Mtn West XC Women's Preview: Cohen Returns As Lobos Seek 12th Straight
Mtn West XC Women's Preview: Cohen Returns As Lobos Seek 12th Straight
No. 6 New Mexico, No. 17 Boise State and No. 18 Air Force will battle in the women's race on Friday Live on FloTrack.
The 2019 Mountain West XC Championships will go down Friday morning in Logan, Utah. FloTrack will have live coverage of the event, which features three ranked women's teams: No. 6 New Mexico, No. 17 Boise State and No. 18 Air Force.
Watch the 2019 Mountain West XC Championships LIVE on FloTrack
Here are three things to watch in the women’s race on Friday:
New Mexico women seek 12th straight MW title as Adva Cohen returns
The New Mexico women have clearly missed Adva Cohen through the first half of the 2019 season, and their stronghold on the Mountain West conference has weakened without her in their lineup. At Nuttycombe two weeks ago, conference foes Boise State and Air Force eclipsed the Lobos. But help is on the way this Friday as Cohen-- who missed UNM's first two races after competing in the World Championships-- returns to shore up New Mexico’s top five.
If Cohen can notch another top 10 finish (she was ninth in this race last year), the sixth-ranked Lobos should be able to hold off No. 17 Boise State and No. 18 Air Force. Weini Kelati will almost certainly win for the second-straight season, and solid races from Ednah Kurgat and Cohen will set a high bar for the Broncos and Falcons to match.
Can Boise State find a fifth?
Without the advantage of a low stick, Boise State has sought the next best route to fielding a competitive cross country team: a tiny spread. One through four at Nuttycombe, the Broncos finished within 10 seconds two weeks ago to guide them to a seventh place finish, tops in the conference. But a glaring weakness was nonetheless evident: Boise’s fifth scorer was 27 seconds behind their No. 4, diluting their depth up front.
On Friday, the Broncos will look to put together a spread much closer to their Bill Dellinger performance from one month ago, where they had just 26 seconds between their first and fifth scorers. Freshman Grace Brock, BSU’s fifth at Dellinger, will be critical for her team’s chances after she did not compete at Nuttycombe.
It’s going to be really cold on race day
As the old sports adage goes, conditions will be the same for everybody on Friday, but the Mountain West competitors will nonetheless have to deal with chilly temperatures and hard-packed terrain in Logan. Winter has seemingly come early in northern Utah, with temperatures hovering in the high-20s and low 30s with light snowfall early this week.