SUU campus briefs

CROSS COUNTRY: The Thunderbirds will travel to Carmel, Ind., this weekend to compete at the Summit League Cross Country Championships.

"It all comes down to this one race, so we have to be at our best to get one of those top spots," said head coach Eric Houle. "My hope is that we'll run in a tight pack and be a tough team in dealing with the competition at the conference level. The guys are looking better and the girls are definitely going to be contenders, so I think it will be a really enjoyable trip with some great competition."

The Thunderbirds had great success at last season's championships when the women's team finished in first place with 32 points. The men finished in a close second place with 64 points.

Sharla Manuele (21:50.0) and Diana Medina (22:09.5) led the women to victory, finishing in first and second place respectively. Madalyn Olpin also finished in the top ten, coming in fifth place with a time of 22:38.7. Manuele, Medina and Olpin were all awarded first-team all-Summit honors, while Whitney Curtis and Shelli Richardson were given second-team all-Summit honors. Manuele was also named Championship MVP and Athlete of the Year while Curtis was named Newcomer of the Championship and Coach Houle named Coach of the Year.

Cameron Levins (24:48.0) led the men with a first-place finish, and was also named Athlete of the Year. Kevin Sandall followed in fourth place with a time of 25:26.7. Levins and Sandall were honored as first team all-Summit athletes while Hayden Hawks was named a second team all-Summit athlete.

After the conference championships, the Thunderbirds will next compete at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships held in Salt Lake City on Nov. 13.