Cougars win both men’s, women’s WCC titles

PROVO, Utah – BYU cross country took home both the men’s and women’s West Coast Conference cross country titles after finishing first in both races on Saturday at the East Bay Golf Course.

The No. 2 BYU men’s team won its fourth consecutive WCC Championship with a dominant 21-point performance, 31 points ahead of second-place No. 5 Portland (52 points). The Cougars have claimed the conference title six of the last seven years.

"We got out front early like we wanted to and ran like a team," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. "We were excited about the number of fans we had on the course and I thought the effort from the team was solid."

Connor McMillan led the way for the men’s team taking second place (23:23.0). The Cougars finished with four runners in the top five with Conner Mantz (23:24.7), Rory Linkletter (23:31.9) and Brayden McLelland (23:39.1) finishing 3-5. Jacob Heslington (23:47.3) and Clayson Shumway (23:50.6) took seventh and eighth, respectively. All six Cougars were named to the All-WCC First Team after finishing in the top 10.

“The two-three combo of Connor McMillan and Conner Mantz worked for us and gave them experience running up front,” Eyestone said. “Brayden McLelland stepped up for us. I was really pleased with his race and think it was the best of his collegiate career.”

Coach Eyestone received the men’s 2018 WCC Coach of the Year award, his sixth since the Cougars joined the conference in 2011. Clayton Young finished in 11th (24:05.9) and Zachry Jacklin placed 15th (24:15.1) to receive second-team All-WCC honors.

Men’s Team Notables

• The Cougars won their fourth consecutive conference title and their sixth in seven years
• Six BYU runners received first-team All-WCC honors, two named to the second-team
• Ed Eyestone received his sixth WCC Coach of the Year award

The No. 9 BYU women’s team took first with a total score of 27 points, edging out No. 19 Portland (40 points). After finishing as the runner-up the last three seasons, the Cougars won their second WCC title since the team joined the conference.

Erica Birk-Jarvis won the WCC individual title and her third race of the season with a time of 19:45.60, six seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. The All-American is the first runner from BYU to win the women’s WCC Championship race.

"It this was the best-case scenario coming into today," BYU associate head women's coach Diljeet Taylor said. "It was huge for us to win the conference championship as a team and for Erica to pick up the individual win."

Courtney Wayment crossed the finish line third overall (20:20.7) followed by Olivia Hoj in sixth (20:58.40). Aubrey Frentheway (21:11.3), Sara Musselman (21:14.3) and Anna Camp (21:16.0) finished 8-10. All six of BYU’s top-10 finishers received first-team All-WCC honors.

"Erica and Courtney have been our 1-2 punch with Whittni Orton being out," Taylor said. "Sara Musselman stepped-up into our top-five for the first time this season and I think we're going to see more improvement from the team as we approach regionals and nationals."

Frentheway was named the women’s WCC Freshman of the Year after her ninth-place finish while coach Taylor received the WCC Coach of the Year award for the first time in her career.

Women’s Team Notables

• The Cougars won their second WCC conference title since joining the conference in 2011
• Erica Birk-Jarvis is the first BYU runner to win the WCC individual title
• Aubrey Frentheway was named Freshman of the Year
• Six BYU runners were named to the All-WCC First Team
• Coach Diljeet Taylor received the women's WCC Coach of the Year award

The Cougars will stay at home as they host the 2018 NCAA Mountain Region Championships at the East Bay Golf Course on Friday, November 9. The race will be streamed on FloTrack.org and race details can be found on the BYU cross country homepage.