BYU Cross Country Gears Up for Mountain Region Championships

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The No. 3 BYU women’s team and the No. 2 BYU men’s cross country teams are preparing to compete in the Mountain Region Championships at the Rose Park Golf Course in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 15.

For the women, No. 8 Colorado, No. 9 Utah and No. 10 New Mexico also will be represented at the meet. No. 15 Air Force and No. 16 Northern Arizona make it six teams in the top-20 in the country at Friday's race.

“We feel good,” BYU associate director of cross country and track and field Diljeet Taylor said. “This meet is good preparation, a stepping stone to the national meet. We’re focused on putting in a good effort, running a strong race without sacrificing too much since the turnaround for the NCAA Championship meet is only eight days later.”

The Cougar women face off against multiple regional foes for the first time this season as No. 9 Utah and No. 10 New Mexico headline top-10 Mountain Region opponents. BYU defeated No. 8 Colorado at the Pre-Nationals Invitational, where the Cougars placed second overall, by 39 points. BYU is coming off its second-straight WCC Championship win, placing eight runners in the top-10. The team looks to clinch its fifth-straight appearance to the national meet.

Women’s Team Notables

• The women’s team is looking to advance to the NCAA National Championships for the fifth-straight year

• The Cougars finished third overall at the 2018 NCAA Mountain Regionals

• Erica Birk-Jarvis finished third overall at the 2018 NCAA Mountain Regional Championships while Courtney Wayment-Smith also finished in the top-10 after placing ninth

• Michaela Mannova was the last BYU women’s runner to win the women's Mountain Region Championship race (2003)

The men will compete against multiple top-tier programs from across the region. On the men’s side, the top-three teams in the nation are set to compete in No. 1 Northern Arizona and No. 3 Colorado. Also in the field is No. 20 Utah State and No. 25 Colorado State. 

“The Mountain Regional meet is kind of like a semi-final for us,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “We want to run strategically since the eight day turnaround with the national meet is so quick. We feel like we’re in a good place, we’ve worked hard and competed well in our meets from earlier in the season. We want to run a solid race and get ourselves ready for the national meet next week.” 

The Cougars will face off against top-ranked Northern Arizona for the first time this season, and third-ranked Colorado for the second time after edging out a victory at the Pre-Nationals meet. Last season, the Cougars were the runner-ups to the eventual national champions at the Mountain Regionals. BYU won the Pre-Nationals Invitational earlier this season and is coming off its fifth-straight WCC championship win. The Cougars look to clinch their 21st-straight bid to the NCAA Championships.

Men’s Team Notables

• The men’s team has advanced to the NCAA National Championships every year since 1999

• The Cougars finished second at the 2018 NCAA Mountain Regionals

• Conner Mantz finished in sixth at the 2018 Mountain Regional Championships, while Rory Linkletter and Connor McMillan finished in the top-10 as well, finishing eighth and ninth, respectively

• Miles Batty was the last men’s runner to win the men's Mountain Region Championship race (2011)

Teams that finish first and second in each region automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships while the remaining teams await the decision concerning 13 national at-large bids. The at-large selection is determined through a review of regular-season competition and finishes at regional championships. More details on qualifying for the NCAA National Championships can be found on ustfccca.org.

The first race of the day will be the women’s 6k at 11 a.m. MST followed by the men’s 10k at noon. The race will be streamed online at FloTrack.org. Live stats, the course map and other general information can be found on utahutes.com. Follow BYU cross country’s Instagram and Twitter pages for live updates.