The most important part of the season has arrived for men’s and women’s cross-country teams at Brigham Young University.

This Saturday, Oct. 28, BYU runners from both squads will compete in their first-ever Big 12 Cross Country Championships in Ames, Iowa; the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships follow in Lubbock, Texas, on Friday, Nov. 10; and the season culminates with the NCAA Championships in Earlysville, Virginia, on Saturday, Nov. 18.

This is what BYU men’s cross-country coach Ed Eyestone refers to as “the championship season.”

“There are a couple of parts of the season — one is the regular season, and one is the championship season,” he said. “This is our No. 1 priority, this is what we work toward. Everything else is preparatory.”

Members of the BYU men’s cross-country team compete at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational at Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023.

Dan Sanger

Winning during “the championship season” has become something of a tradition for the men’s and women’s cross-country teams in recent years.

In addition to winning or placing high at the conference and regional races, the men’s team has finished in the top three nationally four times since 2017, including a national championship in 2019.

The women’s team has finished in the top three nationally three times since 2019, including the 2020 iteration of the national championship.

BYU men’s cross-country

The Cougars, currently ranked third nationally, head into the Big 12 championships following a second-place finish at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.

This weekend BYU will line up against some tough opponents in No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 6 Texas. To see three nationally ranked teams line up for the conference championship should make for an exciting race, the coach said.

“We have a strong team. I think it’s a great opportunity we got going into this,” Eyestone said. “With three teams competing ranked in the top six nationally, it’s going to make for a very exciting conference championship. We are up to the challenge. The guys are fit and confident coming into this.” 

BYU will be without a few all-Americans, Casey Clinger and Davin Thompson, who will use a red-shirt year to be available next year. Davin’s brother Creed, also an all-American, will lead the Cougars with co-captain Joey Nokes, steeplechase national champion Kenneth Rooks and others.

This year the men’s cross-country team read author Daniel James Brown’s bestselling book “The Boys in the Boat,” which tells the true story of the University of Washington rowing team’s quest to win the gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Almost every day the BYU runners reflected on the inspiring grit and toughness of the famous rowing team, as well as the rough weather conditions they trained in, said BYU’s Creed Thompson. A movie based on the book opens in theaters on Christmas Day.

Creed Thompson of the BYU men’s cross-country team runs in the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational at Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023.

Dan Sanger

“We emphasized the importance of the team over the individual, and I have been happy to see the guys adopt that mentality,” Eyestone said. “Even though we have our work cut out for us at the conference meet, we are going to run the best we can as a team — row, so to speak — and give the Oklahoma State Cowboys hopefully a good run for the conference title.”

Here’s a look back at the historical success of the BYU men’s cross-country team since 2016:

• 2022 — 1st at West Coast Conference Championships; 2nd at the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships; and 3rd at the NCAA National Championships.
• 2021 — 1st at WCC; 1st at regionals; and 7th at nationals.
• 2020-2021 — 1st at WCC and 7th at NCAA nationals (no regionals).
• 2019 — 1st at WCC; 3rd at regionals; and 1st at nationals.
• 2018 — 1st at WCC; 2nd at regionals; and 2nd at nationals.
• 2017 — 1st at WCC; 2nd at regionals; and 3rd at nationals.
• 2016 — 1st at WCC; 3rd at regionals; and 7th at nationals.

BYU women’s cross-country

The BYU women’s cross-country team enters its first-ever Big 12 championship competition following a win at the XC-23 Pre-Nationals in Virginia. Junior Carmen Alder won the invitational with a personal-best 6,000-meter time of 19:36.2. Teammates Jenna Hutchins, Aubrey Frentheway, Lexy Halladay-Lowry and Riley Chamberlain also finished in the top 10. It was BYU’s third straight invitational victory of the 2023 season.

The No. 4 Cougars hope to carry that momentum into the Big 12 championship at Ames, Iowa, against teams such as No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 17 Iowa State, said BYU women’s cross-country head coach Diljeet Taylor.

“I’m super proud of our women and their work,” Taylor said after pre-nationals. “I think there are a few more gains that we can make, but they have done a really good job these few weeks. I am going to keep the women focused on us, and we will hopefully be great when we come back to Virginia in November.”

Here’s a look back at the historical success of BYU women’s cross-country since 2016:

• 2022 — 1st at West Coast Conference Championships; 6th at NCAA Mountain Regional Championships; and 8th at the NCAA national championships.
• 2021 — 1st at WCC; 3rd at regionals; and 2nd at nationals.
• 2020 — 1st at WCC and 1st at NCAA national championships (no regionals).
• 2019 — 1st at WCC; 1st at regionals; and 2nd at nationals.
• 2018 — 2nd at WCC; 5th at regionals; and 10th at nationals.
• 2017 — 1st at WCC; 3rd at regionals; and 7th at nationals.
• 2016 — 2nd at WCC; 5th at regionals; and 10th at nationals.

Creed Thompson, left, talks to BYU men’s cross-country coach Ed Eyestone as Joey Nokes watches following the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational at Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023.

Dan Sanger

Why Latter-day Saints are good distance runners

Eyestone believes Latter-day Saint make good distance runners based on a combination of factors.

• Strong work ethic.
• Goal-setting, achievement-oriented people.
• Living a clean lifestyle and following the Word of Wisdom, the health code of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“As a coach, I’m fortunate because I feel like I’ve got a very good, if not one of the best, recruiting pools that I can recruit from right here along the Wasatch Front,” he said. “So it is a combination of those things and maybe some good pioneer stock, because all of those things are required to be a successful distance runner.”

Thompson agreed.

“Having good morals and following the Word of Wisdom can be really beneficial for staying healthy,” Thompson said.