Ward takes first place at WCC Cross Country Championships

PROVO, Utah – Led by junior co-captain Jared Ward, the No. 5 BYU men's cross country team placed second in the West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships, losing to the No. 17 Portland Pilots by a single point.

"It was a close race and we just came up short," head coach Ed Eyestone said. "Portland is good team, and they took care of business on their home course."

Ward finished first overall with a time of 23:42. Tylor Thatcher (23:48), Jason Witt (23:58), Conner Peloquin (24:11) and Steve Flint (24:12) finished fourth, sixth, 10^th and 12^th, respectively, overall.

"Jared ran a great race for us today but Portland is just a very good team," Eyestone said. "They're a class organization and a great rival for us in the conference."

Portland has now won 33 of the last 34 WCC Cross Country Championships; it's only loss coming last year when BYU won the meet by seven points.

Official results from the race can be found here.

The Cougars' next race is at the NCAA Regional Championships on November 10.

2012 Men's Cross Country All-West Coast Conference Team

• Jared Ward, BYU, Jr.
• Scott Fauble, Portland, So.
• William Kincaid, Portland, So.
• Tylor Thatcher, BYU, Jr.
• David Perry, Portland, So.
• Jason Witt, BYU, Jr.
• Weston Strum, Loyola Marymount, Jr.
• Rajpaul Pannu, Saint Mary's, Jr.
• Lars Erik Malde, Portland, Sr.
• Conner Peloquin, BYU, Jr.

Honorable Mention

• Tate Kelly, Gonzaga, Sr.
• Steve Flint, BYU, So.
• Jared Bassett, Portland, Sr.
• Curtis Carr, BYU, Jr.
• Jose Madera, San Francisco, Jr.

WCC Player of the Year

• Jared Ward, BYU, Jr.

WCC Men's Coach of the Year

• Rob Conner, Portland

WCC Freshman of the Year

• Jacob Smith, Portland