PROVO, Utah – The BYU men’s cross country team took first place with 19 points and the women’s team took second place with 32 points at the Autumn Classic on Saturday, Sept. 16 in Provo.

BYU hosted Weber State, Utah State, Westminster College and Dixie State for the meet. The men competed in a four-mile race and the women ran three miles.

“I was really proud of the guys,” head coach Ed Eyestone said. “The fact that we had seven to eight guys right there together through the whole thing shows the kind of depth that we have this year. We’re excited. It’s going to be a good year.”

The No. 6 men were led to victory by Rory Linkletter in first place, followed by Connor McMillan in third, Clayton Young in fourth and freshman Casey Clinger in fifth. The Cougars claimed nine of the top-10 spots. BYU was just four points away from a perfect score.

"I've never started off the season with this much momentum but hopefully that just means that my end goal is higher," Linkletter said. "I don't plan on slowing down."

Linkletter (19:25.8) beat Utah State’s Dillon Maggard (19:26.8) by one second, and McMillan (19:26.9), Young (19:28.2) and Clinger (19:29.4) followed closely behind.

“If we can keep this team healthy, this will be one of our best teams ever,” Eyestone said.

The No. 10 women’s team finished second in the meet behind Utah State, with senior Laura Young (16:46.3) crossing the finish line second. Courtney Wayment (16:56.2) finished fifth and Olivia Hoj (17:03.1) came in seventh. Five BYU athletes finished in the top-10.

“Based on the overall results, I’m pretty disappointed with the way we competed,” women’s coach Diljeet Taylor said. “Times were okay; it was just the way we ran today. We were a little impatient at times and made some moves when we should have waited longer to be more tactical. We’ll fix what we need to.”

Taylor explained that this was a good wake-up call for the team and that they’ll make the adjustments necessary to compete more tactically the rest of the season.

For a complete list of the results, visit RunnerCard. 

After a two-week break, the teams will head to Springfield, Oregon, on Sept. 29 to compete in the Dellinger Invitational.

PROVO, Utah — The BYU men’s and women’s cross country teams kick off the 2017 season by hosting the Autumn Classic Saturday morning at East Bay Golf Course in Provo.

BYU will host Weber State, Utah State, Westminster College and Dixie State. The meet will feature a college men’s four mile and a college women’s three-mile race.

“Our men’s team, on paper, is probably one of the best teams I’ve had and this is my 18th season this year,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “We’re very optimistic and we know we have some amazing talent coming back and we’re enthused about the prospect of a very good season.”

The No. 6 men’s team enters the season with many strong returners and as the preseason favorite to win the West Coast Conference championship. Seniors Spencer Hanson and Jonathan Harper, juniors Daniel Carney, Rory Linkletter and Clayton Young, and sophomore Brayden McLelland were all placed on the All-WCC Preseason Team. In addition, Casey Clinger joins the team as an incoming freshman. He was the number one cross country recruit in the country and Eyestone believes he will contribute greatly to the success of the team. Eyestone said he especially looks forward to the performance of his 'core four guys,' Linkletter, Connor McMillan, Young and Clinger.

The men’s team took first place at the WCC Championships last year. Linkletter was named an All-American for his top-40 finish at Nationals. Harper, Linkletter, McLelland and Young earned first-team All-WCC honors and Hanson earned a spot on the All-WCC First Team during the 2016 season.

The No. 10 women’s team has three athletes on the All-WCC Preseason Team, including seniors Laura Young and Ashleigh Warner, and sophomore Courtney Wayment. The women’s team enters the season as the predicted WCC champions.

"I feel like we have a really strong pack and all of the women coming back this year are in really good shape so I'm excited," BYU women's coach Diljeet Taylor said.

The women’s team finished second place at the WCC Championships during the 2016 season. Young received first-team All-WCC honors and Warner and Wayment earned second-team All-WCC honors last year.

The Cougars are excited to host their only home meet this weekend.

“Obviously, we like to defend our house anytime we run at our home course and the athletes are ready,” Eyestone said.

The women’s three-mile race is set to begin at 9:40 a.m. MDT on Saturday, September 16, at the East Bay Golf Course in Provo. The men’s four-mile race is set to begin at 10:45 a.m. MDT. Team awards will be presented at 12:30 p.m. MDT.

Entrance to the Autumn Classic is $6. Additional information regarding the race can be found here.