The BYU women’s and No. 3 men’s cross country teams will compete at the NCAA National Championships today in Terre Haute, Ind.
A total of 31 teams will compete in the national race. There are 18 teams who automatically qualified based on their performance at the regional races last week. The NCAA committee picks the remaining 13 at-large teams based on their performance at regionals and throughout the whole year.
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“The guys want to go in and prove what a good team they are,” Eyestone said. “We are not feeling much pressure because we are not one of the teams who are supposed to win. The guys will go out, have fun and run their best race of the year.”
The men’s team was an automatic qualifier after winning the Mountain Region Championship. Eyestone believes if the team runs the same way as they did in that race, they will perform their best.
“The key to a championship is not to do anything special and run the way you have all year,” Eyestone said. “We are going to keep things as ordinary as possible and when we do this we stand our best chances at being successful.”
This is the 13th consecutive season the men have qualified for nationals. Last year they finished 18th, and senior Miles Batty finished 15th overall.
Batty said this team has a great chance to perform well at nationals and is looking forward to seeing the outcome.
“I am excited for the team aspect of the race and running together,” Batty said. “This is the greatest team I have ever been on and I am excited to see how we do.”
After Batty and the team’s first-place finish at the regional race, Batty was named Mountain Region Athlete of the Year. Eyestone was also named Mountain Region Coach of the Year.
The women’s team will also compete at the national race, earning one of the at-large bids after finishing fourth at the regional race.
Women’s coach Patrick Shane believes this is the chance for the team to show the country what a good team they are.
“We are hoping to go to the national championship and show how good we are,” Shane said. “This is a wonderful group of girls who deserve this opportunity.”
Shane said in order for the team to be successful they will need to focus on their own races and not their competitors.
“We need to go out and control what we can control,” Shane said. “If we run our own race and follow our race plans, we will be pleased with the result.”
Senior Morgan Haws has led the Cougars all season, and Shane expects her to have a solid performance at nationals.
“I believe she is a top 10 finisher,” Shane said. “She has shown her ability all year long and she will run great.”
Fans can watch the race live on NCAA.org. The men’s race begins at 10 a.m., and the women’s race at 11 a.m.
