The Cougars were led by sophomore Jane Hedengren, who placed third and crossed the line in 19 minutes and 32 seconds, just eight seconds behind Oklahoma State's Billah Jepkirui. Hedengren and New Mexico's Mercy Kirarei battled for the lead for the first 5,000-meters of the race as the sophomore has now finished in the top three in all six of her collegiate cross country races.
Senior Jenna Hutchins wasn't far behind and remained consistent in fifth place with 19:56.9, almost beating her personal 6k best of 19:54.5. Fellow senior Lexi Goff-Thompson improved from last year's ninth place finish, placing seventh with 20:07.3.
"I have good memories from running in Oklahoma last year, so I was excited to come back," said Goff-Thompson. "I’m proud of the team and the grittiness that was displayed. Oklahoma is a notoriously tough course but it gave us the chance to practice being tough. This is just the beginning of the season so it’s exciting to look forward to the fitness that we can gain in the month before we race here again."
Nelah Roberts and Taylor Lovell ran the course within seconds of each other, claiming eighth and ninth place at 20:15.2 and 20:15.9, respectively. Transfer Karrie Baloga fought her way from 22nd after the first split to 10th place at the finish, clocking a 20:17.5
In her collegiate cross country debut, freshman Lily Alder rounded out BYU's top seven finishers, crossing the finish line at 20:29.0 and taking 12th place. Noteably, junior Tessa Buswell ran a personal 6k best of 20:48.8, beating her previous record by 10 seconds.
Individual Results
For full results, visit Red Dirt.
Up Next
The Cougars will take on Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind. on Friday, Oct. 16 at 8:00 a.m. MDT where they will be introduced to the course on which they hope to compete for a national title in late November.
