PROVO, Utah – The No. 3 BYU cross country teams will race against the nation’s best in the NCAA Cross Country Championships at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Saturday, Nov. 23.
The Cougar women will race in a 6k at 11:15 a.m. EST followed by the men’s 10k at 12:15 p.m. BYU will be racing against the best teams in the country, including the defending champions, No. 1 Northern Arizona on the men’s side and No. 1 Arkansas for the women. Most recently at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships, the men raced against NAU and the women rose above several top-10 teams.
“We’re super excited,” BYU associate director of cross country and track and field Diljeet Taylor said. “Most of our training and focus has been on the latter part of the season. I’m pleased with how it's come together so far. I anticipate our women to be tough out there, so we’ll see what happens.”
After winning the NCAA Mountain Region Championships last weekend, the No. 3 women qualified automatically for Nationals. Coming into Nationals, the Cougars placed first at all but one of their meets, including the Bill Dellinger Invitational and the West Coast Conference Championships.
The Cougars will be represented at nationals by All-Americans Erica Birk-Jarvis and Courtney Wayment, Whittni Orton, Olivia Hoj, Anna Camp-Bennett, Sara Musselman and Anastaysia Davis. Birk-Jarvis, Wayment, Hoj and Musselman received all-region honors and all seven runners were named to the All-WCC First Team.
“We’ve done a good job this year keeping the focus on the team,” Taylor said. “I think they’ll give a little something extra because this meet is going to be a special one and they want to leave it with a good feeling.”
Women’s Team Notables
The women’s team has advanced to the NCAA National Championships for the fifth-straight year
In 2018, the Cougars closed the season with a seventh-place finish at Nationals—the highest finish since taking second in 2003
BYU women’s team is returning two All-Americans from the 2018 season, Erica Birk-Jarvis and Courtney Wayment
Historically, the BYU women took first at the NCAA National Championships in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2002
“It’s nationals week and we’re really excited,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “This week has been all about continuing to recover from the regional meet as we prepare for the national championships. Our men are in a good place right now. We are ready to go in full of confidence to run the best race we can.”
The No. 3 men’s team received an at-large bid to the championships following a third-place finish at the Mountain Region Championships and competitive showings in the other meets this season. The Cougars secured three first-place finishes this season, led by All-American Conner Mantz who took first in five-straight meets.
Mantz, Jacob Heslington, Danny Carney, Matt Owens and Brandon Garnica will represent the Cougars in Wisconsin, along with the final two runners being a race-day decision. All five of the announced men’s team competitors were named to the All-WCC First Team and Mantz, Heslington and Carney received all-region honors.
“We know we have some good competition, but If we do what we do best and not worry about other people, the result will take care of itself,” Eyestone said.
Men’s Team Notables
The men’s team has advanced to the NCAA Championships every year since 1999
The Cougars finished second with 116 points at the 2018 Championships for their best performance in school history
Coach Eyestone has earned eight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships as BYU’s head coach
The NCAA Cross Country Championships will take place at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The women’s 6k begins at 11:15 a.m. EST followed by the men’s 10k at 12:15 p.m. EST. A live stream is available for viewing on FloTrack and live stats can be found here. Follow BYU cross country’s Instagram and Twitter pages for updates on the races.