SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah women’s cross country program played host Friday to the 2019 Mountain Region Cross Country Championships at Rose Park Golf Course, but it was the BYU Cougars’ nationally renowned team that took top billing among Beehive State squads.
The Cougars took first out of 19 teams in the women’s 6K and third out of 19 in the men’s 10K.
Erica Birk-Jarvis and Courtney Wayment finished third and fourth, respectively, out of 130 runners on the women’s side to lead BYU. New Mexico had both of the top two finishers, but the Cougars beat the Lobos overall, 70 to 83.
On the men’s side, Northern Arizona had the top three finishers and cruised to the team win with a score of 21. Cougar Conner Mantz finished fourth, but BYU finished just behind second-place Colorado in the team standings. The Buffaloes finished with a score of 53 and the Cougars finished with a score of 56.
On the women’s side, Utah finished fifth, Weber State seventh, SUU eighth, Utah State ninth and UVU 13th. For the men, Utah State finished fourth, Weber State fifth, UVU seventh and SUU eighth.
The top two men’s and women’s teams from each of the nine regionals around the country Friday received an automatic bid to next week’s national championships in Terre Haute, Indiana, meaning the BYU women’s team is in.
The rest will find out if they make the field on Saturday during a selection show, which can be seen on NCAA.com at 3 p.m. The BYU (2) and Utah State (20) men’s teams are ranked in the most recent top 30 national poll, while SUU and Weber State received votes.
On the women’s side, both BYU (3) and Utah (9) are ranked.