FORT COLLINS, Colo. (Oct. 28, 2000) Sophomore standout Lindsey Thomsen won the individual title in the women's 6K race, and last season's individual champion John Hedengren finished in second place in the men's 8K event as the BYU men's and women's cross country teams successfully defended their Mountain West Conference titles.

The BYU women's team nearly recorded a perfect score, finishing with 16 points to put them well ahead of the rest of the field. Second-place Colorado State finished with 55 points. The BYU men scored 30 points to outdistancethe Rams in their race as well, who finished with 56 points.

Thomsen was the first Cougar finisher for the third time this season, crossing the line in 20:49. Sophomore Sarah Ellett, the next runner in, finished 12 seconds back in 21:01. UNLV's Katie Barto was the lone runner break up the Cougar pack, finishing just behind Tara Northcutt (21:12) and Sharolyn Shields-Thayer (21:14). Northcutt recorded a third-place finish in just her second race back after nursing a sore knee for the first part of the season. Redshirt freshman Katie Martin finished in sixth place to round out the near perfect score for BYU.

In the men's race, CSU's Bryan Berryhill won the 8K race in a time of 24:52, but BYU placed four runners in the top ten to secure the win. Junior John Hedengren (25:02) finished in second place, and freshman Josh Rohatinsky (25:18) crossed the line in fourth. Junior Dula Parkinson (25:31) and freshman Golden Harper (25:39) came in sixth and seventh, respectively, and sophomore Andy Carman (25:48) just missed a top-ten finish, coming in 11th.

In addition to the two victories, the Cougars took home several other conference awards. Thomsen was named Women's Athlete of the Year, and Martin and Rohatinsky took home Freshman of the Year honors. With First-team All Conference honors going to the top seven finishers on both sides, and Second-team honors to the eighth through 14th places, the BYU teams placed a total of nine runners on the first team and four runners on the second team.

Women's 6,000 meters

Team Results

1. Brigham Young 16

2. Colorado State 55

3. Air Force 112

4. Utah 118

5. San Diego State 166

6. UNLV 166

7. New Mexico 173

8/ Wyoming 177

BYU Finishers

1. Lindsey Thomsen 20:49.7

2. Sarah Ellett 21:01.7

3. Tara Northcutt 21:12.2

4. Sharolyn Shields-Thayer 21:14.7

6. Katie Martin 21:22.3

9. Nan Evans 21:38.9

13. Amy Bair 22:02.2

14. Sherida Rogers 22:10.6

32. Tara Haynes 23:13.0

Men's 8,000 meters

Team Results

1. Brigham Young 30

2. Colorado State 56

3. Air Force 74

4. Utah 106

5. Wyoming 126

6. New Mexico 153

BYU Finishers

2. John Hedengren 25:04.1

4. Josh Rohatinsky 25:18.4

6. Dula Parkinson 25:31.8

7. Golden Harper 25:39.5

11. Andy Carman 25:48.1

18. Ben Wynn 25:57.4

19. Lewis Jones 25:57.8

26. Ammon Larsen 26:31.7

27. Nate Harrison 26:32.0

The BYU men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday, to defend their Mountain West Conference Championships. Both teams won the inaugural conference titles last year on thier home course at the East Bay Golf Course in Provo.

The 1999 Cougar women set the standard in the first year of MWC competition, taking the top five places to record a perfect score of 15 points. This year's team will have its work cut out to equal such a performance. However, the Cougars are showing signs that they are in good position to continue their conference dominance. BYU won 11 consecutive conference championships before claiming the first MWC championship.

BYU enters this year's conference meet ranked No. 1 in the country. In their only head-to-head competition against conference opponents this year, BYU won the Pre-national Invitational while Colarado State took 10th and Air Force finihsed in 45th place. In addition, BYU runners hold three of the top ten times in the conference this year at 6K, having only run one race at that distance.

The BYU men will also be defending their title from a year ago. Junior John Hedengren led the 1999 team to victory with a first-place individual finish. This year the Cougars have raced against conference opponents in two meets. Colorado and Utah competed in both the Roy Griak Invitational and the Pre-national Invitational. Wyoming raced at the Minnesota meet, and Air Force competed at the Pre-national. BYU was the highest conference finisher in both meets, placing 3rd at the Griak Invitational and 4th at the Pre-national race.

The Cougars are ranked No. 7 in the latest poll, which was released Oct. 17. Colorado State, at No. 22, is the only other conference team in the rankings.

The Mountain West Conference Championships will be held Saturday at the Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins, Colo. The women's 6K race begins at 11 a.m. with the men's 8K race to follow at 11:45 a.m. Results can be found at http://mountainwestconf.fansonly.com/sports/c-xc/stats/102800aaa.html