Holly Page
The University of Wyoming’s Cowgirl and Cowboy Cross Country teams competed Friday at the Mountain West Cross Country Championships at Silver Bowl Park in Las Vegas where sophomore Holly Page earned a top-five finish.
Page took the best finish for Wyoming, and the team ended up placing sixth out of the nine teams with a total of 151 points.
Having successful finishes is nothing new for Page. She came to Wyoming holding a strong cross country record back in her hometown, and she was named the MW freshman of the year in the 2011-12 season. All around during the regular 2011-12 season, she finished 69th with a time of 22:10. Page that also placed 20th at the MW Championship that year and 42nd in the NCAA Mountain Regional.
“Holly was the highlight of the day for us,” Wyoming head coach Bryan Berryhill said. “She gave a great performance in a tough field of runners and shined for us. If she keeps her momentum and does well at regionals in a couple of weeks, she has a great shot of qualifying as an individual for the NCAA Championship.”
Page was not the only Poke to shine during the Las Vegas competition. Junior runner Garret Zans also was a top-finisher, placing 16th with a final time of 24:57. Zans qualified for the NCAA Preliminaries in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as a freshman. He finished 23rd overall and ninth in his heat, which proved to be outstanding for his first year of collegiate competition.
According to the Wyoming Athletics Department, the overall team standings showed that New Mexico women’s team won its fifth straight league crown with 35 points. Colorado State followed in second with 63 points. Boise State was third (72), Air Force was fourth (92) and Nevada was fifth (149). After Wyoming, Fresno State was seventh (204), San Diego State was eighth (210) and UNLV was ninth (278).
“Both of our squads were solid overall, but we didn’t do what we needed to in order to finish near the top,” Berryhill said. “We have an opportunity to regroup for regionals and continue to improve so we can finish the year strong.”
The University’s men’s and women’s cross country teams will continue to practice and condition vigorously as they take on the remainder of their seasons. The teams face the upcoming NCAA Mountain Regional competition on Nov. 9 in Fort Collins, Colo.
