Cougars Picked to Repeat as Conference Champions

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference coaches chose No. 2 BYU men’s cross country and No. 6 women’s cross country to repeat as conference champions in the annual preseason poll released Tuesday.

“With Conner Mantz returning, who was our top scorer at the NCAA national meet, knowing that he’s on pace to surpass what he did last year gives you a lot of confidence,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “We also have at least four people who are returning that should be able to perform well for us this year. What I’ve seen so far is guys rising to the occasion and stepping up.”

The Cougar men received 64 votes, along with eight first-place votes, while the Cougar women had 81 votes and nine votes for first place.

The men’s team has won five-straight WCC titles, along with seven in the last eight, while the women won the 2018 title, their first conference championship since 2014.

BYU returns five men’s runners from last year’s squad that made the All-WCC preseason team in Jacob Heslington, Zac Jacklin, Brayden McLelland, Conner Mantz and Clayson Shumway.

The women’s team boasts six preseason All-WCC selections in Erica Birk-Jarvis, Anna Camp-Bennett, Aubrey Frentheway, Olivia Hoj, Sara Musselman and Courtney Wayment.

The Cougar men were ranked No. 2 in the nation in the preseason poll conducted by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, and the women were pegged at No. 6.

The BYU women’s team won its opening meeting on Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Big Wave Invitational in Kahuku, Hawai’I, and swept the first 13 spots to claim a perfect score of 15 points overall.

Both teams return to action on Saturday, Sept. 14, for the BYU Autumn Classic at East Bay Golf Course in Provo, Utah.

The 2019 WCC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championship will take place on Nov. 1 at Woodley Lakes Golf Course in Van Nuys, California.

The full release of the WCC preseason poll can be found on wccsports.com.