Cougars Dominate Inaugural Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships

PROVO, Utah (October 29) - Led by conference athletes of the year Elizabeth Jackson and John Hedengren, the No. 3 Cougar women and No. 13 men ran away with the first-ever Mountain West Conference titles. It was nothing new for the women, who have won 12 consecutive conference titles. The men picked up their third-straight conference championship.

In a race that scores only the top five runners from each team, the women finished in positions one through fiveto achieve a "perfect score" of 15, the lowest possible total in a cross country meet. "In the 20 years that I have coached, this is the first time that I have ever seen a perfect score in a major meet and the first time BYU has done it," said Coach Patrick Shane, who was named the conference's Coach of the Year. "I'm pleasantly surprised by the sweep. We've run in a lot of conference meets and have won them all, but this win is the best I've seen," said Shane.

No. 22 Colorado State was next on the women's side with 58 points. The Rams were led by junior Elizabeth Roodell, the first non-Cougar to cross the finish line(6th place, 17:46). They were followed byAir Force's 111 points (Rachel Smith, 11th, 18:22), UNLV with 128 points (Jenni Nelson, 19th, 18:58), San Diego State at 146 (Sophia Hawker, 16th, 18:36), Utah at 156 (Johanna Nielsen, 7th, 17:48), Wyoming at 159 (Jennifer Vessa, 22nd, 19:04) and New Mexico with 185 points (Jackie Morgan, 17th, 18:50).

Senior Elizabeth Jackson won the individual title in a time of 17:16, followed closely by Kara Ormond in 17:17. Tara Rohatinsky took third place in 17:31, followed by Laura Heiner (17:35) and Sharolyn Shields (17:36). "I just wanted to go out and stay with the leaders," said Jackson, a three-time cross country All-American. " It was a little hard to keep up the pace with no one in front of me, but I felt like I was kicking as hard as I could right in to the finish line." Freshman Sarah Ellett continued to impress, finishing in eighth place in 18:04, which was enough to earn her conference Freshman of the Year honors for 1999.

The menhad a champion of their own in junior John Hedengren, who fought off a late surge by Colorado State's All-American Bryan Berryhill to finish first for the Cougars in 24:38. "I knew I'd have to make a move early because there were some good sprinters out there," said Hedengren. "It feels great; this conference is a fresh start and I feel this team has a lot of potential heading into nationals."

The men finished with a team score of 34 points, ahead of Air Force with 58 points, led by Jim Nelson (7th place, 25:36). No. 15 Utah finished in third position with 70 points (Chris Merkley, 3rd, 24:41), followed by Colorado State's 82 points (Bryan Berryhill, 2nd, 24:39), Wyoming at 135 (Greg Schabron, 9th, 25:46) and New Mexico with 163 (Louis Cuellar, 28th, 26:49).

"Our depth really helped us today," said men's head coach Sherald James. "I knew it was going to be tough. We ran better than I expected and I am super pleased with the results. I was running, heart and soul, right with them. John [Hedengren] ran a super race. Berryhill is one of the best in the U.S., so John made sure he wasn't in striking distance."

Hedengren finished first for the Cougars for the fourth time in four meets this year, covering the eight-kilometer course in 24:38. Randon Richards was the No. 2 runner for BYU in 5th place (25:11), followed by Marc Lawson (25:25). Freshman David Danley put another stamp on his breakout season with a 10th-place finish (25:49). The effort was enough to earn Danley the conference's Freshman of the Year honor. Nathan Harrison, running in his first meet of the season, was a surprising 12th-place finisher for the Cougars in 25:53 to round out the team scoring.

Cougar confidence is riding high heading into BYU's next meet, the Mountain Regionals in Fort Collins, Colo., Nov. 13. The meet will serve as a qualifier for the NCAA Championships, to be held Nov. 22 in Bloomington, Ind.

Mens 8K
1.  John Hedengren      So      Brigham Young    24:38.3     1
2.  Bryan Berryhill     Jr      Colorado State   24:39.4     2
3.  Chris Merkley       Sr      Utah             24:41.8     3
4.  Travis Hildebrand   Sr      Utah             25:06.5     4
5.  Randon Richards     Sr      Brigham Young    25:11.4     5
6.  Marc Lawson         Sr      Brigham Young    25:25.6     6
7.  Jim Nelson          Sr      Air Force        25:36.2     7
8.  Joe Monaco          Jr      Air Force        25:38.4     8
9.  Greg Schabron       Sr      Wyoming          25:46.9     9
10. David Danley        Fr      Brigham Young    25:49.4    10
11. Ryan O'Hara         Sr      Air Force        25:52.3    11
12. Nathan Harrison     Jr      Brigham Young    25:53.2    12
13. Matt Poulsen        Sr      Brigham Young    25:55.1    13
14. Rob Vermillion      So      Colorado State   25:59.1    14
15. Patrick Shanahan    Sr      Air Force        26:05.3    15
16. Teren Jameson       So      Utah             26:06.2    16
17. Shane Rogers        Jr      Air Force        26:10.2    17
18. Perry Griffith      Fr      Air Force        26:11.2    18
19. Gabe Olchin         Fr      Colorado State   26:11.5    19
20. Brian Carpenter     So      Air Force        26:12.1    20
21. Phil Stoddard       Jr      Utah             26:15.5    21
22. Paul McNeely        Fr      Colorado State   26:25.1    22
23. Trevor Pettingill   Jr      Brigham Young    26:25.4    23
24. Chris Jons          Jr      Wyoming          26:27.4    24
25. Reagan Robb         Fr      Colorado State   26:30.1    25
26. Lion Gallegos       So      Utah             26:36.2    26
27. Gary Wilson         Jr      Brigham Young    26:46.3     -
28. Louis Cuellar       Fr      New Mexico       26:49.4    27
29. Dylan Olchin        Fr      Colorado State   26:50.6    28
30. Zach Richter        So      Air Force        26:50.9     -
31. Adam Stark          Jr      Utah             26:59.2    29
32. Travis Clark        So      New Mexico       27:03.8    30
33. Cody Brown          So      Wyoming          27:10.1    31
34. Todd Disney         Jr      Wyoming          27:11.3    32
35. Joe Lopez           Jr      Air Force        27:12.6     -
36. Pontus Osterberg    Fr      New Mexico       27:13.6    33
37. Nicholas McCombs    Fr      Brigham Young    27:14.5     -
38. Mike Strauss        Jr      Utah             27:19.2    34
39. Chris Gartz         Fr      Utah             27:27.8     -
40. Bill Michel         Fr      Colorado State   27:28.8    35
41. Joseph Lopez        Fr      New Mexico       27:30.4    36
42. Scott Connors       So      New Mexico       28:00.9    37
43. John Austin         Fr      New Mexico       28:14.9    38
44. Nathan McLeland     Sr      Wyoming          28:16.6    39
45. Larry Stanley       Sr      Utah             28:28.3     -
46. Matthew Mizell      Fr      New Mexico       28:33.3    40
47. Dennis Naranjo      Fr      New Mexico       28:50.5     -
48. Paul Rigsby         So      Wyoming          28:55.6    41
Team Results - Men
1. Brigham Young                    1,   5,   6,  10,  12 = 34
2. Air Force                        7,   8,  11,  15,  17 = 58
3. Utah                             3,   4,  16,  21,  26 = 70
4. Colorado State                   2,  14,  19,  22,  25 = 82
5. Wyoming                          9,  24,  31,  32,  39 = 135
6. New Mexico                      27,  30,  33,  36,  37 = 163
Womens 5K
1.  Elizabeth Jackson   Sr      Brigham Young    17:16.2     1
2.  Kara Ormond         Sr      Brigham Young    17:17.4     2
3.  Tara Rohatinsky     So      Brigham Young    17:31.0     3
4.  Laura Heiner        So      Brigham Young    17:35.6     4
5.  Sharolyn Shields    Jr      Brigham Young    17:36.4     5
6.  Elizabeth Roodell   Jr      Colorado State   17:46.9     6
7.  Johanna Nielsen     Sr      Utah             17:48.4     7
8.  Sarah Ellett        Fr      Brigham Young    18:04.6     8
9.  Lindsay Nadauld     Sr      Brigham Young    18:17.4     9
10. Sherida Rogers      Fr      Brigham Young    18:21.5     -
11. Rachel Smith        Sr      Air Force        18:22.4    10
12. Tara Haynes         Jr      Brigham Young    18:26.5     -
13. Marisa Keefe        Jr      Colorado State   18:28.9    11 
14. Christy Virgin      So      Colorado State   18:34.1    12
15. Jeanie Crist        Sr      Colorado State   18:35.1    13
16. Sophia Hawker       Jr      San Diego State  18:36.1    14
17. Jackie Morgan       So      New Mexico       18:50.7    15
18. Marget Larson       Fr      Colorado State   18:53.7    16
19. Jenni Nelson        Jr      UNLV             18:58.6    17
20. Jennifer Stakiw     Fr      San Diego State  19:01.2    18
21. Heather Johnson     Sr      Air Force        19:03.6    19
22. Jennifer Vessa      Fr      Wyoming          19:04.2    20
23. Kelly Schumacher    Jr      Colorado State   19:09.3    21
24. Katie Barto         Jr      UNLV             19:10.2    22
25. Jaime Flood         Jr      Air Force        19:12.8    23
26. Amy Hill            Sr      Wyoming          19:21.0    24
27. Erin Cunningham     Jr      Colorado State   19:24.1    25
28. Stephanie Fry       Fr      Air Force        19:32.2    26
29. Stephanie Davidson  Sr      UNLV             19:33.1    27
30. Ashlee Othick       So      New Mexico       19:35.4    28
31. Daisy Freedman      Fr      Utah             19:36.8    29
32. Rhonda Kilfoyle     Fr      UNLV             19:39.2    30
33. Alicia Stewart      Fr      San Diego State  19:40.7    31
34. Kathryn Goetz       Sr      UNLV             19:45.4    32
35. Sarah Malberg       Fr      Air Force        19:50.8    33    
36. Sara Kinney         So      Air Force        19:55.2    34
37. Toni Berryhill              Colorado State   19:57.6     -
38. Stephanie Hanks     Fr      Wyoming          20:00.1    35
39. Anya Oceanak        So      Colorado State   20:03.7     -
40. Julie Osguthorpe    Fr      Utah             20:05.7    36
41. Lanele Cox          Fr      San Diego State  20:10.8    37
42. Cyndee Vincent      Fr      Air Force        20:11.9    38
43. Lisa Jones          Jr      Wyoming          20:13.6    39
44. Trina Bateman       Fr      Utah             20:17.7    40
45. Tracy Denaro        Fr      Air Force        20:19.9     -
46. Tara LaMay          So      Wyoming          20:22.0    41
47. Sharlene Downing    Sr      UNLV             20:29.7    42
48. Dalia Wenckus       Jr      Air Force        20:32.6     -
49. Maria Andersson     So      New Mexico       20:36.8    43
50. Jennifer Osguthorpe Fr      Utah             20:38.0    44
51. Paula Lechner       Jr      UNLV             20:41.0    45
52. Maria Moreno        Jr      San Diego State  20:43.3    46
53. Lauren Adams        Jr      Utah             20:50.7    47
54. Kimberly Weaver     Fr      New Mexico       20:51.1    48
55. Darby Goodspeed     Jr      Wyoming          20:51.7    49
56. Adriana Acero       Jr      San Diego State  20:57.1    50
57. Jennifer Filip      Fr      New Mexico       21:09.1    51
58. Ashley Luna         Fr      San Diego State  21:20.7    52
59. Jola Wallowing-Bull Fr      Wyoming          21:24.0    53
60. Kim Eldredge        So      Utah             22:21.3    54
61. Shawnele Cox        Jr      San Diego State  23:19.2     -
Team Results - Women
1. Brigham Young                    1,   2,   3,   4,   5 = 15
2. Colorado State                   6,  11,  12,  13,  16 = 58
3. Air Force                       10,  19,  23,  26,  33 = 111
4. Nevada-Las Vegas                17,  22,  27,  30,  32 = 128
5. San Diego State                 14,  18,  31,  37,  46 = 146
6. Utah                             7,  29,  36,  40,  44 = 156
7. Wyoming                         20,  24,  35,  39,  41 = 159
8. New Mexico                      15,  28,  43,  48,  51 = 185