Completing three races between two teams, the BYU cross country team had a busy weekend running at the Utah Valley and Bill Dellinger Invitationals.

The women’s team split up with some athletes competing locally in Orem, Utah at Utah Valley where they placed fifth overall with 112 points, falling to Weber State, Runner’s Corner, Idaho State and UVU.

“We’re a young team this year,” said team manager Maggie Chan-Roper. “There were a lot of freshman that ran this race, and I think they performed very well. In a few years we’re going to be experienced and even more solid.”

Lacey Cramer came in first for the Cougars, eighth overall, with a time of 19:12, followed by Sarah Edwards, who ran unattached but placed 17th in 19:40. Hannah Kent-Johnson (19:52) finished 24th, followed by Ashlee Thomas (20:05), also unattached in 29th, Jessica Hauser (20:09) finished 31st, while Whitney Gebert (20:17) and Emily Dunn (20:21) closed up the top five in 35th and 37th place.

Also competing at Utah Valley, the men’s team placed second, falling to UVU.

“This was a really good performance,” said BYU men’s cross country coach Ed Eyestone. “Our few runners were battling it out to see who would be the 12th runner on our traveling team going into the Pre-Nationals. Dan Hinckley won that spot, so he deserves it.”

UVU placed first with 29 points, BYU scored 41 points for second and Idaho State was third with 53 points.

Senior Dan Hinckley placed first overall (15:47), followed by James Tracey in fifth, unattached, then Reagan Frey in seventh (16:14), Brandon Babiracki in ninth (16:26), Robert Harrison, 30th (17:09) and Aaron Robison, 40th (17:50).

While the others raced at home, some of the women’s team was away in Oregon, taking on some of the top-ranked teams and placing fifth overall, beating out long-time rival Colorado State.

“We ran well and were able to execute our race plan,” said BYU women’s cross country head coach Patrick Shane. “Our strategy was to match up with CSU and we followed that well. We had a strong performance and are excited to get ready for Pre-Nationals now.”

Oregon, ranked No.1, placed first with 23 points, No. 9 Arkansas came in second with 60 points, followed by Penn. State, 107 points, Wake Forest, 115 points and BYU, 126 points. Colorado State came in sixth with 177 points.

Angela Wagner (21:14) placed 12th overall, and first for the Cougars, followed by teammates Anna Sperry (21:33) in 17th, Rachel Lange (21:41) in 28th, Stacy Slight (21:52) in 35th with Katy Andrews (21:55) tying up the top five in 38th.

“We worked really well as team,” said Wagner. “We followed coach’s race plan and successfully beat the team we really wanted to. It was a fun race with a lot of rain, which made it fun, and now we get to keep preparing.”

Despite beating out Colorado State, Sperry believes the team still has room for improvement.

“We ran well today, but we can still run better,” said Sperry. “It was a fun race and we stayed together, really focusing on the runners we were matching up with. But I know there is always room for improvement and I’m looking forward to getting there as a team.”

Both teams are idle this week as they prepare for Pre-Nationals, Oct. 18 in Terre Haute, Ind. The men compete at 11:00 a.m. and the women race at 12:45 p.m.

Utah Valley Invitational, Oct. 3, 2008
Campus Cross Country Course
Men’s 5K
1. Utah Valley University, 29
2. BYU, 41
3. Idaho State, 58
1. Dan Hinckley, BYU, 15:47
2. Josh McCabe, UVU, 15:50
3. Jared Keller, UVU, 15:58
4.  Reagan Frey, BYU, 16:14
5. Brandon Babiracki, BYU, 16:26
6. Ryan Davis, Idaho State, 16:32
7. Clark Nielson, UVU, 16:39
8. Darren Ott, UVU, 16:40
9. Danny Moody, UVU, 16:45
Women’s 5K
1. Weber State, 31
2. Runner’s Corner, 47
3. Idaho State, 67
4. UVU, 83
5. BYU, 112
1. Natalie Haws, Weber, 18:38
2. MaryAnn Schauerhamer, Runner’s Corner, 18:42
3. Cassie Olson, Weber, 18:58
4. Gemma Maini, Idaho State, 19:03
5. Sarah Ingebretsen, Runner’s Corner, 19:08
6. Amber Andrews, Runner’s Corner, 19:12
7. Lacey Cramer, BYU, 19:12
8. Katie Thompson, Weber, 19:19
9. Laken Skidmore, Weber, 19:26
10. Amy Cook, Weber, 19:30
Bill Dellinger Invitational, Oct. 4, 2008
Springfield Country Club
1. Oregon, 23
2. Arkansas, 60
3. Penn State, 107
4. Wake Forest, 115
5. BYU, 126
6. Portland, 151
7. Cal State Fullerton, 175
8. Colorado State, 177
9. U.T.E.P., 236
1. Alex Kosinski,  Oregon,  20:19
2. Melissa Grelli, Oregon 20:20
3. Catherine White, Arkansas, 20:30
4. Nicole Blood, Oregon, 20:39
5. Bridget Franek, Penn State, 20:43
6. Allie Kieffer, Wake Forest, 20:44
7. Mattie Bridgmon, Oregon, 20:54
8. Denise Bargiachi, Arkansas, 20:57
9. Lindsey Scherf, Oregon, 21:06
10. Carolyn Ellis, Cal St. Fullerton, 21:10

Half of BYU men's and women’s cross country teams will remain in Utah to compete at Utah Valley University, while the other half of the women head to Eugene, Ore., to compete in the Bill Dellinger Invitational this weekend.

The Utah Valley Invitational is scheduled to begin Oct. 3 at 5:15 p.m MST for the men and 5:45 p.m. for the women at the UVU Campus Cross Country Course. The Cougars will be competing against Idaho State, Weber State, University of Utah and Southern Utah University.

While cheering on their teammates in Utah, the rest of the women athletes will compete in Oregon at the Springfield Country Club, Oct. 4.

“This meet is highly competitive for us,” said BYU women’s head coach Patrick Shane. “With Oregon hosting the meet and being No. 1, this is a great opportunity for us to test ourselves against great competition.”

The women’s 6,000 meter race begins at 10:30 a.m. PST and BYU (No. 23) will face some intense competition from the following teams: Arkansas (No. 11) Colorado State (No. 14) Cal State Fullerton, Penn State, Portland, Texas-El Paso and Wake Forest.

After losing to CSU last year by six points at the Mountain West Conference Championships, BYU hopes to regain some lost momentum and establish a new order.

“Colorado State beat us last year,” said Shane, “but we have every intention of getting things turned around early this year. This is our chance to go head-to-head with a lot of good schools and get an early look on how they run. We’re really looking forward to this match-up.”

While the women’s team is split, some of the men’s team will also compete at the Utah Valley Invitational. The runners selected from the men’s team will be battling it out amongst themselves for the No. 12 spot on the men’s traveling team going to Pre-Nationals.

“This is a good chance to give some of these men the opportunity to get a little experience,” said BYU men’s cross country head coach Ed Eyestone. “They’ll be running to see who gets the final spot with our traveling team.”

Those on the men’s team not running this week continue practicing and preparing for the pre-national meet in Terre Haute, Ind. Oct. 18.