BYU wins women’s NCAA cross country championship

For the second time in five years, BYU claimed the women’s NCAA cross country championship, confirming the Cougars’ weeks-long No. 1 ranking in the coaches’ poll.
BYU won with depth. With Lexy Lowry leading the way Saturday morning in Madison, Wisc., BYU claimed five of the top 49 places.
BYU finished with 147 points, followed by West Virginia 164, Providence 183, Northern Arizona 206 and Oregon 210.
Lowry, a rising young All-American steeplechaser on the track, finished 14th overall and 11th in the team race (the field features some individual runners whose teams did not qualify).  Lowry was followed by teammates Riley Chamberlain (31st overall), Carmen Alder (39th), Taylor Rohatinsky (43rd) and Carlee Hansen (50th).
Hansen might have been the real unsung hero of the team. As coach Diljeet Taylor told ESPN before the race, “In this sport, the fifth-place runner is as important as the first-place runner.”
Only the top five of each team’s seven runners count in the team scoring. Hansen, a North Carolina transfer from Woods Cross High, finished 49th in the team race, by far the highest of any team’s fifth runner.
BYU trailed in the team race until the about 5,000 meters and closed strong.
“I didn’t feel good until 4K,” said Taylor. “At that point I knew they could close. We finished with urgency. I trusted that they had the fitness to close.”