Tiebreaker seals Cougars third place at WCC

MALIBU, Calif. – A tiebreaker didn't go in BYU's favor as its women’s cross country team finished third Saturday behind San Francisco and Portland  at the West Coast Conference Championships.

No. 17 USF finished first with 39 points, followed by Portland, with 62 points.  BYU and Portland both scored 62 points based on its top 5 runners. In a tiebreaker, the top runners from the two schools are compared, and Portland’s third runner finished in 12th, while BYU’s third runner finished in 13th,  sealing third place for the Cougars.   

“We ran really well.  I am really proud of how each one of the girls battled,” BYU head coach Patrick Shane said.  “Our goal was to beat Portland, and we had the same exact score.”

Andrea Nelson Harrison finished first for BYU and seventh overall with a time of 21:25 on the 6K course. Natalie Shields finished second for BYU and ninth overall with a time of 21:29, and Sarah Yingling had a career race and finished 13th overall with a time of 21:41. BYU’s fourth and fifth runners were Nicole Nielsen who finished 16th overall with a time of 21:48 and Lindsey Sowards Nielson who finished 17th overall with a time of 21:52.

BYU’s sixth and seventh runners Kelsey Brown and Makenna Smith came in 19th and 23rd place respectively, finishing before Portland’s fifth runner.

Harrison and Shields were placed on the WCC All-Conference team, and Yingling received Honorable Mention.  

“I’m proud of them, we ran hard, and did our very best,” Shane said. “It doesn’t hurt our chances to go to nationals at all. We need to get ready for our regional meet in two weeks.”

Full race results can be found here.

The Mountain Region Championship will take place on Nov. 15 in Ogden, Utah.