Men's cross country wins UVU Invitational, women take second

OREM, Utah — No. 4/No. 7 BYU cross country began its 2022 season with a tune-up 5,000-meter race at the UVU Invitational at Lakeside Sports Park on Thursday afternoon.

FULL RESULTS

Women’s Recap

No. 7 BYU women’s cross country finished second with 50 points while withholding preseason all-conference honorees Aubrey Frentheway, McKenna Lee-Hansen and Lexy Halladay-Lowry. In the absence of the three veterans, younger runners were afforded crucial collegiate experience.

Rachel Morrin clocked 19:56.9, finishing 12th and first among her BYU teammates. True freshman Avery Moore crossed next at 15th with a time of 20:12.3. Alissa Fielding rounded out BYU’s top-20 finishers on Thursday with a 17th-place finish at 20:19.9.

Taylor Lovell and Abby Barlow joined Moore as true freshmen in their first meet with the Cougars. Lovell took 24th at 20:39.1 and Barlow 49th at 22:34.1.

Southern Utah (third), Idaho State (fourth) and Salt Lake Community College (fifth) followed UVU and BYU in the team results.

Men’s Recap

Despite the absence of All-Americans Casey Clinger and Christian Allen, No. 4 BYU men’s cross country ran away for a 19-point win at UVU.

Joey Nokes took the individual meet win with a 5k time of 15:24.8. Outdoor track and field All-American Kenneth Rooks came in close behind at 15:31.3 to finish second. Justin Hartshorn, Zach Erikson and Brandon Garnica took fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, giving the Cougars five of the top-six finishers.

Lucas Bons also competed on Thursday, finishing 16th at 16:38.7.

Both BYU teams remain close to home for the season’s second meet with the Run Elite Program Cross Classic at Valley Regional Park in Taylorsville, Utah on Sept. 9 at 6:45 p.m. MDT.