Both the BYU women’s and men's cross country teams took 2nd at NCAA Mountain Regionals on Friday in Salt Lake City.
“The race today went well for some of our racers,” women's coach Diljeet Taylor said. “And for others, they’re walking away wishing it went better. Our big focus is for eight days from now, so we were focused on getting through well.”
The Cougars finished just two points behind first-place New Mexico.
“Not getting the win by two points is a little frustrating, but it's not disappointing,” Taylor said. “We rested a couple of our key racers for next week and that would’ve made a pretty big difference for today.”
Freshman Jane Hendengren took an early lead, winning the Women’s 6k individual title with a time of 19:06, beating second place by 42 seconds. Her teammate, junior Riley Chamberlain took third with a time of 19:52. Following Chamberlain was senior Taylor Rohatinsky, placing ninth with a time of 20:28.
Grabbing the last three scoring spots was senior Carmen Alder, junior Lexi Goff and freshman Zariel Macchia. They placed 16th, 18th, and 19th with times of 20:47, 20:51, and 20:51, respectively.
Closing out the race for the Cougars was junior Jacey Farmer, taking 42nd with a time of 21:42.
Next up for the Cougars is the D1 NCAA Championships on Nov. 22 in Columbia, Mo.
“Our goals for next week are different for each of our women,” Taylor said. “We have some racers who can score really high. For the rest of the pack, (their goal) is to be patient and close the gap. We want to work on forward momentum for next week.”
The men’s cross country team, meanwhile, also took 2nd at NCAA Mountain Regionals in Salt Lake City.
The team was led by freshman Tayvon Kitchen and senior Davin Thompson. They placed 5th and 6th, respectively, both with a time of 30:09. Following Kitchen and Thompson was sophomore Noah Jenkins, placing 10th with a time of 30:15.
Grabbing the last scoring spots was sophomore Max Davis, junior James Corrigan, and senior Garrett Stanford placing 21st, 25th, and 27th with times of 30:44, 30:50, and 30:59, respectively.
Closing out the race for the Cougars was sophomore Dalton Mortensen, placing 31st with a time of 31:06.
Next up for the Cougars is the D1 NCAA Championships on Nov. 22 in Columbia, Mo.