Buffaloes place five scorers in top 12 in both races to produce fourth team sweep at conference final, with host Utah women achieving best finish in second; Hicks, Nichols earn first titles for programs since Fisher and Jones

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Phil Yearian photos

SALT LAKE CITY – The only cross country program that traveled to lower elevation Friday for the Pac-12 Conference Championships was also the lone school to ascend to the top of the podium as men’s and women’s team champions at the Regional Athletic Complex.

Colorado, which trains at 5,300 feet in Boulder, thrived in the first conference final held at 4,200 feet in Utah, producing the fourth sweep of the team titles since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, with both lineups achieving the feat in comparable fashion. The Buffaloes also doubled up in 2011, 2015 and 2016.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS BY PHIL YEARIAN

The Buffaloes earned their eighth men’s championship in 11 years, placing five scorers among the first 12 finishers and seven athletes overall in the top 20 of the men’s 8-kilometer competition behind individual winner Charles Hicks of Stanford to prevail by a 39-52 margin over the Cardinal, who captured the last Pac-12 title March 5 in Washington.

Colorado performed even better in the women’s 6-kilometer final, with former Ohio State star Abby Nichols and Emily Covert taking the top two spots to also lead five scorers among the top dozen competitors and seven athletes finishing in the top 20 for a 24-52 triumph against host Utah, which enjoyed its best performance in conference championship history.

Nichols, who was eighth at the last Pac-12 championship meet March 5 in Washington, pulled away in the final kilometer to prevail in 20:25.4 to become the first Colorado female since Dani Jones won back-to-back titles in 2017-18 to secure the individual crown.

Covert was second in 20:36.7, Michigan State transfer India Johnson finished fourth in 20:49.5, former Villanova standout Rachel McArthur placed fifth in 20:50.9 and freshman Hannah Miniutti was 12th in 21:04.9 for the Buffaloes, who also had Madison Boreman (21:14.9) and Lizzy Constien (21:19.2) earn 17th and 18th overall.

Colorado won its fifth title since joining the conference in 2011, including its first since capturing three in a row from 2015-17. The Buffaloes’ performance was the best by any women’s championship team since Washington achieved a perfect score of 15 in 2008, just ahead of the 27-point effort produced by Stanford in 2019 in Oregon.

Emily Venters, a former Boise State and Colorado competitor, took third in 20:40.7 for Utah to lead five Utes placing in the top 16 overall. Utah had finished third in 2019, but received a seventh-place finish from Cara Woolnough (20:55), an 11th-place performance from BYU transfer Simone Plourde (21:03.7), along with Bella Williams and former Arizona standout Keelah Barger securing 15th and 16th in identical 21:11 efforts.

Oregon, led by a ninth-place result from Alessia Zarbo (21:02), took third overall with 92 points.

Haley Herberg, who won the individual title March 5 in Washington, led the Huskies by placing eighth in 21:00 to secure a fourth-place team finish with 107 points.

Zofia Dudek, who earned 10th overall in 21:03.3, helped Stanford capture fifth place with 120 points.

Stanford challenged Colorado for the first three 2-kilometer loops of the 8-kilometer men’s race, before the Buffaloes demonstrated their collective strength late in the race to pull away.

Hicks surged in the final kilometer to improve on his runner-up finish from the March 5 championship meet by clocking 23:34.9, becoming the first Stanford men’s athlete to secure the individual title since Grant Fisher won back-to-back crowns in 2017-18.

Oregon’s Cooper Teare, who didn’t run at the last Pac-12 championship meet in Washington to focus instead on indoor track during the winter, was second in 23:44.1 and Cincinnati transfer Aaron Bienenfeld finished fifth in 23:49.3 for the Ducks, who were fourth overall with 72 points.

Eduardo “Lalo” Herrera, the individual winner March 5, took third in 23:45.7, and Colorado supported the veteran with Austin Vancil finishing sixth in 23:52.9, former Georgia Tech standout Andrew Kent was seventh in 23:54.1, Charlie Sweeney – a Division 2 All-American at Western Colorado – placed 11th in 24:11.9 and Notre Dame transfer Brendan Fraser secured 12th in 24:12.6 for the Buffaloes, who also had Stephen Jones grab 13th and Alec Hornecker earn 17th overall.

Stanford matched Colorado through four scorers, with Ky Robinson (23:47.4) and Cole Sprout (23:57.9) placing fourth and eighth, along with Devin Hart finishing 15th in 24:14.7 to support Hicks. Liam Anderson was the fifth scorer for the Cardinal, taking 26th in 24:50.7.

Washington was third overall with 68 points, led by Brian Fay (24:00.7) and Kieran Lumb (24:09.8) placing ninth and 10th for the Huskies.

Amir Ado placed 18th in 24:30.6 for Washington State, which finished fifth overall with 146 points.