TERRE HAUTE -- It was a top-10 finish for the BYU men’s cross country team as it came in ninth at the NCAA National Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.

Senior Kyle Perry earned his third All-American title, while junior Angela Wagner, the lone representative for the women’s team, dropped out of the race due to a medical condition of exercise-induced asthma.

“The team ran really well today,” said BYU men’s head cross country coach Ed Eyestone. “We were ranked 16th coming into the race, and our team stepped up and really showed we could bring some competition. It’s great to end with a strong team race. Kyle really put his head where it needed to be and ran the best cross country race of his life”

Coming in 10th out of 255 runners in the men’s 10K overall, Perry finished first for the Cougars with his best race of the season, 29:46.1.

“Coach really helped me peak at the perfect time of the season,” said Perry. “Having a coach be able to prepare you at the right time is so important. Everything goes toward this race and it was a great finish. I just tried to keep myself focused because I was competing against the best and wanted to finish strong.”

To take the No. 10 spot, Perry out-leaned the No. 11 finisher Patrick Smyth, running for Notre Dame, who finished in 29.47.2. Smyth, a Utah native, went to Judge Memorial, and ran alongside another Judge Memorial graduate, Luke Puskedra, who placed fifth running for Oregon, with a time of 29:27.

Perry’s 10th place finish is the best Cougar finish since Josh Rohatinsky in 2006. Other than Rohatinsky, Perry’s finish is the best since his coach’s, Eyestone, in 1982-1984.

Following behind Perry, finishing 50th overall was senior Stephan Shay with a time of 30:34. After him was senior Jacob Gustafsson, 95th, with a time of 30:46, Dan Hinckley, 84th, in 30:58 and junior Ryan Merriman, 102nd, closing in the top five for the Cougars with a time of 31:06.

Junior Rich Nelson finished 120th in 31:17, followed by Nate Ogden, 165th, with a final time of 31:50.

“Our team motto this year has been Juntos meaning ‘together’,” said Ogden. “Everything we’ve done this season has been to improve as a team and we knew that in this race we needed to go out and get it done. It was really fun to run well and accomplish what we wanted to accomplish.”

Placing ninth overall with team score of 310, the Cougars were behind Oregon (93 points), Iona (147 points), Stanford (227 points), Wisconsin (229 points), Auburn (264 points), Northern Arizona (281 points), Portland (293 points) and Oklahoma State (305 points).

Unfortunately for the BYU women’s team, Wagner was forced to pull herself from the race after the first mile as her inhaler failed to work adequately in the cold rainy conditions.

“Sometimes the weather really messes things up for this condition,” said BYU women’s head coach Patrick Shane. “I was sad Angela didn’t get to finish the race, but when you can’t breath it’s kind of hard to keep going. I’m very proud of everything she accomplished this year. She’ll just have to wait one for year for another shot at earning All-American in cross country.”

NCAA Cross Country Men's Championships
Team Scores
1. Oregon          93
2. Iona            147
3. Stanford        227
4. Wisconsin       229
5. Auburn          264
6. No. Arizona     281
7. Portland        293
8. Oklahoma St.    305
9. BYU             310
10. Georgetown     319
Individual scores
1. Galen Rupp, Oregon             29:03.2
2. Samuel Chelanga, Liberty       29:08.0
3. Andrew Ledwith, Iona           29:25.4
4. David Kinsella, Portland       29:26.5
5. Luke Puskedra, Oregon          29:27.8
6. Mohamed Khadraoui, Iona        29:29.3
7 Chris Derrick, Stanford         29:29.4
8. John Kosgei, Oklahoma State    29:32.4
9. Shadrac Kiptoo-Biwott, Oregon  29:43.4
10. Kyle Perry, BYU                29:46.1
11. Patrick Smyth, Notre Dame     29:47.2
BYU Top 20 Individual Performers
1-Josh Rohatinsky, 2006
1-Ed Eyestone, 1984
6-Josh Rohatinsky, 2005
7-Paul Cummings, 1975
8-Ed Eyestone, 1982
8-Richard Reid, 1972
9-Ed Eyestone, 1983
10-Kyle Perry, 2008
11-Benton Hart, 1977
11-Bob Delaney, 1965
12-Jason Pyrah, 1991
13-Dick Krenzer, 1964
15-Doug Padilla, 1980
17-Arthur Redhair, 1976

PROVO -- After strong performances last week at the NCAA Regionals, eight of BYU’s cross country runners will travel to Terre Haute, Ind. to compete in the NCAA Championships on Monday.

After its performance Saturday, the No. 16 BYU men’s team secured a slot at Nationals.

“We’re really looking forward to the Championships,” said BYU men’s cross country coach Ed Eyestone. “The men are recovering well from Regionals and have a nice opportunity to do well as a team. If we come together the way we know we can, then we should put together a performance that will we’re hoping will put us in the top six nationally.”

Although the BYU women’s team did not receive a slot, junior Angela Wagner will represent the women’s team following her personal performance at Regionals.

“We’re excited for Angela to be at Nationals this year,” said BYU women’s cross country head coach Patrick Shane. “She’s working hard and should be very successful in her race. Hopefully she’ll finish in the top 40, securing her another All-American title; that’s a real mark of achievement.”

The men’s team consists of the following athletes: Jacob Gustafsson, Dan Hinckley, Ryan Merriman, Rich Nelson, Nate Ogden, Kyle Perry and Stephan Shay.

At last weeks meet, Gustafsson, Nelson, Perry, Shay and Wagner earned all-region honors, with Perry and Wagner landing the top spots for the Mountain West Conference Best Time’s List in the men’s 10K and the women’s 6K.

The BYU men’s team is ranked No. 3 in the Mountain Region with Colorado at No. 1 and Northern Arizona at No.2. No other teams from the Mountain Region are nationally ranked.

Representing the Mountain region for the women are Texas Tech (No. 9), New Mexico (No. 21) and Northern Arizona (No. 26).

The women’s 6K will begin at 12:08 p.m. EST (10:08 a.m. MT) and the men’s 10K will begin at 12:48 p.m. EST (10:48 a.m. MT).

The 2008 NCAA DI Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will be televised live Nov. 24 on CBS College Sports from noon until 1:30 EST (10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. MT) with a rebroadcast at 4:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. MT).