Men's and women's cross country teams climb in national polls

PROVO, Utah – The BYU men’s and women’s teams improved their national rankings this week following a winning performance at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Springfield, Oregon.

“It’s always a compliment to be noticed and voted on by your peers,” head coach Ed Eyestone said. “The coaches poll is a mark that the other coaches have recognized that you have a very good team. The most important aspect of having a good team is making sure you can handle the rigors of the season and then delivering at the conference and national championships. That is what we are working towards and with some luck, intend to do.”

The men’s team vaulted from No. 6 to No. 2 – the highest ranking in program history – after nearly sweeping the meet that included three teams ranked in the top-10 last week. Clayton Young led the charge for BYU as its runners finished 1-2-3-4 and took seventh place for a grand total of 17 points, just two points shy of a perfect score.  

The meet marked the second first-place finish of the season for the Cougars. BYU finished with 19 points in its first meet of the season, the BYU Autumn Classic, with Rory Linkletter leading the team to victory.

The women’s team also saw a rise in the rankings, moving three spots from No. 19 to No. 16 after placing third at the Bill Dellinger Invitational. The Cougars five scorers placed between 11th and 19th at the meet.

This gave BYU its first positive movement in the rankings of the season after coming in at ninth in the preseason poll. Following a “disappointing” first meet according to associate head women’s coach Diljeet Taylor, the Cougars fired back in their second meet to beat out the No. 11 Washington team. Laura Young was BYU’s top finisher in both races.

BYU heads to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete at the Pre-Nationals Invitational next week.