Cross Country Opens Season with Utah State Invitational

PROVO, Utah--After concluding the 2010 season with an 18th place finish at the NCAA National Championships, the program's 11th consecutive top 25 finish, the BYU men’s cross country team looks to open the 2011 season this weekend in Logan at the Utah State Invitational.

Returning a very talented squad along with a promising freshman class, BYU is ranked first in the 2011 West Coast Conference preseason poll and 16th in the U. S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division I National Cross Country Coaches’ Poll.

The newest member of the WCC, the Cougars earned 62 points overall and six first-place votes in a preseason poll of the West Coast Conference’s nine head coaches. BYU narrowly edged out the University of Portland by a margin of three points.

Along with the WCC preseason rankings, three Cougars were named to the preseason All-WCC team. Seniors Miles Batty, Alden Bahr and sophomore Jared Ward join seven other athletes named to the team. 

The Utah State Invitational will be held on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 9 a.m. MT.