OREM, Utah — The 2024 Western Athletic Cross Country Championships are set for Friday with Utah Valley University hosting the races at Lakeside Park. The women's 6k is set to begin at 10 a.m. MT with the men running an 8k starting at 10:45 a.m.
 
The Wolverine women were picked to repeat as champions after winning the WAC title for the fourth time in 2023 while the UVU men were slated to again finish second like they did a season ago.
 
The top five in the Pre-Championship Coaches poll on the women's side are Utah Valley, California Baptist, Southern Utah, UT Arlington, and Seattle U. California Baptist's men, who are ranked No. 14 in the latest USTFCCCA Poll, were picked to win the men's race followed by UVU, SUU, Grand Canyon, and Tarleton State. CBU is searching for its fifth straight WAC men's team and individual championship.
 
Utah Valley is hosting the WAC Championships for the second time after doing so in 2015, a year in which both men and women won the team title while Jason Lynch was the men's individual champion. UVU's men have won five team titles while boasting three individual wins; one from Jason Lynch and two from his brother, Kevin Lynch, in 2018 and 2019.
 
In addition to the four WAC team titles, the women have had two individual winners: Samantha Heaton in 2015 and All-American Everlyn Kemboi in 2022.
 
Last season in Abilene, Texas, the women placed all five of their scorers in the top 10, led by Ari Trimble's second-place finish. Mo Guled led UVU's men with a fifth-place finish in 2023. Guled has recorded wins in four races this season, including the Roy Griak Invitational and the Pre-Nationals "B" race two weeks ago in Wisconsin.
 
Following the conference championships, the Wolverines will prep for the NCAA Mountain Regionals on Nov. 15 at the University of Nevada, Reno.