HONOLULU -- Chelsea Smith McKell won her second race of the season on Saturday as she helped BYU cruise in Hawaii and post a perfect score at the Big Wave Invitational.

"We had a great race," head coach Patrick Shane said. "I am pleased with how they ran. I did not expect to run a perfect score. I am really pleased with the effort by these young women."

BYU won the seven-team event with the perfect score, 15 points.

Smith McKell, a senior form Spokane, Wash. won the Autumn Classic last Saturday. She backed it up by winning Saturday's race in a familiar place. She transferred to BYU from BYU-Hawaii where she won back-to-back NCAA Division II cross country titles.

Shane said she did great, and had a successful homecoming.

"She won it in a really fast time, and looked good doing it," he said.

Posting a perfect score requires solid running from more than just your top runner and Smith McKell had that support as she was followed by Sarah Ingebretsen from Salt Lake City, Ann Marie Thomas from Orem, Jenna Taylor from Provo, and Allison Passey from Kaysville, coming in second through fifth, respectively.

"I think we all ran really well," Ingebretsen said. "It was a pretty course. It was fun. We all stuck together really well and helped each other. I think everyone did really good."

Ingebretsen said it is races like this that prepare the team for bigger races latter on in the season.

"I think this race was a good confidence booster," she said. "It helps us go back and get ready for the big ones."

One of the big ones is up next for the women. They will hit the road again and run in the Great American Cross Country Festival in Gary, N.C. next Saturday.

BIG WAVE INVITATIONAL RESULTS (4K)
Chelsea Smith-McKell   1			14:25.4
Sarah Ingebretsen      2			14:49.4
Ann Marie Thomas       3			14:52.8
Jenna Taylor           4   14:53.2
Allison Passey         5	 	14:53.5
Brooke Kerby           9			15:11.3
Lisa Frischnecht      11			15:17.0
Carolyn Quebe         13			15:35.4

PROVO -- After winning last week's Autumn Classic, the women's cross country team will head to Hawaii for the Big Wave Invitational.

"We're taking some very good runners," women's head coach Patrick Shane said. "I think it will be a strong team."

Chelsea Smith McKell, who won last week's Autumn Classic, will have a homecoming of sorts. She transferred to BYU from BYU-Hawaii after last season. She ran at BYU-H for three seasons and captured the NCAA Division II national title in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

There will be eight other girls making the trip with Chelsea, including All-American Kristen Ogden, who recently returned from an LDS mission. True freshman Brooke Kirby, who ran unattached last week and placed 15th, will be putting on the BYU uniform for the first time.

With the depth of this years team coach Shane was able to keep most of the runners, who are making the trip to Hawaii, out of last week's meet. In doing so, he said they were able to train hard and he feels they are ready to go.

"We've got a talented team," Shane said. "If we can take seven of eight athletes that maybe wouldn't be in our top five and say now its up to you, they will rise to the occasion."

Shane said the local teams from Hawaii always participate in the meet along with a few from the mainland making the field deep.

The men's team has the week off to prepare for their road trip to Minnesota, where they will race in the Griak Invitational. The Mondo Men's NCAA-I Cross Country Pre-Season poll has them rank No. 4 after last week.

Men's head coach Ed Eyestone said the poll is based on last season as well as the first two meets of this season. He also said this is the highest the Cougars have been ranked this early in the season for a long time.