Two of BYU’s most dominant sports teams will compete for conference titles on Halloween, and fans won’t have to travel very far or pay any money to see them.

The BYU men’s and women’s cross country teams will compete tomorrow at the Mountain West Conference Championships at Cascade Golf Course in Orem.

The men’s team, ranked No. 7 in the nation, looks to win its 10th MWC championship.

Although they are the favorites to win, they are expecting tough competition from Air Force and New Mexico.

“The competition will be very close,” said Ed Eyestone, BYU men’s cross country head coach. “Air Force is always tough and New Mexico has several athletes with talent that can do a lot of damage. They’ve battled some injuries this year, but they are coached well and we refuse to take them lightly. We will have to give it our all to win this race.”

BYU’s oldest and fiercest rivalry is fought on much more than just the football field.his weekend, BYU hockey will take on the University of Utah Skatin’ Utes. The teams play in Salt Lake City on Friday and Provo on Saturday.

The Cougars (3-8), who have been slowed by injuries since the beginning of the season, will have a number of key players back for the series.

Team captain Josh Burkart, a senior forward from Highland, Mich., said to expect a battle.

“Oh yeah, you get mean out there,” he said. “It’s going to be hard-hitting, a lot of shots, a lot of goals, fights, penalties… you always want to beat Utah.”

The Skatin’ Utes were founded in 2006, and the youth of the program has led to some lopsided wins by BYU in the past. However, this year seems different. The Utes (6-3) have beaten the same teams as the Cougars and are roughly equal in league rankings.

By BRETT WRIGHT

The BYU men’s golf team played 30 holes on Tuesday to finish up a wet and rainy tournament in Dallas at the Baylor Intercollegiate.

The team finished 11th out of 12 teams after shooting a +35 (887) in its worst finish of the year so far.

The Cougars were led by freshman Zach Blair who had an 8 over par score, good for 30th in individual rankings. Blair had 7 birdies in the tournament. Junior Esteban Calisto was right behind him with a 9 over par and tied for 36th overall. Calisto recorded an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole, the only eagle the Cougars had in the tournament.

No. 9 Texas A&M went home as tournament champions after finishing strong in the final round by shooting –11 and an overall –4. SMU finished right behind them at –1 and, along with A&M, was one of only two teams to finish the tournament under par.

With wins over Dixie State, Southern Utah, Utah State and Utah, No. 9 BYU traveled north and defeated Weber State 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon to complete a clean sweep of in-state teams.
The win marked the 13th straight game without a loss for the Cougars.

Carlee Payne scored a goal after only one minute of play, which set the pace for the rest of the game as BYU outshot Weber State 24-6.

BYU’s second goal came just four minutes later from junior midfielder Kassidy Shumway, who notched her fifth goal of the season off an assist from Payne.

What would have been a third goal from Shumway turned out to be off-sides in the 75th minute.
Kelly Robinson scored her first goal of the season for the Wildcats in the 11th minute.

BYU’s final goal came in the second half when Shumway scored her second goal off another assist from Payne. 

The No. 9 BYU women’s soccer team will take a break from its conference schedule with an in-state road game against Weber State today at 3 p.m.

The Cougars are on a 12-game unbeaten streak and have recorded four consecutive shutout wins over UNLV, New Mexico, TCU and Air Force.

Most athletic schedules reserve the final games for conference games, which makes Wednesday’s game unique. Although the Wildcats are not a conference team, the in-state rivalry plays a big part in scheduling the game.

On offense the Cougars are led by freshman Carlee Payne, who has registered a team-high 11 goals and seven assists.

The Cougar defense has only allowed 10 goals throughout the 2009 season so far. Sophomore goalie McKinzie Olson has recorded nine shutouts, with three of them coming over teams ranked in the top 25.

Cougar sports are winning big, and it’s not just the players who are involved.

This year Cougar United introduced the mYpoints competition as a way to reward students for attending sporting events. The best part is that it’s free.

“It’s a great way to get involved with sports, to have fun and to meet new people,” junior Macey Billings said of her involvement with Cougar United.

Freshman Trevor Anderson heard about the mYpoints program through Cougar United at a football game and decided to try it out.

“It was just something to do, and I thought I could get some free stuff while going to the games,” said Anderson, who won a LoveSac at a BYU women’s soccer game. “It became a competition with my roommate to see who would take the lead.”