BYU cross country shows promise at Utah Open

MURRAY, Utah – BYU men’s and women’s cross country kicked off the season with the men’s team taking first place and the women’s team taking fourth overall in the Utah Open Invitational at Murray Park Friday afternoon.

“I think we did just what we were hoping we would do,” men’s coach Ed Eyestone said. “We were able to get in a good solid race and make it a workout style race. It was a good test for some of our younger guys.“

The top finisher for the Cougars in the 6k race for the men was Jonathan Nelson with a time of 19:19.0. His time was good for third overall. Close behind Nelson finishing second for BYU and fifth overall was Conner Peloquin with a time of 19:24.5.

The women used the race as an opportunity for some of their younger athletes to gain experience as they ran five freshmen and one sophomore in the 4k race.

“We achieved what we wanted to today,” women’s coach Patrick Shane said. “We got to take a look at the freshmen, give them a chance to put the Cougar uniform on and go out and represent and they did very well at that. Now, we’re focused on bringing it next week against Minnesota and UCLA at the Autumn Classic.”

In her first collegiate race, freshman Mckenzie Weir was the women’s top finisher for BYU placing ninth overall in 15:11.2.

“I felt like I started strong but I felt like I also had enough to finish hard too,” Mckenzie Weir said. “I was so nervous and tense. I just tried to tell myself it was just another race.”

Finishing second for BYU and 13th overall was Hannah Albrechtsen in 15:15.6 followed by Alyssa Steed with a time of 15:19.5 that was good for 16th overall.

Next up for both the men’s and women’s teams is the BYU Autumn Classic on Saturday, Sept. 13, with the men's race starting at 9:45 a.m. and the women's race 10:15 a.m. The course includes the outfield of the baseball field of Miller Park and the grass corridor between the track and Miller Park. 

Men's results can be found here.