Harriers make a bid for back-to-back conference championships

PROVO, Utah – After placing ninth at the Wisconsin Invitational and skyrocketing in national rankings, No. 14 BYU will return to Spokane Valley, Washington, for the West Coast Conference championship.

The Cougars made a goal during fall camp that they would take home the conference title for the second season in a row, something the Cougars have not done since entering the WCC.

“Overall, in my opinion, it’s a good, well developed team,” Shane said. “One of the best we’ve had in 10 or 12 years or more – it’s a really strong, deep cross country team. They have an opportunity to do something special here by winning back-to-back conference titles.”

“Our team’s looking really strong this year,” team captain Jennica Redd said. “We’re a lot deeper than last year now, so we hope to repeat the conference title.”

As the highest seeded team in the conference, BYU is well positioned to take the gold, with four contenders for the blue ribbon: Redd, Natalie Shields-Connolly, Yesenia Silva and Carrie Jube. But 6,000 meters makes for a difficult race, and the Cougars will have to put their best feet forward.

“They’re not just going to mail us the trophy,” Shane said. “And we wouldn’t want them to—we want to go and experience the moment. A conference championship is an exciting thing. We’re excited to be able to go and line up to test ourselves against the other teams and athletes.”

BYU placed first in the WCC preview meet in September, despite leaving its top four harriers at home. Alice Jensen, who broke the tape in the preview meet, will compete this weekend, along with Rachel Cannon, Alyssa Steed, Ashleigh Warner and Laura Young. Both Jensen and Cannon will be challengers for honors as the WCC Freshman Cross Country Athlete of the Year.

The gun will sound at 10 a.m. PST at Plantes Ferry Park in Spokane Valley, Washington.

For links to live results and video, visit the BYU women’s cross country schedule page.