No. 3 Cougars Place Second In Downpour at Nuttycombe

MADISON, Wisc. — No. 3 BYU men’s cross country placed second among 21 of the top-30 nationally ranked teams on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course as part of the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Friday.

Full Results

Men's 8k Championship

Athlete	Time	Place Overall
Creed Thompson	23:35.3	10th
Joey Nokes	23:42.7	13th
Kenneth Rooks	23:58.4	31st
James Corrigan	24:04.3	44th
Aidan Troutner	24:11.7	64th
Luke Grundvig	24:18.7	85th
Garrett Stanford	24:20.9	92nd
Jacob Stanford	24:43.0	154th

"We had a very solid and dominant second place showing" said BYU men's cross country head coach Ed Eyestone. "We know Northern Arizona is tough. They got us in Virginia and they got us here, but we went against a stronger field. The guys battled well. I think this shows us what we can focus on and what we can be."

In a field made up of 21 USTFCCCA top-30 ranked teams, the No. 3 Cougars finished second overall with a combined 162 points, placing just behind No. 1-ranked Northern Arizona.

All-American junior Creed Thompson led the Cougars across the finish, placing 10th individually with a time of 23:35.3. Thompson placed second at the Autumn Classic to open the season on Sept. 8, followed by a 26th-place performance at the Virginia Invitational two weeks later on Sept. 23. Friday's meet marked Thompson's first time on the season to lead the Cougars with overall individual placement.

"It was brutal with the wind, rain and mud, but I just stayed relaxed and tucked in," said Thompson. "The cold, gritty races like this are my favorite part about cross country. Doing it with the boys just made it that better."

Junior Joey Nokes came across next for BYU with a time of 23:42.7 to place 13th. Nokes has finished all three races this season in the top two spots for the Cougars. Co-captain Kenneth Rooks followed next, making his season debut in 23:58.4 to take 31st. Sophomore James Corrigan crossed the finish in 24:04.3, placing 44th.

Co-captain veteran Aidan Troutner crossed in 24:11.7 and was followed moments later by sophomore Luke Grundvig, who finished in 24:18.7. Garrett and Jacob Stanford rounded out the pack of Cougars, finishing in 24:20.9 and 24:43.0, respectively.

In the Men’s 8k B Race, freshman walk-on Isaac Hedengren finished fourth overall with a time of 25:05.6. Fellow freshmen Hayden Gray and Caleb Johnson also battled the muddy conditions, clocking a 25:32.5 29:45.9 to land in 25th and 44th positions.

Next, the Cougars head to their innagural Big 12 Championships in Ames, Iowa on Oct. 28. The men's 8k will begin at 9 a.m. MT.