Best of the best from NCAA cross-country championships

By: Dylan Miller, Editor-in-Chief • December 2, 2024

Photo Credit: NCAA under creative commons

It wasn’t until 1973, that the NCAA was divide into Division I, Division II and Division III. D1 and D2 schools can offer scholarships to athletes, but D3 are not permitted to offer scholarships to play a sport.

BYU cross country entered the record books after a dominant performance at the NCAA cross country championships. The women’s team started the morning off winning their respective race, just before the men did the same.

This makes them just the fifth team to ever win both the men’s and women’s cross country championships in the same year. With this double win they join the exclusive club along with Stanford(1996,2003), Colorado(2004), and Wisconsin(1985).

The men’s and women’s teams used very different tactics to win each race, but both plans were executed perfectly. The women ran patiently and rallied in the final 1.5 kilometers. They finished with 147 points, edging West Virginia, who scored 164. One of the biggest surprises of the weekend was Utah, ranked No. 9 in the nation, finishing 19th. Led by All-American Lexy Lowry, the Cougars placed five runners in the top 50.

Contrary to the women’s strategy, the men led from start to finish, opening up a huge lead right from the gun, and managed to hold it in spite of a rally from several teams in the last kilometer. They finished with 124 points, followed by Iowa State(137) and Arkansas(202).

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Led by Casey Clinger(6th place), the Cougar men also placed five runners in the top 50, with Clinger and Creed Thompson placing in the top 15. Clinger, an alum from American Fork, ran a blazing 28:45.1 for the 10-kilometer course. He was followed by Thompson (29:01.5), as well as teammates Joey Nokes (31st), Lucas Bons (39th) and Davin Thompson (50th). The most impressive aspect of their win was the small gap between their first and fifth runners, with just 48 seconds separating Clinger and Davin Thompson. Even BYU’s sixth and seventh runners, James Corrigan and Aidan Troutner, placed among the top 80.

Lowry is an All-American in the 3000 meter steeplechase on the track. Although the steeplechase is her specialty, she proved to be dominant on the course as well, covering the 6,000-meter course in 19:48.4. She was followed by teammates Riley Chamberlain (31st), Carmen Alder (39th), and Taylor Rohatinsky (43rd). Carlee Hansen placed 65th but was 49th against runners representing collegiate teams. Similar to the men’s team, there was a small gap between their first and fifth, with a 33-second difference between Lowry and Hansen. BYU’s sixth and seventh runners, Nelah Roberts and Taylor Lovell, finished 83rd and 88th.

Only the top five of each team’s seven runners count towards scoring for the team. Hansen is a North Carolina transfer from Woods Cross High, who was the last runner to score for BYU. The fifth place runner for the team is almost as important as the first place, since they have to finish the job and officially secure the win for the team.

BYU trailed in the team race until about 5,000 meters and finished strong in the back half to bring home their 8th national cross country championship.

Women’s coach, Diljeet Taylor expressed her confidence in the team’s depth, as they won in spite of dealing with a number of injury problems. The women’s second fastest runner, Jenna Hutchins was unfortunately out for Nationals due to a stress injury. The number 1 runner, Lexy Lowry has also been dealing with hip issues since the Big 12 Conference championships.

Men’s coach Ed Eyestone had hopes that watching the women win would boost the men to a victory themselves.

Eyestone held up signs during the race to show his runners where the team was placement wise. In the early stages of the race, they were up by as much as 65 points.

His concerns were valid as their initial 65 point lead was eventually cut to just 13 by the end of the race. Still, their fast start allowed for them to hang on by a thread and come out on top.

Both of BYU’s teams were No. 1 in the coaches’ poll during the weeks leading up to the national cross country championships.

This impressive showing reasserts BYU’s growing reputatiom as a distance-running team.

For the women’s team, this was their second national championship in five years and the sixth overall. For the men’s team it marked the second national championship in six years.

The men and women have been successful in the national championship multiple times in the last decade. The women have finished among the top two four times in the last seven years. The men have placed in the top three six times in eight years.

Seven BYU distance runners qualified for the U.S. Olympic track team last summer. The biggest standout was Kenneth Rooks, who won a silver medal in the steeplechase. Alums Conner Mantz and Clayton Young were the top American finishers in the 2023 Chicago Marathon, the 2024 New York Marathon, the Olympic Trials and this year’s Olympics, where they finished eighth and ninth.

BYU athletics has a total of 17 national championships. Of the 17, eight have come from the cross country team and another came from the track team.

This year’s men’s team will lose three seniors. However, they have a promising recruiting class coming in. Daniel Simmons, the national high school cross country athlete of the year, will join BYU next year. Likewise, the women’s top five finishers Saturday had three seniors.

Harvard’s Graham Blanks won the men’s race for the second year in a row. This continues Blanks’s successful collegiate career. The 22-year old finished 9th in the Olympics in the 5000-meter run last summer. He was also recently named the Northeast Region Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year.

On the women’s side, Doris Lemngole, a sophomore from the University of Alabama took home the trophy with a time of 19:21.0.

About the Contributor

Dylan Miller, Editor-in-Chief

Dylan Miller is currently a Senior at Colonia High School. He enjoys participating in sports, earning varsity letters in cross country, winter track and spring track. In addition to participating in sports, Miller also follows the NFL, NBA and MLB. Scouting is a large part of Miller’s extracurricular activities as an Eagle Scout. At this level he will learn more about leadership and communication, which Miller is eager to add to his skill set as he prepares for college. When he’s not busy in school or running, he enjoys watching TV shows like Ted Lasso. He also likes listening to sports analysts Colin Cowherd, Jim Rome or Dan Patrick. He aspires to work in the sports field and run track in college.

The Declaration

The Declaration

The Declaration

Best of the best from NCAA cross-country championships

The Declaration

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