BYU Cross Country: Both Cougar teams finish Top 7 nationally
By Shaun Gordon
BYU Cross Country featured a double-Top 10 finish at the NCAA Championships on Saturday, with the men finishing 2nd and the women taking 7th.
It’s a first for BYU Cross Country.
Never before in the program’s history have both the men and women finished in the Top 7 at the NCAA Championships.
Until Saturday.
The men tied their best ever finish, coming in second place behind defending champion Northern Arizona, and the women finished seventh, their second Top 10 finish in the last three years.
Both teams spent most, if not all, of the season ranked in the single digits, and the men held onto that No. 2 spot throughout. Both teams won the West Coast Conference Championship as well, giving the teams good momentum heading into regionals and nationals.
On the men’s side, five BYU runners finished in the Top 50 individually, led by freshman Connor Mantz in tenth. Rory Linkletter (Sr.) finished 22nd, Connor McMillan (Sr.) 24th, Clayson Shumway (So.) 32nd, and Jacob Heslington (Jr.) 50th.
The five best women’s times for BYU all placed in the Top 150, led by junior Erica Birk’s seventh-place run. Courtney Wayment (Jr.) finished 23rd, Olivia Hoj (Jr.) 86th, Sadie Sargeant (Fr.) 124th, and Aubrey Frentheway (Fr.) 150th.
Nationals took place in Madison, Wisconsin this year, making it a cold run for the athletes, the women slowly improved as the run progressed, overtaking three teams in the final stretch to move up to seventh.
The men also finished strong. After sitting at sixth in the first two kilometers they slowly worked their way to second, but couldn’t overcome the defending champions.
Next. More milestones loom for BYU Women's Volleyball. dark
Neither team will expect to see much of a drop-off in 2019, as the men’s team brings back three of their five best finishers and the women return all five of theirs.