WACO, Tex. (ABC4 Sports) – BYU became just the fifth school ever to win national titles in both men’s and women’s cross-country.
The #1 ranked women’s team won its sixth in program history, with a team score of 147 at the Zimmer Championship Course Saturday morning.
“I’m really proud of these women,” said head coach Diljeet Taylor. “They stayed committed to the process. They embraced the imperfect, which is what it takes. Like in any season, we had lots of downs, lots of ups, but they ran for each other and figured out how to fight their own battles.
“They let go of individual success and focused on the team. That’s what cross country is all about. I’m incredibly humbled and grateful to belong to these women, all seven of them. That wasn’t me, that was God, and I’m so grateful that He guided us through this. I don’t think my coaching could’ve done what happened today.”
The title is the second national championship under Taylor and its sixth team title overall (1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2020-21, 2024). Three Cougars finished in the top-40 and received All-America honors for their performances: Lexy Halladay-Lowry, Riley Chamberlain and Carmen Alder.
Halladay-Lowry led the charge for BYU as she earned a career-best finish at the national meet, placing 14th in 19:48.4. The Senior from Meridian, Idaho earned her second national championship (2020-21) and cross country All-America honor (34th in 2022).
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“First off, I just want to say that this feels real good,” said Halladay-Lowry. “We gave up a lot of our individual goals and we were just completely and utterly committed to the team. In years past, the commitment to self has taken away from the team. We were able to let go of that this year. By doing that, we not only stepped up for ourselves, but for each other. That’s why this happened today.”
The BYU men’s team led from start to finish, ending up with 124 points, ahead of Iowa State, Arkansas, Wisconsin and Northern Arizona.
“It’s a privilege to be ranked number one going into this race,” said head coach Ed Eyestone. “Our guys understood it was a privilege. We were just going to go out, do the very best we could, enjoy the process and have gratitude in our hearts today for all of the people who helped us get here. When you do that, good things are going to happen.”
With Saturday’s race, the BYU men’s cross country program earned its second ever national title and first since its 2019 upset of perennial power Northern Arizona.
The Cougars were ranked No. 1 going into race day after upsetting Big 12 rival Oklahoma State at the 2024 Big 12 Championships on Nov. 1.
The men’s team joins the women’s team in a Cougar sweep of the team titles, becoming the first institution in 20 years and fifth university ever to accomplish that feat. Colorado was the last school to do it in 2004.
Casey Clinger was the story of the day, finishing sixth overall and first for the Cougars. Clinger crossed the 10k course finish line in 28:45.1. Clinger earned a fifth All-American title to his name in his final cross country race in a BYU uniform. Adding to his momentous weekend, Clinger will head back on an earlier flight to be with his wife, Morgan, who is expecting their first child in the coming days.
“We focused on the build this year,” said Clinger. We focused on putting a lot of work in early, having our best race every race, and having [the NCAA Championships] be our best race. We did just that. We wanted to enjoy every moment and today is the ultimate joy.”