Men Defend Title, Women Second

ALBUQUERQUE -- For the fourth time in as many years, BYU's men's cross country team won the Mountain West Conference title, outdistancing host New Mexico by five points on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Colorado State ended BYU's 19-year reign in the women's conference race, winning by six points in the 6K race. No. 12 CSU tallied 33 points, followed by BYU with 39, New Mexico 94, Wyoming 118, Utah 130, Air Force 160, UNLV 204, TCU 204 and San Diego State 229.

Ed Eyestone of BYU was named MWC Coach of the Year as his team was led by seniors Dustin Bybee, Chandler Goodwin and sophomore Tyrel Jensen. Bybee finished third in the 8K race with a time of 24:55, Goodwin was fifth in 25:00 and Jensen placed seventh in 25:03.

BYU's men totaled 46 points for first, followed by UNM at 51, Air Force 52, CSU 105, Wyoming 118 and TCU 167 at the University of New Mexico North Golf Course.

UNM's Jeremy Johnson led the entire race, fending off Wyoming's Mark Korir and TCU's Festus Kign through the first half of the race. Johnson clocked a 24:23, while Korir placed second in 24:48.

"It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win," said Eyestone. "Tyrel Jensen is our consummate sixth or seventh man and to see him finish third for us is great. We can't afford to run poorly from here on out."

CSU's April Thomas trailed BYU sophomore Katie Bowen for much of the race, but Thomas pulled ahead in the final 1K for a time of 21:20. CSU teammate Kirsten Anthony followed in 21:22. Bowen was third in 21:28, followed by freshman teammate Angela Wagner in 21:33 in fourth.

"It will happen some time to everyone," said Patrick Shane, BYU's women's coach, regarding the end of a 19-year run as conference champion. "I'm not happy about it, but I am happy about how our athletes put in all on the line. Hats off to Colorado State. It was the closest we have been to CSU all year."

Bowen and Wagner were passed in the latter part of the race by Anthony, who propelled CSU into the lead. Bowen and Wagner were named to the MWC First Team, while teammates Tawny Bybee, Cecily Lemmon, Jenna Jensen and Amber Duffin were named to the MWC Second Team.

For BYU's men, Dustin Bybee, Goodwin and Tyrel Jensen made the MWC First Team, while teammate Derek Taylor made the second team.

BYU junior Stephan Shay was pulled from the race around the 5K mark and did not finish the men's race.

"He has had a bad back the past month," said Eyestone of Shay, who had been one of the top Cougar runners all season. "You don't know how it's going to be until about a mile in and I could tell it was hurting him, to I pulled him."

"Our team stepped up when we needed to," said Dustin Bybee. "Brandon (Hebbert), Chandler (Goodwin) and I worked well together today. It was kind of fun to have Chandler at my side to help each other out."

Bowen echoed Dustin Bybee's comments about working with teammates.

"It was great running with Angela (Wagner), it made me feel a lot like we were running in practice," said Bowen.

The venue was changed from San Diego to Albuquerque earlier this week because of the wildfire tragedy in California. BYU's women had finished first in its conference since 1981 except for 1987 when it finished second. The Cougar men have finished first in conference races since 1989, except for second placings in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2003.

Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships, Albuquerque, N.M.
Men's Team Scores
1-BYU             46
2-New Mexico      51
3-Air Force       52
4-Colorado St.   105
5-Wyoming        118
6-TCU            119
1-Jeremy Johnson, UNM, 24:23
2-Mark Korir, Wyoming, 24:48
3-Dustin Bybee, BYU, 24:55
4-Matt Williams, AFA, 24:27
5-Chandler Goodwin, BYU, 25:00
Other BYU men's places/times
7-Tyrel Jensen, BYU, 25:03
14-Derek Taylor, BYU 14, 25:27
17-Jacob Gustafsson, BYU, 25:34
19-Ryan Merriamn, BYU, 25:36
21-Brandon Hebbert, BYU 25:52
DNP-Stephan Shay, BYU
DNR-Dan Hinckley, BYU
Women's Team Scores
1-Colorado St.   33
2-BYU            39
3-New Mexico     94
4-Wyoming       118
5-Utah          130
6-Air Force     160
7-UNLV          204
8-TCU           224
9-San Diego St. 229
1-April Thomas, CSU, 21:20
2-Kirsten Anthony, CSU, 21:22
3-Katie Bowen, BYU, 21:28
4-Angela Wagner, BYU, 21:33
5-Michelle Corrigan, UNM, 21:35
Other BYU women's places/times
9-Tawny Bybee, BYU, 21:50
11-Cecily Lemmon, BYU, 21:54
12-Amber Duffin, BYU, 21:56
13-Jenna Jensen, BYU, 22:03
21-Amy Fowler Layne, BYU, 22:42