PORTLAND, Ore. - No. 2/No. 5 BYU men's and women's cross country swept both the individual and team West Coast Conference titles at Fernhill Park on Friday.

The 2022 WCC Championship concludes BYU cross country’s 12-year reign of dominance in the conference before entering the Big 12 in 2023. Friday marked the BYU men’s eight-consecutive league championship and 10^th in 12 seasons, while the women won a fifth-straight and sixth in 12 seasons.

FULL RESULTS

Men’s Recap

The No. 2 Cougars registered a dominating performance, fielding seven of the top 10 finishers with 18 points to finish ahead of Gonzaga and No. 14 Portland.

Casey Clinger covered the 8,000-meter course in 21:59.4 to take his first individual WCC Championship title, good for over a minute faster than each of his prior three conference championship races. The senior from American Fork, Utah earned his fourth All-WCC First Team honors with Friday’s victory.

"This was an excellent team performance," said BYU men's cross country head coach Ed Eyestone. "Our team depth showed once again. Casey has taken third three times in the WCC's, so it was great to have him back this week and see him take his first conference title."

Clinger was joined by six teammates in capturing All-WCC First Team honors – Brandon Garnica (second-place), Joey Nokes (fourth), Creed Thompson (fifth), Davin Thompson (sixth), Aidan Troutner (seventh) and Christian Allen (ninth). Each top-10 runner for the Cougars finished within a spread of 21 seconds.

12th-place finisher Kenneth Rooks earned All-WCC Second Team honors.

Senior Brandon Garnica’s second-place finish at 22:08.9 marked his fastest 8k career time in his 23rd career meet.

"Brandon did a really good job keeping pace with Casey to secure second," Eyestone said.

Sophomore Joey Nokes’ fourth-place finish extended his streak of top-15 placements to five. Sophomore twin brothers Davin and Creed Thompson finished within 0.4 seconds of each other as Creed bested last year’s conference championship time by over a minute.

BYU’s 18 points today matches its 2019 WCC Championship point-total, a year in which the Cougars would go on to claim the national title.

With its final WCC title before entering the Big 12 in 2023, BYU men’s cross country has now won 31 all-time conference championships. The Cougars have finished in the top five or better in 59 of 60 (1962-present) seasons of competing for conference titles.

*Named to All-WCC Men's Cross Country First Team

^Named to All-WCC Men's Cross Country Second Team

Women's Recap 

Senior Aubrey Frentheway matched unrelenting rain with unrelenting pace as she raced through soggy conditions to win the WCC Women’s Cross Country Individual Championship and lead No. 5 BYU to its 23^rd all-time conference title.  

“Here at BYU, the program is bigger than the people in it,” said BYU women’s cross country head coach Diljeet Taylor. “Aubrey’s been inspired by the women who have come before her. What she’s doing this season is inspiring these younger women who will hopefully carry on this legacy.”  

Frentheway seized the lead 3,000-meters in and didn’t let up, plowing ahead alone at the front of the pack for the last half of the women’s 6,000-meters. Laura Pellicoro of Portland took second at 19:50.7 while San Francisco’s Ruby Smee filled in the podium with a 19:51.1 finish for third.  

At 19:47.2, Frentheway recorded a new 6k personal-best after having ran 19:55.7 at the NCAA Championships a season ago. Friday marked Frentheway’s fourth WCC meet appearance and second career win. With the win, the senior from Cheyenne, Wyoming became the fourth BYU runner to win the WCC women’s title in the last five seasons.  

BYU’s winning 30 points came as seven of its 10 runners finished in the top-15. Lexy Halladay-Lowry and McKenna Lee-Hansen took fourth and fifth, respectively, each recording career-best conference championship finishes. Carmen Alder improved her 6k time for the third-straight meet to take All-WCC First Team honors at ninth. Madi Moffitt, Sadie Sargent and Riley Chamberlain took places 11 through 13 and garnered all-conference second team recognition.  

Chamberlain was also awarded WCC Women’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year. A native of Loomis, California, Chamberlain came in at 20:31.4, recording a third-consecutive meet with an improved time in just her fourth-career collegiate meet.  

“I want to have women out there who are fighting for each other and we saw that today,” Taylor said. “Regardless of the conditions, these women showed up today. I’m super proud of that.”

*Named to All-WCC Men's Cross Country First Team

^Named to All-WCC Men's Cross Country Second Team

The Cougars continue their march to nationals with their next race at the NCAA Mountain Regional at UNM North Golf Course in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Nov. 11.

PROVO, Utah — No. 2/No. 5 BYU men’s and women’s cross country will compete in their final West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 28 at Fernhill Park in Portland, Oregon.

Meet Information

• Date: Friday, Oct. 28
• Location: Fernhill Park, Portland, Oregon
• Time:
  • Women's 6k: 10 a.m. PDT
  • Men's 8k: 11 a.m. PDT
• Course Map
• Live Results
• Live Stream

Women’s Preview

After finishing fourth against a gauntlet of nationally ranked opponents at the Nuttycombe Invitational, the BYU women approach the WCC Championships seeking their fifth-consecutive conference crown.

In 2021, the Cougars won with 21 points behind the performances of individual champion Whittni Orton and third-place finisher Anna Camp-Bennett. Despite the loss of Orton and Camp-Bennett, BYU returns three All-WCC First Teamers this season with Aubrey Frentheway, Lexy Halladay-Lowry and McKenna Lee-Hansen. Each of the three returners were also recognized on the league’s 2022 preseason all-conference team.

Frentheway finished fourth at the conference title meet a season ago and is coming off a WCC Women’s Runner of the Week award on Oct. 18. Halladay-Lowry clocked a career-best 6k time of 20:17.0 at the 2021 WCC Championships and finished fifth. Lee-Hansen has competed in each of the last two WCC meets, finishing top-10 in both.

The Cougars enter the 2022 meet as the WCC’s only team ranked in the USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll. BYU faced Gonzaga and Portland at Nuttycombe on Oct. 14. The Cougars took fourth, while Portland finished 33rd and Gonzaga 36th.  

Whether in the WCC, Mountain West Conference or Western Athletic Conference, BYU women’s cross country boasts a history of league dominance. Through 11 seasons in the WCC, the Cougars have won five conference championships and four-straight, while never having finished worse than third. BYU’s women harriers have won 22 all-time conference titles, including an impressive 17-straight from 1990 to 2006.

Men’s Preview

Fresh off a second-place finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational that included seven top-10 programs, the No. 2 Cougars enter Friday’s meet aiming to capture their eighth consecutive finish atop the WCC.

The Cougars won with 24 points in 2021, good for 26 points ahead of runner-up Gonzaga. Individual champion Conner Mantz crossed the line at 23:01.0, while Casey Clinger, Brandon Garnica and Lucas Bons secured All-WCC First team honors with third, fourth and fifth place finishes. Aside from Mantz, each return having been named to the preseason all-conference team in August.

Friday’s meet will mark WCC Men’s Runner of the Week (Oct. 18) honoree Joey Nokes’ second conference title appearance. The sophomore finished 24th at last year’s WCC Championships with a 24:22.1 time. Weber State graduate transfer Christian Allen will participate in his first WCC Championships after having placed third in the 2021 Big Sky Championships.

The well-balanced team is rounded out by sophomores Davin and Creed Thompson, Kenneth Rooks and junior Aidan Troutner.

BYU is joined by No. 14 Portland as the only WCC teams currently ranked in the USTFCCCA’s top-30 poll. Prior to Friday’s meet, the Cougars have raced against three conference foes this season: Gonzaga (Cowboy Jamboree, Nuttycombe Invitational), Portland (Nuttycombe) and Santa Clara (Nuttycombe).

In the eleven seasons since joining the WCC, BYU has secured the conference title in all but two. The team looks to continue its decades-long tradition of dominance with hopes of winning its 23rd conference title in the last 30 years, spanning from membership in the Western Athletic Conference to the Mountain West Conference and now the program’s final year in the WCC.