Taylor Named Mountain Region Coach of the Year

NEW ORLEANS – BYU associate director of cross country and track and field Diljeet Taylor was named Mountain Region Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA in its regional award announcement on Tuesday.

Taylor, in her fourth year as head coach, led the Cougars to the team title at the Mountain Region Championships with 70 points. BYU also won team titles at the West Coast Conference Championships, Bill Dellinger Invitational, BYU Autumn Classic and Big Wave Invitational.

Last season, Taylor led the BYU women to a seventh-place finish at the national meet, the team’s best finish since 2003 when the team finished second. Coach Taylor led the team to its second top-10 finish since she became coach four years ago. It was also the first time the team had multiple All-Americans since 2003.

Earlier this season the women won their second-straight West Coast Conference title where 10 runners earned All-WCC honors. The team finished with only 18 points, tied for the lowest team score at the conference meet since 1987. 

The Cougars enter the national meet ranked No. 3 in the country, having been ranked in the top-four by the USTFCCCA since October 1. 

Coach Taylor and BYU cross country will compete in the 2019 NCAA National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23, in Terre Haute, Indiana. The women race at 11:15 a.m. EST and the men compete at 12:15 p.m. EST. The meet will be broadcast on FloTrack.