BELMONT, Calif.--The BYU men’s cross country team finished first, with Miles Batty finishing first overall, and the women finished second as the Cougars made their debut at the West Coast Conference Championships on Saturday.

In their first year in the WCC, the men were able to defeat the Portland Pilots, a team that had won 32-consecutive conference championships.  The Cougars finished with 25 points, with Portland finishing in second with 32, and the next closest score being San Francisco with 119.

“It was a good day for us,” men’s head coach Ed Eyestone said.  “We knew that Portland was going to be tough.  I had confidence in my team and I’m very happy with our depth.  I think that sets us up well going into our regional.”

Senior Miles Batty has now won two consecutive conference championships in two different conferences, finishing first overall in the 8K, with an impressive time of 23:47. Batty’s time of 23:47 shattered the old course record, formerly held by Portland’s Alfred Kipchumba – who ran a 24:20 in 2009. 

“It feels great to come out of here with a win,” Batty told WCCsports.com after the race.  “It’s our first year [in the WCC] and we started out on the right foot.  It’s great to walk out of here with a team championship and an individual title.”

The Cougars finished five runners in the top ten, with Jared Ward coming in fourth, Rex Shields taking fifth, Alden Bahrfinishing seventh and Tylor Thatcher coming in ninth.

Along with the meet, six Cougars were named to the 2011 Men’s Cross Country All-West Coast Conference Team. Batty,Shields, Ward, Bahr, Thatcher and Jason Witt were named to the all-conference team, along with four runners from Portland, while Steve Flint garnered honorable mention and also won the WCC Freshman of the Year award.

Coach Eyestone was also named the WCC Coach of the Year.

There was a strong team effort from the Cougars, as all finished in the top twenty. Again, Morgan Haws led the Cougars, finishing first for the Cougars and third overall in the 6K, with a time of 20:38.  Katy Andrews and Stephanie Jensen-Bills also finished strong taking second and third for BYU and fourth and 14th overall.

Haws and Andrews were named to the 2011 Women's Cross Country All-West Coast Conference Team, with Jensen-Bills and Candace Eddy being named honorable mention. Freshman Sarah Darby was also named the WCC Freshman of the Year.

The Cougars now look forward to Mountain Region Championships, which will be held in Provo at the East Bay Golf Course on Nov. 12.

Click here for complete results from the men's race.

Click here for complete results from the women's race.

Click here to watch an interview with individual champion Miles Batty.

Click here to watch an interview with men's head coach Ed Eyestone.

The BYU cross country teams make their debut at the West Coast Conference Championships this weekend at the Crystal Springs Course in Belmont, Calif.

After the men’s second place finish at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational, the Cougars have acquired a third place ranking in the USTFCCCA national polls. This is the Cougars best national ranking since 2005, when they were ranked fourth.

"The way everyone is running individually and as a team shows that this is one of the best teams we've had in maybe a decade," men’s head coach Ed Eyestone said.

Heading into the conference championships, BYU’s main competition will be the Portland Pilots, a team that has won 32 consecutive WCC titles. Portland is currently eighth in the national polls.

Senior Miles Batty goes into the race with his own credentials. Recently named the WCC Runner of the month, Batty was also the 2010 Mountain West Conference individual champion.

The women have been ranked in the national polls for most of the season and are led by senior Morgan Haws.  

Haws, a transfer from Weber State, has finished in the top five in every race she has competed in so far this season.  Taking second overall in both the Notre Dame and Griak Invitationals, and fifth overall in the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational, Haws looks to lead her team to a strong finish in their first WCC Championships appearance.

The women are pitted against strong talent within the conference.  The University of San Fransisco Dons are the reigning champions and have three top-three finishes in their first four races of the season.  Loyola is also led by the two-time WCC Champion, Tara Erdmann, who finished third at both the Stanford Invitational in September and the NCAA Pre-Nationals.

Both the men and the women will be running against 8 other teams.

The races will take place on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Crystal Springs Course in Belmont, Calif. The men’s race will begin at 9 a.m. PDT and the women’s will follow at 9:45 a.m. PDT.  Both races will be aired live at wccsports.com.