BYU Favored to Win 2006 MWC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- BYU was selected to win the 2006 Mountain West Conference championship in both men's and women's cross country in a vote by the league's coaches released Tuesday (August 22). BYU collected five first-place votes and 25 total points to capture the top spot in the men's poll. For the seventh straight season, the BYU women's team received eight first-place votes and gathered a perfect score of 64 to capture the top position in the women's poll. The BYU men collected their sixth conference crown in seven years in 2005, while the BYU women won their seventh consecutive MWC title. The Cougar men went on to finish 13th at the 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championship in Terre Haute, Ind. The BYU women garnered an eighth place finish at the NCAA Championship. The BYU men's squad will be led by two-time (2004 and 2005) All-American Josh Rohatinsky and 2005 All-American Chandler Goodwin. Junior Heidi Magill, a 2005 All-American honoree, will lead the BYU women's charge in 2006. The 2006 men's and women's cross country teams will open their season on Sept. 9 hosting the BYU Autumn Classic.