The Air Force Academy and BYU captured the men's and women's team titles, respectively, at the 2003 Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday at the University of New Mexico North Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M. The ninth-ranked Falcons men's team finished with 37 points, edging out the No. 12 BYU men (41) by four points. The second-ranked Cougar women's squad finished with 19 points and were followed by Colorado State, with 62 points.
2003 Men's Cross Country Champions
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For the men, Air Force brought home its first conference title as members of the MWC, placing all five scoring runners in the top-12. Senior Ben Payne paced the Falcons with a second-place finish (24:31). Brian Dumm (24:52, fifth place), Mark Walter (25:02, seventh), Abe Wengel (25:16, 11th) and Chris Acs (25:21, 12th) rounded out the scoring for Air Force.
"Its always fun to win," said head coach Mark Stanforth. "We're happy with what we did, but we're looking forward to regionals and nationals. We've had a really good year, but this is the farthest apart we've been (time between first and fifth runner), so we need to tighten it up again."
No. 10 Colorado State claimed third-place with 53 points, followed by New Mexico in fourth (123 points), Wyoming in fifth (137) and Utah in sixth (173).
BYU's Kip Kangogo won the men's individual title for the second straight season, clocking in at 24:16.
2003 Women's Cross Country Champions
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On the women's side, BYU placed four runners in the top-five to claim its fifth straight women's crown. Senior Michaela Mannova paced the field with a time of 20:59, to claim the women's individual title. She was followed by junior Laura Turner (21:16) and sophomore Breanne Sandberg (21:20), who finished second and third, respectively. San Diego State's Marie Nilsson (21:53, fourth) and BYU's Lisa Antonelli (21:54, fifth) rounded out the top-five.
"We have a ways to go," said head coach Patrick Shane. "We're not on all cylinders. We left the defending champion home (Kassi Andersen), but fortunately we had enough depth today to get the job done.
"It's always nice to win the conference championship," Shane continued. "It wasn't an issue (the change of venue). We are happy to be here, the weather was great and New Mexico did a great job of getting this ready with very short notice."
Air Force finished third with 106 points, while Utah (124) and New Mexico ( 141) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. San Diego State claimed sixth with 143 points, while Wyoming (159, seventh) and UNLV (234, eighth) rounded out the team finishes.
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MWC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAM CHAMPIONS
| Year | Champion | Head Coach |
| 1999 | BYU | Craig Poole |
| 2000 | BYU | Craig Poole |
| 2001 | BYU | Craig Poole |
| 2002 | BYU | Patrick Shane |
| 2003 | BYU | Patrick Shane |
MWC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAM CHAMPIONS
| Year | Champion | Head Coach |
| 1999 | BYU | Sherald James |
| 2000 | BYU | Ed Eyestone |
| 2001 | BYU | Ed Eyestone |
| 2002 | BYU | Ed Eyestone |
| 2003 | Air Force | Mark Stanforth |
MWC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY HISTORY
| | Highest | Overall | Last |
| School | MWC Finish | League Titles | League Title |
| Air Force | 3rd | 0 | |
| BYU | 1st | 14 | 2003 (MWC) |
| Colorado State | 2nd | 0 | |
| New Mexico | 5th | 0 | |
| San Diego State | 5th | 0 | |
| UNLV | 4th | 0 | |
| Utah | 4th | 0 | |
| Wyoming | 5th | 0 | |
MWC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY HISTORY
| | Highest | Overall | Last |
| School | MWC Finish | League Titles | League Title |
| Air Force | 1st | 4 | 2003 (MWC) |
| BYU | 1st | 16 | 2002 (MWC) |
| Colorado State | 2nd | 0 | |
| New Mexico | 3rd | 5 | 1988 (WAC) |
| Utah | 3rd | 0 | |
| Wyoming | 5th | 2 | 1987 (WAC) |
