NCAA Division 1 Mountain Regional Championships Recap

The nation’s top-ranked men’s and women’s teams came to snowy Reno, Nev., and showed their mettle Friday at the NCAA Division 1 Mountain Regional Championships at Washoe Golf Club.

 

Fresh off team wins for both genders at the Big 12 Championships, the Brigham Young University Cougars ravaged strongly over the final two kilometers in each race to earn automatic berths to the NCAA Championships set for November 23 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wis.

 

 

Junior standout Riley Chamberlain, who anchored the NCAA indoor winning distance medley relay last March, was the first Cougar across the line in fifth in 19:56.4. The Del Oro High product was followed by teammates Carmen Alder (8th in 19:57.8), Taylor Rohatinsky (9th in 20:05.6) and Taylor Lovell (10th in 20:09.2).

 

The Cougar women ran without usual top 1-2 Lexy Halladay-Lowry and Jenna Hutchins.

 

The BYU team won with 52 points, beating NAU (65) and New Mexico (111).

 

Individually, New Mexico freshman Pamela Kosgei won the 6k battle in 19:30.9.

 

The Cougar men stood only fifth as a team nearly one kilometer into the race but crept up through the snowy conditions to win a close team battle 52-61 over sixth-ranked New Mexico. Eighth-ranked NAU was third with 71.

 

Texas Tech freshman Solomon Kipchoge, 28, held off fast-charging Habtom Samuel of New Mexico, who fell in the first minute of the race, by a 28:55.9 to 28:59.2 margin.

 

Senior Casey Clinger was the first of five all region performers for the BYU squad. The fifth-placer in the U.S. Olympic Trials 10k final in June was fourth for the Cougars in 29:24.9, with Creed Thompson sixth in 29:27.1, Davin Thompson eighth in 29:29.4 and Joey Nokes ninth in 29:33.6.

 

The Cougars could potentially add Aidan Troutner and James Corrigan to their lineup for the NCAA final.