MADISON, Wis.--Facing some of the top running programs in the country and a windy day, the BYU men’s and women’s cross country teams fared well in the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on Friday, with the men taking second overall and the women finishing 22nd.
The men’s team finished with a score of 120, taking second to No. 2 Wisconsin who finished with a score of 66. With their second place finish, the Cougars were able to overcome other top ten ranked teams, including No. 7 Indiana, No. 9 NC State and No. 10 Oregon.
"Overall it was a very impressive performance," men's head coach Ed Eyestone said. "We had three guys running strong up front and it was only a very strong Wisconsin team running at home that beat us. It just seems like week to week we continue to rise up and run well."
Again, BYU was led by senior Miles Batty who finished first for the Cougars and seventh overall, with a time of 23:36. Rex Shields and Jared Ward also finished in the top twenty, placing second and third for the Cougars and 10th and 17th overall.
"The way everyone is running individually and as a team shows that this is one of the best teams we've had in maybe a decade," Eyestone said. "This sets us up extremely well going into the championship portion of our season."
The women’s team had a good showing on the day, taking 22nd with 539 points.Morgan Haws led the team taking first for the Cougars and fifth overall and Katy Andrews also performed well in her second race of the season, taking second for BYU and 56th overall.
“Morgan (Haws) and Katy (Andrews) nailed it,” women’s head coach Patrick Shane said. “Morgan was fifth overall and had a lot left towards the end and was progressively moving up and Katy had an amazing race as well.”
Haws finished the 6K race with her best time of the season, at 20:12, and Andrews posted a time of 20:59.
"I knew that we would be racing the top teams in the nation, and individually the top girls in the nation, so coming in I wanted to be at least in the top ten," Haws said. "I wasn’t sure exactly where I was individually compared to the other girls, but I was able to pass a lot of people towards the end and I was happy with the fifth place finish."
BYU also had four runners in the B race place in the top 15, some recording times that rivaled their counterparts in the championship race. Candace Eddy finished third overall with a time of 21:28 and she was followed closely by Kendy Christensen in seventh and Rachel Lange-Schmutz in ninth, with times of 21:35 and 21:41 respectively.
“It just goes to show that we have tremendous depth,” Shane said. “It’s going to be tough choosing who goes on to the championships race.”
BYU also had four runners in the B race place in the top 15, some recording times that rivaled their counterparts in the championship race. Candace Eddy finished third overall with a time of 21:28 and she was followed closely by Kendy Christensen in seventh and Rachel Lange-Schmutz in ninth, with times of 21:35 and 21:41 respectively.
“It just goes to show that we have tremendous depth,” Shane said. “It’s going to be tough choosing who goes on to the championships race.”
BYU will now prepare for the West Coast Conference Championships which will be held on Oct. 29 in Belmont, Calif.
Full results of the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational can be found here.