2019 XC Top 25 Teams (Women): #16 Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Last year, for the first time in school history, the Southern Utah women’s cross country team qualified for the NCAA Cross Country National Championships. It was a historic accomplishment for a program that had most of it's major accomplishments come from the men's group. Although they finished 25th out of 31 teams, the ladies of SUU gained valuable experience that will carry over into the 2019 season.

The fall of 2018 was a memorable one for the Thunderbirds. The women started the season with a 2nd place finish at the UVU Invitational, a 1st place finish at the UC Riverside Invitational, and a 2nd place finish at the Idaho State Invitational. Although these meets did not have any of the top teams in the nation competing, the women of SUU were able to use these meets as rust-busters to determine who would be in the top seven and who would help build momentum heading into larger season meets.

The Nuttycombe Invite was the first true test for the Thunderbirds and they went on to finish 14th against top teams in the nation. Angie Nickerson led the team with a 28th place finish while Maddy Kauffman and Madison Fruchey followed behind in 52nd and 56th, respectively. Alison Pray finished back in 76th, but their #5 scorer - Julieta Navarrete-Lamas - closed out the scoring 126th.

Overall, it was a solid performance with a strong low-stick and respectable supporting scorers. Questionable depth made things difficult in the team standings, but it was an encouraging first step in their effort to qualify for their first national meet.

Two weeks later, Southern Utah returned to Wisconsin for Pre-Nationals and posted a respectable 8th place finish. Angie Nickerson led the team once again by placing 15th overall while Maddy Kauffman placed 24th to give the team a very strong #2 option. On the backend, Fruchey placed 36th and Pray finished 56th while Morgan Porcaro finished 104th to round out of the scoring.

The two meets leading up to NCAA’s were the BIG Sky Championships and the Mountain Regional Championships. At their conference meet, Nickerson took home the individual title while Kauffman, Fruchey, and Pray, placed 4th, 5th, and 6th, which essentially made the Thunderbirds a lock to win the team title over a respectable Northern Arizona squad.

After transitioning to the Mountain Regional Championships, Southern Utah clinched a 4th place spot which secured them an at-large bid to NCAA's where they would test their true level of fitness and overall talent.

Once again, Nickerson came through at Nationals with a 47th place finish. Unfortunately, the rest of the team simply did not have a good day with no one else finishing higher than 157th. The end result was a 26th place team finish.

Despite the rough end to the season, Southern Utah is a team who, as a whole, can make some noise given their youth, experience, and consistent supporting scorers.

The loss of Angie Nickerson will be tough as it will leave the team with a potential lack of scoring potency. However, the return of Kauffman, Fruchey, and Pray, who essentially made up the middle portion of SUU's lineup last fall, are quietly better than most people realize.

Given their consistency and experience, they'll put together a very solid and non-variable top three with plenty of room to improve. Kauffman's 24th place finish at Pre-Nats last fall was a nice performance to show us that she could be the low-stick who (maybe) replaces Nickerson as the team's true low-stick (if she can race at that level on more than one occasion).

Another key role player who may have an underrated impact on Southern Utah's lineup is Harley Taylor. In high school, Taylor ran 10:49 for 3200 meters at Arcadia and was a two-time top 10 finisher at the Utah XC State Championships. She may not be Angie Nickerson level, but she will be an underrated scoring piece in SUU's top five.

The final scoring spot is admittedly up for grabs. Julieta Navarrete-Lamas will most likely slide into that role after gaining some experience from last year on the national stage. However, rising sophomore Haley Tanne may also be another piece of the puzzle after running 10:48 for the steeplechase this past spring.

Much like Utah, Florida, and Northern Arizona, the Thunderbird women are SUPER young and that leaves them with plenty of room for significant improvement - something we're banking on by putting them at #16.

Yet, even if the improvements are only minimal, this team has a lot of underrated pieces that can put together a competitive squad come October and November. Their top three is solid and the experience they gained from racing at so many high-level meets shouldn't be undersold.

With the returners and newcomers, the women of SUU will hope to join the men in Terre Haute and make history, but it will be very important for the Thunderbirds to form a tight pack and place that pack as close to the front of the race as possible if they want to qualify. Losing Nickerson will hurt the team, but it gives the women a chance to show they can compete with the best teams in the nation.