PROVO -- In the opening weekend of the 2010 cross country season, the BYU men’s and women’s teams competed at separate venues in Utah, with the women competing at the Utah State Open and the men in the BYU Autumn Classic.
The men's team took home a victory with 24 points over Minnesota and San Bernadino College. Junior Miles Batty won the race with a time of 19:49.9. Batty was at the front of 10 BYU competitors, seven of which finished in the top 10.
"I'm very pleased all around," BYU men's head coach Ed Eyestone said. "It was a very strong run by the team and I don't have too many complaints."
Behind Batty was sophomore Rex Shields (3), junior Alden Bahr (5), sophomore Jared Rohatinsky (7), seniors Jon Kotter (8) and Nate Ogden (9) and sophomore Josh Adams (10).
Complete race results are available on www.runnercard.com for the men's team.
The men will pick up again with the Riverside Invitational in Riverside, CA on September 18. Start time is at 9:15 a.m.
The No. 20 women’s team faced off against three Utah schools in Logan, including host Utah State, Utah and Weber State. Finishing with 23 team points, the Cougars took home the victory, with Weber State coming in second with 46 points.
“Our team ran really well at this opening race,” BYU women’s head coach Patrick Shane said. “We trained right through this race, so to have them run so well and show such good instincts to pull out the win is great.”
Senior Katie Bowen led the way for the Cougars, finishing first in the 5K race in 16:48. Just behind Bowen was 2009 MWC Freshman of the Year Nicole Nielsen, who finished third in 17:05.
“This is my senior year, so I am going to go as hard as I can all the time,” Bowen said. “I am excited for the rest of the season and know our team can be successful.”
Placing in the top 10 along with Bowen and Nielsen was Rachel Lange in fifth (17:20), Michaelanne Laurent in sixth (17:25), Millie Rapp in eighth (17:27) and Kendra Christensen in 10th (17:38).
The women will now have a few weeks off from competition as they prepare for the Aztec Invitational in San Diego on September 18. Competition that day will begin at 9:00 a.m. MST.