MALIBU, Calif. – A tiebreaker didn't go in BYU's favor as its women’s cross country team finished third Saturday behind San Francisco and Portland  at the West Coast Conference Championships.

No. 17 USF finished first with 39 points, followed by Portland, with 62 points.  BYU and Portland both scored 62 points based on its top 5 runners. In a tiebreaker, the top runners from the two schools are compared, and Portland’s third runner finished in 12th, while BYU’s third runner finished in 13th,  sealing third place for the Cougars.   

“We ran really well.  I am really proud of how each one of the girls battled,” BYU head coach Patrick Shane said.  “Our goal was to beat Portland, and we had the same exact score.”

Andrea Nelson Harrison finished first for BYU and seventh overall with a time of 21:25 on the 6K course. Natalie Shields finished second for BYU and ninth overall with a time of 21:29, and Sarah Yingling had a career race and finished 13th overall with a time of 21:41. BYU’s fourth and fifth runners were Nicole Nielsen who finished 16th overall with a time of 21:48 and Lindsey Sowards Nielson who finished 17th overall with a time of 21:52.

BYU’s sixth and seventh runners Kelsey Brown and Makenna Smith came in 19th and 23rd place respectively, finishing before Portland’s fifth runner.

Harrison and Shields were placed on the WCC All-Conference team, and Yingling received Honorable Mention.  

“I’m proud of them, we ran hard, and did our very best,” Shane said. “It doesn’t hurt our chances to go to nationals at all. We need to get ready for our regional meet in two weeks.”

Full race results can be found here.

The Mountain Region Championship will take place on Nov. 15 in Ogden, Utah. 

MALIBU, Calif. – BYU women’s cross country will compete with No. 17 San Francisco, Portland and the rest of the league on Saturday at the West Coast Conference Championships at Alumni Park on the Pepperdine campus. 

The women’s 6K race will begin at 10 a.m. PDT following the men’s 8K race, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. PDT. 

“Everything we have done has been to prepare for these next three meets, starting this weekend with the conference championships,” BYU coach Patrick Shane said.  “We are ranked second in the conference, behind San Francisco and ahead of Portland.” 

The Cougars raced against Portland at the BYU Autumn Classic and won the meet, beating the Pilots by two points. The Cougars have raced against San Francisco twice this year, finishing behind the Dons both times.

Last year at the WCC meet, San Francisco took first for the fourth-consecutive season. Portland snuck in and finished just ahead of BYU for second place. It was the only time that Portland’s women’s team has ever defeated the Cougars. 

“We want to have the best race of the year on Saturday,” Shane said. “We have a race plan that will take Portland’s runners into account, and they won’t sneak up on us again this year.”

The Cougars have a number of talented young women who have the ability to break up San Francisco’s and Portland’s top five runners. Competing this weekend will be seniors Kelsey Brown, Maren Fassmann, Andrea Nelson Harrison, Nicole Nielson, Lindsey Sowards Nielson, Makenna Smith and Sarah Yingling; alongside sophomores Natalie Shields and Rachel Stewart.

“Everyone has looked great in practice so we should have our best race of the year,” Shane said. “If we do that, we will have done our very best and I like our chances.”

A live stream of the event will be available at wccsports.com

The WCC meet program can be found here. The program includes a course map and details on all the teams competing.

Results and split info can be found here following the race. 

Following the conference meet, BYU will compete in the Mountain Region Championship which will take place on Nov. 15 in Ogden, Utah.