EAGLE -- Setting a course record and placing first overall, junior Angela Wagner led the BYU women’s cross country team to the title at the Bob Firman Invitational on Saturday.

“The team met my expectations and made big improvements from two weeks ago,” said BYU women’s cross country coach Patrick Shane. “The course was muddy, wet, up and down hills and over some tough terrain; this is what cross country is all about and the girls loved it.”

Pulling in first with a record setting time of 18:19 for the 5K, Wagner was followed by teammates Katy Andrews, a freshman, in 18:29 placing second; Stacy Slight was fifth, 18:45; Jessica Lemmon was eighth, 18:56; and Sarah Hansen closing up the top 10 in 10th with 19:03.

“This was a much better race for me,” said Wagner. “I started out nice and easy and was able to keep going at a better pace, being fully recovered two weeks ago.”

The Cougars had a composite score of 25, forcing Idaho State into second place with 56 points and Boise State into third with 74 points.

One challenging aspect of this race was the landscape of the course. Due to weather conditions, the team ran through mud, dirt, sand, up and down hills and along coastlines giving them the true cross country experience.

“This was classic cross country,” said Lemmon. “I wasn’t feeling well for the meet at home two weeks ago, so I was glad to be fully recovered and able to run in such a fun race. My teammates pushed me to keep going and it was fun running with them on this course.”

Collectively and individually happy with the race and scores, Wagner described this as a team spirited race, unexpectedly with everyone really happy with their times.

Wasting no time, the team will compete in the Stanford Invitational next week in Palo Alto, Calif., Saturday.

The men’s team will also be on the road, heading to Falcon Heights, Minn., to compete in the Roy Griak Invitational also on Saturday.

Bob Firman 5K Invitational
Eagle Idaho, Sept. 20, 2008
Team Scores
1-BYU, 25
2-Idaho State, 56
3-Boise State, 74
Individual College Women's Results
1-Angela Wagner, BYU, 18:19
2-Katy Andrews, BYU, 18:29
5-Stacy Slight, BYU, 18:45
8-Jessica Lemmon, BYU, 18:56
9-Sarah Yingling, unattached,
10-Sarah Hansen, BYU, 19:03

No. 22 BYU women’s cross country team heads to Eagle, Idaho to compete in the Bob Firman Invitational on Saturday at Eagle Island State Park.

The Cougars are coming off of their first win at the BYU Autumn Classic two weeks ago, and after a week break, look forward to traveling away from home to test the abilities of the team.

“We are hoping to run well and bring home another win,” said BYU women’s cross country head coach Patrick Shane. “In order to win, we have to run well. We expect to have a strong team. If we can maintain a high level of focus and keep training hard, we should run very well in this race. “

Unlike the previous meet, the women’s team will be splitting up its runners this week. According to Shane, those anticipated to lead the team to victory are junior Angela Wagner and true freshman Katy Andrews, along with sophomore Stacy Slight and freshman Millie Rapp.

Collegiate races begin at 8:50 a.m. MST with the men’s 8K, followed by the women’s 5K at 9:25 a.m. BYU will be up against Idaho State, Boise State, Treasure Valley, College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon, Lewis-Clark State, Northwest Nazarene and Dixie State.

“This is a great opportunity for our team to see how we do splitting up,” said Shane. “We plan on pulling together and running with good strategy.”

After winning the Aztec Invitational last weekend, the men’s team breaks this week to prepare for the Roy Griak Invitational in Falcon Heights, Minn.