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BYU men place a disappointing third at NCAA cross country championships

Cougar women finish 11th, while Utah’s Grayson Murphy is eighth in women’s 6K race


Perhaps never has their best showing at the NCAA cross country national championships in 25 years been so disappointing for the BYU men’s cross country team.

The Cougars placed third and did not get a single runner in the top 20 in what was supposed to be a close duel between No. 1 Northern Arizona and No. 2 BYU in the 10K race at Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. NAU cruised to the title and West Coast Conference runner-up Portland, which was dominated by BYU at the WCC meet three weeks ago, took second place.

Freshman Casey Clinger was BYU’s best finisher, taking 24th with a time of 29 minutes, 46.32 seconds. Junior Connor McMillan was 30th (29:52.29) and junior Rory Linkletter was 39th (29:59.04).

BYU women 11th in 6K race

Paced by sophomore Courtney Wayment’s 71st-place finish (20:29.4), BYU’s women’s team placed 11th in the women’s meet, a 6K race also held at Sawyer State Park. Senior Kristi Rush was 76th and senior Laura Young was 80th.

New Mexico won the women’s national championship, its second in three years, while the WCC’s San Francisco took second.

Utah’s Murphy finishes eighth, earns all-America honors

Salt Lake City’s Grayson Murphy, a West High graduate, finished eighth in the women’s race and earned all-America honors. It was the best finish ever for a University of Utah athlete at the NCAA cross country championships and the second-best finish for a runner from a Utah school.

Murphy, who was second in the Mountain Region Championships in Logan last weekend, did not finish outside the top eight in any race the entire season. She was fifth at the Pac-12 Championships and was all an All-American in both indoor and outdoor track.

Utah State women finish 14th, men 27th

Utah State’s Alyssa Snyder led the way with a 25th-place finish and a time of 20:03.4 as Utah State’s women’s team finished 14th in its first appearance at the national finals.

Utah State senior Dillon Maggard finished sixth with a time of 29:16.2, posting the highest finish for a runner from a Utah school, as the Aggie men placed 27th in their first nationals appearance.

Southern Utah men 11th, UVU’s Lambert 104th

Southern Utah placed 11th in the men’s meet, with junior Josh Collins leading the way with a 50th-place finish.

Utah Valley’s Tyson Lambert, a Grantsville High product, was 104th.