordan Chipangama led the Lumberjacks, finishing third overall. NAU is the defending conference champion. Women: The NAU women are ranked No. 6 in the Mountain Region. The squad finished 14th at the pre-national meet with a score of 387. Senior Veronica Pohl led the Lumberjacks with a 16th-place finish. The NAU women are also defending their conference title this year.

Northern Colorado Bears
Men: The Northern Colorado men finished sixth at the Fort Hays State Cross Country Open with 151 points. Dylan Hedges finished 22nd overall to lead the Bears. The Bears finished ninth last year at the Big Sky Championship. Women: The women won the Fort Hays State Cross Country Open with 46 points behind a fourth-place finish by Kellie Callahan. The Bears also recorded a ninth-place team finish at the 2008 Big Sky Championship.

Portland State Vikings
Men: The PSU men finished sixth out of 14 teams at the Mike Hodges Invitational to close out the regular season. Junior Andrew Salq led the Vikings with a 29th-place finish in the four-mile run. PSU finished eighth at the 2008 Big Sky Championship. Women: Junior Stephanie Deever led the Portland State women at the Mike Hodges Invitational, finishing 18th overall. The Vikings finished fifth as a team. At last year's conference championship, the Vikings finished eighth.

Sacramento State Hornets
Men: The Sacramento State men won the WAC preview. Senior Scott Grose won the event. In 2008, the Hornets finished sixth at the conference championship. Women: The Scaramento State women also won the WAC preview behind a first-place finish by senior Kristina Holtz. The Hornets finished second in the conference last year.

Weber State Wildcats
Men: The Weber State men are ranked No. 11 in the Mountain Region. In its final meet of the season, WSU won the Oktoberfest Invitational hosted by Idaho State. Jace Nye won the event, completing the 5k run at Centennial course in 15:43.00. WSU finished second at the 2008 Big Sky Championship. Women: The Weber State women are also ranked No. 11 in the Mountain Region. The Wildcats finished second to Idaho State at the Oktoberfest Invitational despite Sarah Callister's first-place finish. WSU finished third in the Big Sky last year.

COACH JANSSEN ON THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
"For this weekend, we're hoping that we're healthy and that we put together a good race," ISU Head Coach Brian Janssen said. "It would be nice to improve on how we were predicted to finish in the conference. I think one or two places higher than expected, with the women women in the top three and the men in top five would be a great improvement. We would also like to have some all-conference performers. We have some people that, if they perform up to the level that I know they can, could finish in the top 10 and earn that honor. Our season basically boils down to this one day and for most teams in the conference, its the most important meet of the year."