Cougars will make first appearance in Stillwater since winning NCAA Division 1 title in March 2021, with eight freshmen scheduled to face 12 other ranked programs in preparation for Nov. 19 national final; Northern Arizona men lead impressive field that includes top six teams in country

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

It has been more than 550 days since the Brigham Young women’s cross country team traveled to compete on the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course and despite celebrating the first NCAA Division 1 title in program history in their last appearance in Stillwater, junior Lexy Halladay-Lowry already knows what her first priority will be upon returning to race Saturday at the Cowboy Jamboree.

“It will be very interesting to take the new girls and show them that course because it can take your soul and I have to go pick mine up,” Halladay-Lowry said. “It is amazing that we have the opportunity to go check out the course, because it is very valuable to know that it’s a beast.”

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Halladay-Lowry finished 184th in her national championship debut March 15, 2021, when BYU prevailed by a 96-161 margin against North Carolina State to secure the women’s title.

“I do (know exactly where my soul is), I do,” Halladay-Lowry said with a laugh, prompting senior teammate Aubrey Frentheway to add, “I think mine is still there, too.”

Frentheway was 15th at the Division 1 final at Oklahoma State, as BYU had four All-Americans, along with McKenna Lee-Hansen missing by one spot, placing 41st overall.

“That course means a lot to us because we got our first national title there a couple of years ago,” Lee-Hansen said. “We’re excited because we have a completely new team and a completely new year, and we’re excited for the opportunity to go back and be gritty out there and see what we can do as a team.”

BYU is one of 13 ranked Division 1 women’s programs scheduled to compete in the invitational 6-kilometer race at 9:15 a.m. CDT, along with Colorado, Stanford, Washington, Arkansas, Michigan, Ole Miss, Harvard, Gonzaga, Northern Arizona, Utah Valley, Kentucky and host Oklahoma State.

Despite Taylor Roe and Gabby Hentemann taking the top two spots in the invitational race for host Oklahoma State, Colorado still prevailed by a 30-33 margin at last year’s Cowboy Jamboree.

Freshman Natalie Cook, who captured national titles last year at both the Garmin RunningLane Championships and Eastbay Cross Country Championships, is expected to make her collegiate debut for Oklahoma State.

“Every time you go to a course, you can learn something new and just realize what you need to do to prepare, especially with that course,” Halladay-Lowry said. “We’re just grateful to be able to take a big group and go see what we can do.”

BYU finished second behind North Carolina State in November at the Division 1 championship race at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla., with Frentheway finishing 38th, Lee-Hansen taking 46th and Halladay-Lowry earning 164th.

Oklahoma State will again host the NCAA final Nov. 19, as BYU seeks a fourth straight podium appearance, despite recent graduations of Division 1 individual champions Courtney Wayment, Whittni Orton-Morgan and Anna Camp-Bennett.

BYU has eight freshmen scheduled to compete Saturday among the two women’s races, with Addi Bruening, Riley Chamberlain, Jacey Farmer, Natalie Hlusi, Jenna Hutchins, Taylor Lovell, Avery Moore and Taylor Rohatinsky making the trip to Stillwater.

“It’s so crazy to think that (championship) was less than two years ago and just the amount of growth that we’ve all had as a team and as a sisterhood,” Frentheway said. “It’s hard to put into words, but I think it’s been incredible the last year and a half since we’ve been there to see the growth and to see what the women like Courtney and Whit and Anna have left for us and how they’ve elevated the program and that’s inspiring to us to hopefully somehow be good teammates to these freshmen as well that when we bring them there to help them rise to different potentials.”

The men’s invitational 8-kilometer race, scheduled for 9:45 a.m. CDT, features reigning Division 1 champion Northern Arizona as part of a field that features the top six teams in the country, including Oklahoma State, Stanford, BYU, Colorado and Tulsa.

Northern Arizona triumphed with 40 points at last year’s meet, with Oklahoma State and Colorado both accumulating 62 points. Isai Rodriguez won the 8-kilometer competition for Oklahoma State.

Also expected to race at an event that began in 1937 are ranked programs Washington, Wake Forest, Air Force, Harvard, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Princeton, Furman, Ole Miss, Michigan and Texas.

Additional colleges races are scheduled at 8 a.m. CDT for the women’s 6-kilometer competition and 8:30 a.m. CDT for the men’s 8-kilometer event.

The boys high school 5-kilometer race is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. CDT, followed by the girls competition at 11 a.m. CDT.

Prosper High from Texas is one of the top entries in the girls 5-kilometer race, with Canyon High of Texas leading all programs in the boys competition.

Jenks High from Oklahoma won the girls race last year, with Edmund Deer Creek prevailing in the boys competition.