MADISON, Wis. — The No. 7 BYU Cougars scored 146 points and placed all five scorers in the top 50 to claim third place at the Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday.
It was a record-setting day for head coach Ed Eyestone’s harriers, as 10 of BYU’s 13 runners across two races set personal bests (Dalton Mortensen, Hunter Kitchen, Jefferson McMullin, Land Lambert, Carter Cutting, Malachi Schoenherr, Kyle Steadman, Danny Simmons and Ethan Peterson). It was also a record-breaking performance from sophomore Tayvon Kitchen, who shattered the previous school record on the course by more than 33 seconds.
As a team, the Cougars beat No. 2 Iowa State, a fellow Big 12 Conference opponent who finished 19th. They also outran No. 8 Wake Forest and No. 10 Florida, only losing to No. 1 New Mexico and No. 6 Colorado.
"Very good day at the races for us," head coach Ed Eyestone said. "I was really impressed with our split from runners 2-5. It was a really nice team effort. We've got three weeks to fine-tune some things, work on some fitness, and be in a better position to keep closing the gap."
T. Kitchen’s fifth-place finish helped secure BYU the podium spot and cement his status among the top runners in the nation. His time of 22:37.3 clocked in at 33 seconds faster than BYU’s previous school record on the course, set by Casey Clinger in 2024 (23:10.4).
Senior James Corrigan (23:02.2) and Noa Jenkins (23:19.0), Mortensen (23:23.8) and H. Kitchen (23:28.2) rounded out the scoring for the Cougars.
| Name | Time | Place |
| Tayvon Kitchen | 22:37.3 | 5th |
| James Corrigan | 23:02.2 | 18th |
| Noah Jenkins | 23:19.0 | 34th |
| Dalton Mortensen | 23:23.8 | 42nd |
| Hunter Kitchen | 23:28.2 | 47th |
| Jefferson McMullin | 23:48.8 | 85th |
| Land Lambert | 23:53.3 | 91st |
The Cougars as a team came out of the gate toward the middle of the pack, running in sixth after the first 2,000 meters. But big moves from their second through fifth runners helped BYU move into third by the midway point of the race, and the Cougars held on to that position for the final 4,000 meters.
"We had some guys that did get some unfortunate positioning but they were still able to rally and really come through despite that," Corrigan said. "I think it gives us more confidence going into conference that we can latch on and run whatver pace these guys want to run."
T. Kitchen was in the top five at every split of the race, continuing to cement his reputation as a front-of-the-pack runner. He ran his fastest split between the 4,000-meter and 6,000-meter splits, or the third quarter of the race, as he made the first move to separate the front group from the rest of the field.
The sophomore ultimately moved into fifth place with about 1,000 meters remaining, maintaining that spot through the finish line. His final kick kept him ahead of Florida’s Kelvin Cheruiyot, who previously beat Kitchen at the John McNichols Invitational in September.
Corrigan came in as BYU’s next scorer and at 18th overall, his first time this season finishing as the team’s second scorer. Similar to T. Kitchen, Corrigan started at the front of the pack and remained in the top 25 throughout the race. His final time of 23:02.2 also clocked 8 seconds faster than Clinger’s previous school record.
| Name | Time | Year |
| Tayvon Kitchen | 22:37.3 | 2026 |
| James Corrigan | 23:02.2 | 2026 |
| Casey Clinger | 23:10.4 | 2024 |
| Noah Jenkins | 23:19.0 | 2026 |
| Joey Nokes | 23:21.4 | 2024 |
Jenkins and Mortensen have consistently run in BYU’s top five, and this race was no different. Like T. Kitchen, Jenkins ran his fastest split between 4,000 and 6,000 meters. That move propelled him back into the main group of runners and helped him finish 34th, 41 spots ahead of where he was at the halfway mark.
Mortensen finished just eight spots behind Jenkins, with H. Kitchen following five spots later. As noted above, both Mortensen and H. Kitchen recorded personal bests, with Mortensen cutting 18 seconds off his previous best and H. Kitchen improving his by an impressive 44 seconds.
It was H. Kitchen’s best race of the season, as he closed strong to finish in the top 50. His presence, along with that of teammates Jefferson McMullin and Land Lambert, provides the Cougars with strong depth as they enter championship season.
The Cougars also fared well in the B race, scoring 90 points to take second overall. All five of BYU’s scorers set personal-best times, led by reigning indoor mile champion Carter Cutting. Cutting finished 10th overall in 24:06.6, thanks to a strong kick in the final 1,000 meters. He was followed by freshman teammates Malachi Schoenherr (24:12.6), Kyle Steadman (24:13.1) and Danny Simmons (24:22.6). Sophomore Ethan Peterson clocked 24:35.7 to round out the scoring.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will open championship season as they head to Stillwater, Oklahoma to participate in the Big 12 Championships on Sat, Oct. 31.