Upcoming Event: Cross Country versus Nuttycombe Invitational on October 17, 2025 at 9:30 AM
9:30 AM
Cross Country
vs Nuttycombe Invitational
2000 Cross Country Outlook
10/18/2000 12:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 18, 2000
The men's team finished its first season in the Mountain West Conference in third place. They were led by senior co-captains Chris Merkley and Travis Hildebrand, and junior Teren Jameson. Merkley and Hildebrand graduated at the end of last season, but will continue their relationship with the Utah running program as student assistant coaches. They'll bring their experience to help coach a strong up-and-coming men's distance program.
Jameson returns for the 2000 season with high hopes. He finished just shy of qualifying for the NCAA Championships last fall, but looks to change that this year. Jameson was named to the cross country all-district team. He finished 16th (26:06) at the Mountain West Conference Championships and 20th (31:34) at the NCAA Mountain Regionals.
Many other strong runners will compete for the men's team. Senior Adam Stark, senior Phil Stoddard and junior Lion Gallegos return with high hopes. All three men have an excellent chance of placing in the top 25 at the MWC Championships. Last year at the conference meet, Stoddard finished 21st in 26:15.5, Gallegos placed 26th in 26:36.2 and Stark was 31st in 26:59.2.
Two strong additions to the men's team are B.J. Christenson and Aleksandar Tomas. Christenson was a junior college All-American at Southern Idaho in cross country and track, and Tomas a junior college All-American in cross country at Northern Idaho.
The women's team is expected to mature slowly, improving their efforts as they gain collegiate experience. It will be a very young group, as freshmen Charity Catmull, Nellie Hammons, Jennifer Brusch, April Frame and Vanessa Barnes make up the core of the team. "These freshmen are one of our better recruiting classes. They have a lot of talent and are only going to get better as the season grows longer," says Jones.
Returning for the Utes are Britta (Schaer) Vander Werff and Trina Bateman. Vander Werff missed the 1999 cross country season due to injuries, but Jones looks for her to be strong in 2000. The Utes' major loss from last season was All-American Johanna Nielsen, who only has eligibility remaining for the indoor and outdoor track seasons. Nielsen placed seventh at the MWC Championships, 12th at the Mountain Regional Championships and 71st at the NCAA Championships during the 1999 cross country season.
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