No. 2 BYU takes down No. 1 NC State, claiming team title at Pre-Nationals

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- No. 2 BYU tallied 84 points to secure the win at Pre-Nationals, dominating a head-to-head showdown with No. 1 NC State Friday morning.

Despite trailing behind in second place at both the 2k and 4k splits, the Cougars pulled ahead in the end, clinching the narrow victory with just four points over No. 1 NC State and 129 points over No. 7 Notre Dame.

Blue Race Team Results

PLACE	TEAM	SCORE
1st	BYU	84
2nd	NC State	88
3rd	Notre Dame	213
4th	Clemson	229
5th	North Carolina	249
6th	Duke	260
7th	Indiana	324
8th	Boston College	341
9th	Villanova	376
10th	Kentucky	380

Although NCAA All-American Jane Hedengren was not featured in the starting lineup for the Cougars, the five scorers for BYU all finished in the top 25. Senior Taylor Rohatinsky made her season debut, leading the team in royal and placing ninth with a 19:33.1 finish. 

"I’m so grateful to be on this line with these women," said Rohatinsky. "What an amazing opportunity to race for each other, but most importantly, God. This sport is a blessing and there’s no one I’d rather do it alongside."

Not far behind was Taylor Lovell, who moved up by four places from last year's pre-nationals, finishing in 14th and crossing the line at 19:42.7. Lexi Goff-Thompson and Karrie Baloga came in 18th and 20th, respectively, and Jenna Hutchins rounded out BYU's top five in 23rd. 

Zariel Macchia finished right behind Hutchins in 24th, Nelah Roberts placed 27th at the finish line and Lily Alder, the only freshman to line up for the Cougars, finished 65th.

Blue Race Individual Results

ATHLETE	PLACE	TIME
Taylor Rohatinsky	9th	19:33.1
Taylor Lovell	14th	19:42.7
Lexi Goff-Thompson	18th	19:50.6
Karrie Baloga	20th	19:53.7
Jenna Hutchins	23rd	19:57.3
Zariel Macchia	24th	19:58.0
Nelah Roberts	27th	20:00.3
Lily Alder	65th	20:37.4

See the full results here.

BYU also emerged victorious in the white race, tallying an impressive 24 points ahead of NC State's 32 points, and placing all seven athletes in the top 13. Junior Tessa Buswell used a strong kick over the last 300 meters to move from third to first, passing teammate Macy Wingard and NC State's Jessica Jazwinski. Buswell crossed the finish line in 20:27.5, beating her personal record by 21 seconds.

Six other Cougars also set a personal best during the white race, including freshman Wingard who finished third and bested her previous time by 18 seconds. Addie Meldrum placed fifth, breaking her previous personal best set at last year's pre-nationals with a 20:50.9. Seniors Emerald Kehr and Vanessa Alder contributed to the team score with their seventh and eighth place finishes, respectively. Alder beat her personal record by six seconds.

Freshmen Lilly Beshears and Millie Bayles rounded out the top seven for BYU. Beshears took 10th place, besting her previous time at the Cowboy Jamboree by 14 seconds. Bayles placed 13th and broke her personal record by an impressive 29 seconds.

White Race Individual Results 

ATHLETE	PLACE	TIME
Tessa Buswell	1st	20:27.5
Macy Wingard	3rd	20:35.6
Addie Meldrum	5th	20:50.9
Emerald Kehr	7th	20:55.4
Vanessa Alder	8th	21:01.3
Lilly Beshears	10th	21:04.6
Millie Bayles	13th	21:08.8

See the full results here.

Up Next

The Cougars will head to Stillwater, Okla. in two weeks where they hope to defend their title at the Big 12 Championships. The women's race will begin at 9:00 a.m. MDT. See more information on the meet here.