BYU women reign over cross country
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TERRE HAUTE, Ind — The BYU women's cross country team won the NCAA Division I national championship for the second year in a row, running away from the field in the meet hosted by Indiana State University on Monday, Nov. 25.
"It will make Thanksgiving turkey taste really good," said BYU women's head coach Patrick Shane. "[They] ran a great race; they really ran their hearts out. It is always a thrill to win a national championship, and it is really exciting to win back-to-back championships."
BYU has been a cross country powerhouse for six years, winning championships in 1997, 1999 and 2001, and finishing second in 1998 and 2000.
The Cougars teamed up — all five scorers finishing in the top 50 of more than 250 runners — to outdistance second-place Stanford 85-113 (low score wins). There were 31 teams in the competition.
Michaela Mannova, a junior from Kralov, Czech Republic, was the top finisher for BYU and fifth overall with a time of 19:49.5 over the 6-kilometer course.
As for the chilly Indiana weather, the Cougars were well prepared. "We were ready for a snowstorm, so a sunny day was like heaven," Mannova said. "It was perfect."
The next finisher for the Cougars was redshirt-freshman Kassie Andersen of Provo, Utah, who was seventh overall.
She was followed by teammates senior Katie Martin from Fremont, Calif., 20th; freshman Breanne Sandberg from Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif., 41st; and Jaime Cottle from Howell, Mich., 46th. The non-scoring runners were junior Nan Kennard of Bountiful, Utah, and senior Jessie Kindschi of Bismarck, N.D., who finished sixth (76th) and seventh (83rd) for BYU.
During some anxious minutes after the race ended, the Cougars had to deal with an announcement that Stanford had actually won the championship. The meet announcer declared Stanford the winner, based on quickly compiled unofficial results. However, during the review process NCAA officials found a BYU runner had not been counted properly. Twenty minutes after the race, the announcer declared BYU the official winner.
"I've been coaching a long time and when it is close you just can't be sure, but I was pretty confident we won so I questioned the unofficial results," said coach Shane, who is a stake auditor in the Provo Utah East Stake. "It is unfortunate it had to happen like that. I really feel sorry for Stanford."
Coach Shane was named NCAA Coach of the Year, his third such honor in his 22-year BYU career.
"You can't be named Coach of the Year without great athletes and a great support staff," he said. "It's really a tribute to our team."
As part of the trip, the BYU men's and women's teams attended their Church meetings and presented a three-stake fireside the evening before the race. "While other teams were jogging the course on Sunday, we were in Church," the coach said.
Along with Church members, many people of other faiths attended the fireside, including coaches and athletes from area high schools. Coach Shane said they learned about the fireside from local newspaper articles about BYU's plans. "It left them with a positive attitude," he said.
Speaking of the Sabbath activities, runner Kassie Andersen said, "It was good to focus on something other than running. It put things in perspective for us and helped us to be more peaceful, more calm and relaxed for the race."
And when the Cougars got to the course Monday, many who were at the fireside were there as fans to cheer them on.
