PROVO -- Facing some of the top running programs in the country, the BYU men’s and women’s cross country teams fared well in competitions in Arkansas and Indiana Saturday morning.

The No. 6 men’s team came in third place overall out of 35 schools at the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., with 163 points behind only No. 1 Stanford (47) and No. 4 Colorado (130). Sophomore Miles Batty led the way for the Cougars as he finished 12th overall in a field of 237 runners with an 8K time of 24:02 to lead the team over No. 8 Portland, No. 12 Iona and No. 19 Arizona State, among others.

The race took place at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, the same location where the NCAA Championships will take place Nov. 23.

“It was a very good race for us,” said BYU men’s cross country head coach Ed Eyestone. “We performed well and we showed good depth. I think we’ve established the depth chart for the conference race in a few weeks and solidified who our lead runners are. I’m happy with the race.”

Sophomore Tommy Gruenewald (19th) arrived second for the Cougars six seconds behind Batty followed by Rich Nelson (29), Alden Bahr (44) and Ryan Merriman (59). Nate Ogden and Brandon Hebbert helped to solidify the third-place finish following the top five team runners.

Several Cougars ran in the open race to determine the final runners of the traveling team that will compete Oct. 31 at the Mountain West Conference Championships at Cascade Golf Course in Orem, Utah. Travis Fuller came in third place in the 8K race followed by Jonathan Nelson, Jon Kotter, Dylan Shawhan and Reagan Frey. Teams will be allowed nine runners at the MWC Championships.

The No. 22 women’s team also competed well as they faced upper-tier competition at the Chile Pepper Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., and finished in second place with 77 points only behind No. 20 Texas Tech (35). The Cougars beat Arkansas, Mississippi, No. 26 SMU and No. 12 Baylor. In all, the meet featured 34 teams and over 230 runners.

Junior Cecily Lemmon-Lew led the way with a second-place finish in a 6K time of 20:32, just one second behind Texas Tech’s Lillian Badaru. She was trailed by senior Angela Wagner (12th), Sarah Edwards (18), Nicole Nielsen (20), and Rachel Lange (25).

“I feel good about the effort we showed today,” said BYU women’s cross country head coach Patrick Shane. “We beat some very good teams and we’ll have another chance at Texas Tech at regionals in a few weeks. Cecily had a phenomenal race and as a team it was a great opportunity to get ready for conference and the championship meets.”

Sophomore Lacey Cramer, running with an illness, arrived in 35th place overall followed by Sarah Yingling, Michaelanne Laurent, Sarah Hansen-Frey, Ashlee Thomas, Lisa Drury and Katie Swanson. The Cougars rested sophomore Katy Andrews while junior Whitney McDonald continues to battle injuries.

“I was happy with our team and even though I couldn’t see them behind me, I thought of them and knew they were running together,” Lemmon-Lew said. “I’m lucky to be a part of this team and we’re having a lot of fun together.”

Chile Pepper Invitational
2   C. Lemmon-Lew     20:32.6
12  A. Wagner         21:29.3
18  S. Edwards        21:39.5
20  N. Nielsen        21:40.6
25  R. Lange          21:47.7
35  L. Cramer         22:08.8
37  S. Yingling       22:11.8
46  M. Laurent        22:26.8
54  S. Frey           22:36.7
54  A. Thomas         22:37.8
57  L. Drury          22:40.7
81  K. Swanson        23:04.5
    Pre-Nationals Invitational
White Race
12  M. Batty             24:02.8
19  T. Gruenewald        24:08.4
29  R. Nelson            24:14.7
44  A. Bahr              24:28.2
59  R. Merriman          24:38.7
61  N. Ogden             24:39.7
76  B. Hebbert           24:52.3
Open Race
3   T. Fuller            24:59.7
4   J. Nelson            25:00.8
6   J. Kotter            25:14.4
19  D. Shawhan           25:52.2
38  R. Frey              26:22.4

PROVO -- In preparation for the conference and national championship meets coming up in a few weeks, the BYU men’s and women’s cross country teams are training for high-level competitions in Arkansas and Indiana.

The No. 22 BYU women’s team will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the first time in 12 years to compete at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. MT in a 6K event.

Several top-ranked programs will compete at the meet as the Cougars will face the likes of No. 12 Baylor, No. 20 Texas Tech and No. 26 SMU as well as MWC schools TCU, Utah and Wyoming.

“This will be a tough race,” said BYU women’s cross country head coach Patrick Shane. “There will be some very strong programs at this event and we hope to show that we can compete on a national level with them. The girls have been practicing running as a group and with the mindset that they want to win this.”

Lacey Cramer, Lisa Drury, Sarah Edwards, Sarah Frey, Rachel Lange, Michaelanne Laurent, Cecily Lemmon-Lew, Nicole Nielsen, Katie Swanson, Ashlee Thomas, Angela Wagner and Sarah Yingling will travel to compete for BYU.

“We’re turning Cecily loose to go for the win,” Shane said. “Texas Tech has some strong runners and the teams there will present a difficult challenge. We’ll just have fun and it will be a good opportunity for our young team in a big-meet environment.”

The No. 6 BYU men’s team is preparing to compete at the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday at 10:40 a.m. MT in an 8K event at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Championship Course, the same course where the NCAA Championships will occur.

Eight of the top 10 schools in the country will be at the race and 25 of the top 30 programs.

“It will be another chance to see where we are on a national scale and hopefully we’ll turn in a good run,” said BYU men’s cross country head coach Ed Eyestone. “It’s an important meet for us as we’ll decide who our top nine guys are that will compete at the Mountain West Conference race. We also want to show that our No. 6 ranking is valid and earn some at-large points.”

Alden Bahr, Miles Batty, Travis Fuller, Tommy Gruenewald, Reagan Frey, Brandon Hebbert, Jon Kotter, Ryan Merriman, Rich Nelson, Jonathan Nelson, Nate Ogden and Dylan Shawhan will look to provide a strong showing for the Cougars.

“The guys had a good couple of weeks of practice and are ready to come out hard,” Eyestone said.