PROVO, Utah -- In their first home meet of the season, the men’s and women’s cross country teams finished first, sweeping the 2011 BYU Invitational on Friday.

The men’s team dominated the four-mile race, taking nine of the top 10 spots. The only non-BYU runner in the top 10 was Josh McCabe, who ran unattached and finished in fourth. 

To watch men's video click here

Senior Miles Batty led the pack, finishing first overall with a time of 19:08.4, with sophomore Jared Ward finishing second overall and junior Rex Shields in third. This was the first race of the year for both Batty and Shields.

“I think the race went really well,” Batty said. “Besides the one runner, it was all BYU up front. We had a really good pack early on and we finished well as a team.”

Men’s head coach Ed Eyestone was pleased with his team’s performance.

“I’m very happy with how the race went,” Eyestone said. “It was a nice solid team effort. We kept to our game plan and I was very satisfied with our top three performance.”

BYU finished with a total of 15 points, with Idaho State scoring 50 points.

The women’s team was again able to pull away with a close first place finish in the 5k, beating Idaho State University by two points with a score of 30. Finishing third behind Idaho State’s 32 points was the Utah, scoring 72 points.

To watch women's video click here

Freshman Brooke Holt finished first for the Cougars and third overall, with a time of 18:31.5, while sophomore Michaelanne Laurent and freshman Candace Eddy came in second and third for BYU and sixth and seventh overall.

Women’s head coach Patrick Shane was proud of his team and especially Holt’s performance.

“Brooke Holt was our go-to girl today,” Shane said. “She’s a true freshman and she executed the race plan we put in place perfectly. She did a great job.”

Holt, who has only run in two races at the collegiate level, said she was more prepared mentally for this race than she was at Utah State.

“I think I was ready to run with the college girls this week,” Holt said. “I was mentally more prepared and was able to follow Coach Shane’s plan that he set out for me.”

Up next for the Cougars, the women will head to Minnesota to participate in the Griak Invitational on Sept. 24, and then they will join the men’s team at the Notre Dame Invitational in Indiana on Sept. 30.

Results for this meet can be found by clicking here.

PROVO, Utah--The BYU cross country teams host their first meet of the season with the BYU Invitational Friday at the Cascade Golf Course in Orem, Utah.

Men’s Team

The men’s team, under head coach Ed Eyestone, is coming off a commanding win at the Utah State Invitational and is looking forward to getting another solid race in as a team.

“I think we’ll be able to run a very controlled race at the BYU Invitational,” Eyestone said.

Eyestone held a couple of runners out of the first race, but everyone will be running this weekend.

“This race will determine who will be the 12 that will travel to the Notre Dame and Wisconsin invitationals,” Eyestone said. “We’ll be facing some of the best teams in the nation at these meets, so this weekend is really important because we want to take our best 12.”

Schools participating in the BYU Invitational along with BYU include both Idaho State and San Bernardino Valley College.

The Cougars were led by Jared Ward and Curtis Carr at the Utah State Invitational, and they along with Miles Batty and Rex Shield, who are running in their first race of the season, will prove to be tough competition for the participating schools.

Race time for the men is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. MDT. 

Women’s Team

Narrowly escaping with a one-point victory over Weber State at the Utah State Invitational, the women’s cross country team looks to secure another first-place finish this weekend.

Running a young team in their first race, head coach Patrick Shane still plans on holding out his top seven in this first home meet.

“What’s good about running a younger team is that it gives our younger athletes the opportunity to carry the team and have the pressure that goes along with being in charge,” Shane said. “At Utah State they rose to the occasion and I look forward to seeing them do that again this week.”

Idaho State, San Bernardino Valley College and the University of Utah will be participating in the women’s race.

The women’s race is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. MDT.

Results can be found after the completion of the meet at www.byucougars.com.