The Brigham Young University men’s and women’s cross-country teams accomplished a historic feat in Verona, Wisconsin, on Saturday, Nov. 23.
The Cougars became only the fifth school ever to win both the men’s and women’s NCAA cross-country championships in the same year, last achieved by the Colorado Buffaloes in 2004.
Sixth national title for the BYU women
It was the sixth national championship in program history for the BYU women’s team, which finished with 147 points, followed by West Virginia (164) and Providence (183).
A trio of Cougars finished in the top 40 and received All-American honors for their performances — Lexy Halladay-Lowry finished 14th overall, covering the 6,000-meter course in 19:48.4; Riley Chamberlain, who placed 31st; and Carmen Alder, 39th.
“I’m really proud of these women,” Diljeet Taylor, who coaches the BYU women, said in a news release. “They let go of individual success and focused on the team. That’s what cross-country is all about. I’m incredibly humbled and grateful to belong to these women, all seven of them. That wasn’t me, that was God, and I’m so grateful that He guided us through this. I don’t think my coaching could’ve done what happened today.”
Saturday’s national championship victory was the second for Halladay-Lowry, a senior from Meridian, Idaho, who was part of the Cougar’s title in 2020-21.
“In years past, the commitment to self has taken away from the team. We were able to let go of that this year,” she said. “By doing that, we not only stepped up for ourselves but for each other. That’s why this happened today.”
2nd title for BYU men in 6 years
The BYU men led from start to finish and finished with 124 points, followed by Iowa State (137) and Arkansas (202). Casey Clinger, a senior from American Fork, Utah, was sixth overall, completing the 10,000-meter course in 28:45.1. He was followed by teammates Creed Thompson (12th), Joey Nokes (31st), Lucas Bons (39th) and Davin Thompson (50th), with only a 48-second spread between the first and fifth runner.
Saturday’s win marked the second national championship in six years for the BYU men’s cross-country team. Head coach Ed Eyestone said it was a privilege to be ranked number one going into the race.
“Our guys understood it was a privilege. We were just going to go out, do the very best we could, enjoy the process and have gratitude in our hearts today for all of the people who helped us get here,” Eyestone said in a news release. “When you do that, good things are going to happen.”
BYU men’s assistant coach Ryan Waite said each individual on the team has had to overcome some hardship during their career.
“Those lessons that they learned in those moments of adversity paid off today,” Waite said. “They ran for each other, for their BYU brothers, and fought through the pain of a tough, gritty race. I couldn’t be more proud to be associated with these men.”
The dual victory comes weeks after both the men’s and women’s teams won at the Big 12 Conference championships in Waco, Texas.
