When people think of BYU athletics, they probably think of football or basketball first — but perhaps it's time to give the cross country teams the respect they deserve.
Over the weekend, both the men’s and women’s cross country teams brought home the Big 12 Conference championship. This was the men’s team’s first time, and the women’s second. Not bad for only being in the conference for two years.
Women
BYU won in Waco, Texas, with 41 points, with the next closest team being West Virginia with 60.
Four Cougars finished in the top 10 — senior Lexy Halladay-Lowry in fifth with a time of 19:50.43; junior Riley Chamberlain sixth at 19:54.27; junior Taylor Rohatinsky in seventh with 19:55.29; and senior Carmen Alder coming in 10th with a time of 19:58.71.
Senior Destiny Everett rolled in at 13th with a time of 19:59.56, rounding out BYU with five in the top 15 for the day. All five have earned All-Conference honors for their finishes.
“The mindset today was to embrace the imperfect … but just stick to the race plan and fight for each other," said women's coach Diljeet Taylor. "That is what they did. They found their battles within the race and really fought.”
This win marks Taylor’s seventh conference championship at BYU and sixth consecutive, with her first five being with the WCC between 2019 and 2022, and the most recent two being in the Big 12 last year and this year. This season also marks the 25th conference title in the history of BYU women’s cross country.
Men
The men’s team also brought home the trophy. The Cougars were ranked No. 2 all season behind Oklahoma State, but went into Waco with a plan: put the pressure on early and don’t give up.
BYU finished with six men in the top 15. Senior Casey Clinger came in third overall but first for the Cougars with a time of 22:09.14.
Sophomore James Corrigan finished seventh at 22:29.65. Senior Joey Nokes came in at eighth with a time of 22:30.18. Junior Creed Thompson finished in 11th with 22:37.04, senior Lucas Bons at 12th with 22:37.06 and junior Davin Thompson came in at 15th with a time of 22:51.50.
Coach Ed Eyestone said each of his runners has a phrase that they use as their own “power statements.”
Eyestone had each runner’s statement written on his arm so he could call them out to his guys as they passed him on the course.
Both teams will compete in the NCAA Mountain Regionals on Nov. 15 in Reno, Nevada.