OGDEN , Utah (Nov. 11, 2000) Senior Sharolyn Shields-Thayer finished in fourth place overall for the BYU women's team, and junior John Hedengren recorded a seventh-place finish on the men's side as the Cougars finihsed second in both races at the Mountain Region Cross Country Championships. Both BYU teams will move on to the Nov. 20 NCAA Championships, as the top two teams in each region automatically qualify for the national meet.

Coming into the race, the Cougar women were the No. 1 team in the country and the defending Region Champion. But with three of their top seven runners resting up for nationals, and a strong showing from No. 5 Colorado, including an individual championship from last year's winner Kara Wheeler, BYU settled for a runner-up finish. The Cougars still managed to place three runners in the top ten in the 6K race. Following Shields-Thayer (21:31.1), sophomore Sarah Ellett (21:32.5) and senior Melanie Steere (21:35.8) came through in sixth and ninth place, respectively, to give BYU a solid score.

Colorado won the men's race as well. But No. 7 BYU improved on last year's third-place finish, and surprised No. 5 Northern Arizona to earn a return trip to the NCAA Championships. Hedengren covered the 10K course in 31 minutes, 13.7 seconds. He was followed by freshman Josh Rohatinsky (31:41.1) and sophomore Lewis Jones (31:56.1) who both cracked the top twenty-five, finishing in 15th and 24th place, respectively.

The Cougars now turn their focus to Ames, Iowa, site of the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The BYU women's team is the defending national champion, and the men's team will look to make a run at the top five, erasing a disappointing finish at last year's national meet. The NCAA Championships will be run on Monday, Nov. 20, with the women's 6,000-meter race set to get under way at 11 a.m. and the men's 10,000-meter race to follow at 12:15 p.m.

For complete results of the Mountain Regional, go to http://www.runnercard.com

-- BYU --

Women's 6,000 meters

Team Results

1. Colorado 38

2. Brigham Young 50

3. Colorado State 102

4. Weber State 105

5. Montana 160

BYU Finishers

4. Sharolyn Shields-Thayer 21:31.1

6. Sarah Ellett 21:32.5

9. Melanie Steere 21:35.8

13. Tara Northcutt 21:41.6

22. Amy Bair 22:18.9

24. Devra Vierkant 22:21.7

Men's 10,000 meters

Team Results

1. Colorado 38

2. Brigham Young 110

3. Northern Arizona 128

4. Weber State 150

5. Colorado State 152

BYU Finishers

7. John Hedengren 31:13.7

15. Josh Rohatinsky 31:41.1

24. Lewis Jones 31:56.1

30. Dula Parkinson 32:04.0

34. Golden Harper 32:13.7

49. Andy Carman 32:42.8

54. Ben Wynn 32:54.4

The BYU men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday, to defend their Mountain West Conference Championships. Both teams won the inaugural conference titles last year on thier home course at the East Bay Golf Course in Provo.

The 1999 Cougar women set the standard in the first year of MWC competition, taking the top five places to record a perfect score of 15 points. This year's team will have its work cut out to equal such a performance. However, the Cougars are showing signs that they are in good position to continue their conference dominance. BYU won 11 consecutive conference championships before claiming the first MWC championship.

BYU enters this year's conference meet ranked No. 1 in the country. In their only head-to-head competition against conference opponents this year, BYU won the Pre-national Invitational while Colarado State took 10th and Air Force finihsed in 45th place. In addition, BYU runners hold three of the top ten times in the conference this year at 6K, having only run one race at that distance.

The BYU men will also be defending their title from a year ago. Junior John Hedengren led the 1999 team to victory with a first-place individual finish. This year the Cougars have raced against conference opponents in two meets. Colorado and Utah competed in both the Roy Griak Invitational and the Pre-national Invitational. Wyoming raced at the Minnesota meet, and Air Force competed at the Pre-national. BYU was the highest conference finisher in both meets, placing 3rd at the Griak Invitational and 4th at the Pre-national race.

The Cougars are ranked No. 7 in the latest poll, which was released Oct. 17. Colorado State, at No. 22, is the only other conference team in the rankings.

The Mountain West Conference Championships will be held Saturday at the Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins, Colo. The women's 6K race begins at 11 a.m. with the men's 8K race to follow at 11:45 a.m. Results can be found at http://mountainwestconf.fansonly.com/sports/c-xc/stats/102800aaa.html