Cross Country

Season Review

BYU women’s cross country had one of its best seasons in nearly two decades, finishing second at the NCAA Cross Country Championships and also claiming five meet titles throughout the year.

The Cougars entered the national meet in Terre Haute, Indiana, ranked No. 3 in the country. BYU had finished seventh in 2018 and went to Indiana with hopes of cracking the top 3 for the first time since taking second in 2003.

Running through rain and a muddy course, the Cougars got off to a strong start and led at the 2,000m mark before Arkansas pulled ahead by nine points at 4,000 meters. BYU finished strong, closing the gap to six points to claim second place, 19 points ahead of third-place Stanford.

“Our women ran amazing,” BYU coach Diljeet Taylor said. “That was an overall great performance. I’m really proud of how tough they were out there. Getting NCAA runner-ups after finishing so close is a little bit bittersweet when you’re a competitor. We were ranked third coming in so we knew we had a shot to win it and our women went for the win so I’m really proud of that. We had some crazy dreams – no one expected this out of us before the season. We fought for that crazy dream, and I’m unbelievably proud of our women and how hard they worked.”

Courtney Wayment (20:16.1), Erica Birk-Jarvis (20:16.1) and Whittni Orton (20:17.0) finished within one second of each other in taking fifth, sixth and seventh. It marked the first time in program history that three Cougars finished in the top seven. Olivia Hoj and Anna Camp-Bennett rounded out BYU’s top five, claiming 56th and 60th, respectively. The team’s score of 102 was its lowest point total at the NCAA meet since the 2002 squad won the championship with a score of 85.

“Our women believed,” Taylor said. “That’s a big part of this job that makes it so special as a coach, when you have athletes that believe in what you’re trying to do. I’m very proud of the effort and super grateful to be at BYU with these women.”

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BYU’s season included five first-place finishes and two second-place finishes. The Cougars won the West Coast Conference Championship for the second-straight season and third time since joining the league in 2011.

The Cougars began the season ranked No. 6 in the USFTCCCA Preseason Coaches Poll and moved up to No. 4 by early October. BYU remained in the top 5 the rest of the season and entered the national championship meet ranked No. 3. With their second-place at the NCAA meet, the Cougars have finished in the top 10 three times in the last four years.

With their top-seven finishes at the National meet, Wayment, Birk-Jarvis and Orton earned All-America honors. They were three of eight Cougars to earn All-West Coast Conference First Team honors. The other five first-teamers were Hoj, Camp-Bennett, Anastaysia Davis, Sara Musselman and Sadie Sargent. Orton won the individual title, Davis was named the WCC Freshman of the Year and Taylor was named WCC Coach of the Year.

In addition to the WCC honors, Birk-Jarvis, Wayment, Hoj and Musselman finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships to earn All-Region recognition.

BYU won its first three meets of the season, starting with the Big Wave Invitational at Kahuku Golf Course in Kahuku, Hawaii. Let by Orton’s time of 18:05 in the 5K race, BYU finished with a perfect score of 15 and swept the top 13 spots.

The Cougars won the annual BYU Autumn Classic, outpacing Weber State by a score of 28-32. Taylor rested her top runners but the Cougars still claimed 10 of the top 13 spots in the 5K race, led by Aubrey Frentheway’s third-place finish.

Two weeks later at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Springfield, Oregon, Orton claimed her second meet title of the season and the team won its third straight. Orton won the 6K with a time of 19:25.8 while Birk-Jarvis took second (19:30.8) and Wayment was fourth (19:42.7). With the win, BYU defeated four top 25 teams, including three ranked in the top 15.

The Cougars faced another strong field at the Pre-National Invitational at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. Despite running without Orton, BYU took second, finishing ahead of four top-12 squads. Birk-Jarvis stepped up to lead the way for BYU, taking first in the 6K with a time of 20:02.6. Wayment took fourth (20:10.7) while Hoj and Camp-Bennett also finished in the top 20 at 14th and 20th, respectively.

Postseason competition began on Nov. 1 when the Cougars ran in the WCC Championships at Woodley Lakes Golf Course in Van Nuys, California. Orton returned and won her third meet of the season, finishing the 6K run with a time of 19:50. She was followed by Birk-Jarvis and Wayment in second and third while Hoj (5th), Camp-Bennett (7th), Davis (8th), Musselman (9th) and Sargent (10th) also finished in the top 10. BYU’s score of 18 tied for the lowest score in meet history.

BYU won for a fifth time in 2019 when the Cougars claimed the NCAA Mountain Region Championship. With Orton resting in preparation for the NCAA Championships, Birk-Jarvis took third, Wayment fourth and Hoj seventh as BYU defeated New Mexico by a margin of 70-83. The win gave the Cougars an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.