For the second consecutive year, the BYU men's team placed third in the NCAA cross-country championships Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, while the BYU women's team faded to a disappointing 14th.
The men's race unfolded as expected. The top three teams in the national rankings took the top three spots — Oklahoma State (49 points), Northern Arizona (71) and BYU (196).
BYU's top runner, freshman James Corrigan, placed no higher than 32nd in the field of 254 runners, but the Cougars earned a spot on the podium with depth. BYU received a strong showing from Kenneth Rooks , the U.S. and NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechase champion who moved up to the longer 10,000-meter distance for cross-country. He finished 35th to earn All-America honors (the top 40). Creed Thompson was 46th, Joey Nokes 56th and Lucas Bons, a sub four-minute miler, was 63rd.
"I don't think I've ever been more proud of a team on a tough day, especially with all the adversity we've had this course of the season with injuries like we've had," said coach Ed Eyestone. "Quite frankly, the best we could have done was third place and my guys really put it together."
The third-place finish was all the more impressive for a team that redshirted two All-Americans this season — Casey Clinger and Davin Thompson — because of injuries.
Eyestone noted that only three of his seven runners had "good days, but the others still found a way to grind it out. They really battled. They showed a lot of grit in this race. You celebrate this day. We got through it and got on the podium (top four) again."
This marks the eighth straight year in which BYU has placed among the top seven at nationals, including five top-three placements.
The men's race was won by Harvard's Graham Blanks with a time of 28:37.7.
Members of the BYU women's cross-country team compete at the NCAA cross-country championships Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. The BYU women's team placed 14th, one spot behind Utah. | BYU Photo
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was the finish of the BYU women's team, which had won four of its five competitions this season and finished second in the NCAA Mountain Regional. The Cougars were ranked No. 3 in the nation entering the race.
BYU's runners started the race too aggressively and paid for it. They held the lead in the team race through about 2,000 meters before succumbing to the fast early pace. The team's top two runners this season — Carmen Alder and Jenna Hutchins — were 20th and 25th, respectively, at the 2K mark of the 6,000-meter race and faded badly. Alder placed 246th, Hutchins 176th.
BYU's top finisher was Aubrey Frentheway, who placed 14th with a time of 19:36.5. BYU's next highest finisher was Carlee Hansen in 66th.
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The 14th-place finish is BYU's worst since 2015. The Cougars had finished among the top 10 in the women's competition every year since then, including a national championship and two runner-up finishes.
Utah, ranked 20th in the polls, placed 13th, one spot ahead of BYU, in Saturday's race. Utah top finishers were McKaylie Caesar (26th) and Annastasia Peters (33rd).
Utah Valley University finished 23rd in the 31-team field, led by Morgan Nokes' 68th-place finish.
The race was won by Florida's Parker Valby, who took an early lead and ran away from the field, setting a course and meet record of 18:55.2 — more than 10 seconds up on her nearest rival. North Carolina State's Katelyn Tuohy, the defending champion, placed fifth to help her team win its third consecutive team championship.
Women
14. Aubrey Frentheway, BYU
26. McKaylie Caesar, Utah
33. Annastasia Peters, Utah
66. Carlee Hansen, BYU
68. Morgan Nokes, Utah Valley
89. Morgan Jensen, Utah
103. Lexy Halladay, BYU
123. Abbie Fuhriman, BYU
127. Ari Trimble, Utah Valley
146. Sadie Sargent, BYU
162. Clara Mayfield, Utah
167. Katarzyna Nowakowska, Utah
172. Lydia Beus, Utah Valley
176. Jenna Hutchins, BYU
213. Caila Odekirk, Utah Valley
214. Oakley Olson, Utah Valley
216. Riley Chamberlain, BYU
219. Kyla Martin, Utah
220. Karli Branch, Utah
246. Carmen Alder, BYU
Men
32. James Corrigan, BYU
35. Kenneth Rooks, BYU
46. Creed Thompson, BYU
56. Joey Nokes, BYU
63. Lucas Bons, BYU
181. Isaac Hedengren, BYU
DNF Aidan Troutner, BYU
