No. 2 men, No. 4 women look to defend WCC Championships

PROVO, Utah – The No. 2 men’s and No. 4 women’s cross country teams will kickoff the championship portion of their season as they travel to the West Coast Conference (WCC) Championships in Van Nuys, California, at the Woodley Lakes Golf Course on Friday.

The women’s 6K starts at 10 a.m. PDT, followed by the men’s 8K at 11 a.m. PDT.

“We’re excited for the conference meet this year,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “Because this is the second biggest meet of the year for us after the National Championship, we’ve prepared ourselves well. We know that Portland has a very good team, so we need an elevated performance from this men this weekend.”

Following a first-place finish at the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Indiana, the No. 2 BYU men’s cross country team will be racing this weekend to claim the conference title for the fifth-straight year and seventh time in nine years. The Cougar’s ranked competition will include No. 12 Portland and No. 29 Gonzaga.

“We’re gonna go hard and try to come home with the conference championships,'' Eyestone said. “I like Conner Mantz’s chances up front. This will be a good opportunity for our development as a team.”

During the 2018 season, the Cougars took home the WCC title with a dominant 21-point performance. All-American Connor McMillan led the men’s team with his second-place finish, followed by six other Cougars in the top 10, including All-American Conner Mantz in third. Previously this season, Mantz has secured three-straight first-place finishes, including the Pre-Nationals individual title.

Eyestone also noted that several men this season have taken the responsibility to be scorers for the team and he is looking forward to how they'll compete this weekend.

Men’s Team Notables

The Cougars took first at the 2018 WCC Championships with six Cougars named to the All-WCC First Team and two named to the Second Team
Since 2011 when BYU joined the WCC, the men’s team has claimed the championship title six times
Last season, Ed Eyestone received his sixth WCC Coach of the Year award
Conner Mantz finished third overall at the 2018 WCC Championships

“We’re enthusiastic about approaching the championship season,” BYU associate director of cross country and track and field Diljeet Taylor said. “This will be a good indicator of what’s to come. We’re not tapering for the conference but we are looking to run together."

Coming off a second-place finish at Pre-Nationals, the No. 4 women’s team is looking to defend the WCC Championship title for the second year in a row. All-American Erica Birk-Jarvis won the women’s 6K race, leading the Cougars to their highest finish at the Pre-National Invitational since 2003.

At last season’s WCC Championships, Birk-Jarvis became the first runner from BYU to win the women’s WCC Championship race. Her performance contributed to the Cougar’s second WCC title since joining the conference in 2011. All-American Courtney Wayment took third, followed by four other BYU runners in the top 10.

"This weekend we will also work on honing our competitive drive and mindset for the championship season,” Taylor said.

Women’s Team Notables:

The Cougars took first at the 2018 WCC Championships for the second time
All six of BYU’s top-ten finishers received first-team All-WCC honors
In 2018, All-American Erica Birk-Jarvis claimed her first WCC Championships title
Last season, Aubrey Frentheway was named Freshman of the Year and Coach Diljeet Taylor received the women’s WCC Coach of the Year award

The WCC Championship meet will be held at the Woodley Lakes Golf Course in Van Nuys, California. The meet will be streamed live on the WCC Network and live results can be found on Record Timing. Live updates will also be provided on the BYU cross country and track and field Twitter and Instagram pages.