Utah State Debuts in Top 20 in Initial 2017-18 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings
Aggies rank 16th, while fellow Mountain West schools BSU and UNM come in at 10th and 20th, respectively
LOGAN, Utah –
Utah State found itself among the nation’s top 20 intercollegiate athletics programs in the initial 2017-18 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings, which were released Thursday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA).
The Directors’ Cup tracks the nation’s most successful intercollegiate athletics programs for their performances throughout the year.
Ranked No. 16, Utah State (108.50 points) is one of only three Mountain West schools in the top 20 of the initial standings. Boise State (128.50), ranked 10th, leads all league programs, while New Mexico (100.00) is tied for 20th.
“Our fall sports gave us great momentum with outstanding finishes, spearheaded by both our men’s and women’s cross country teams making their first-ever NCAA Championships appearances,” said Utah State Vice President and Director of Athletics John Hartwell. “Our athletics department is excited about our upcoming winter and spring schedules, and we look to build on the momentum of our fall success generated by our cross country programs.”
The standings released on Thursday included women’s field hockey, men’s cross country and women’s cross country.
Making their first appearances in school history at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Nov. 18 in Louisville, Ky., both the USU men’s and women’s teams did not disappoint
Ranked 19th in the nation heading into the national championships, the Aggie women finished 14th with 395 points in the six-kilometer race. On the men’s side, Utah State despite having three runners go down early in the 10k race, took 27th with 603 points.
Junior Alyssa Snyder led the way for the Aggie women, as she placed 25th with a time of 20:03.39 to earn All-American honors. She became just the second Utah State runner on the women’s side to garner All-American honors, joining Alissa Nicodemus, who placed 14th at the 1992 national championships.
Dillon Maggard, a senior, capped his stellar cross country career by placing sixth with a personal-best 10k time of 29:16.20 to earn All-American accolades (given to the top 40 finishers). The sixth-place finish was the best-ever for an Aggie at the national championships. Furthermore, the native of Kirkland, Wash., is the first two-time All-American in Utah State cross country history, as he placed 12th with a time of 30:03.09 at the 2016 national championships, which were held in Terre Haute, Ind.
The Directors’ Cup program has been tracking the success of the nation’s top intercollegiate athletics programs since 1993-94.
Fans can follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
-USU-
source http://hdsportsnews.com/utah-state-debuts-in-top-20-in-initial-2017-18-learfield-sports-directors-cup-standings/
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