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PROVO — It's not the national championship meet, but Saturday's NCAA Pre-national Invitational may prove to be just as important for many of the top harriers around the country.
At least, second-ranked BYU hopes so.
Conner Mantz won the men's 8,000-meter individual title, and BYU held off Colorado by two points to take victory over several top teams in the country at the annual pre-national invitational meet held on the same championship course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
It's the third-straight BYU victory at pre-nationals, but the first individual title for Mantz, who placed fourth last year.
The sophomore from Sky View High was unofficially in sixth place, near the back of the lead pack, with about 2,000 meters to go but used a kick and a surge for a winning time of 23 minutes, 20.8 seconds to help the Cougars capture the team crown.
Jacob Heslington added a top-10 finish for BYU, finishing fourth in 23:26.7. No. 14 Brandon Garnica (23:46.7), No. 18 Daniel Garney (23:51.8) and No. 44 Michael Ottesen (24:23.1) also scored for the Cougars — the reigning national runners-up.
"I'm super pleased with the men’s race," BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said in a statement from the school. "Mantz battled hard for the win, showing he can race with anyone in the country. Heslington closed the gap from our 1-2 spot and got support from teammates, Garnica and Carney.
"Today’s race showed that with our 1-4, we’re in a position to compete with the best in the nation."
It was just enough to hold off Colorado, which scored 83 points to BYU's 81. The Buffs were led by seniors John Dressel (23:34.4) and Joe Klecker (23:35.3), who finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
Iona (140), Washington (160) and Ole Miss (174) rounded out the top five. Weber State finished ninth overall, paced by a 51st-place performance by . sophomore Taylor Dillon (24:27.0).
The BYU women, also ranked No. 2 nationally by the U.S. track coaches' association, finished second in the 6,000-meter run — just three points behind Washington (84).
BYU senior Erica Birk-Jarvis captured the individual title in 20:02.6 to lead the Cougars, who also placed Courtney Wayment at fourth place in 20:10.8.
Olivia Hoj (20:32.8), Anna Camp (20:36.0) and Sadie Sargent (20:56.8) rounded out BYU's scoring runners.
"I am very pleased with how the ladies fought today," said BYU women's coach Diljeet Taylor in a statement. "Our main goal was to find a rhythm on the NCAA course and to continue to cut down the gap. The team worked well together and I’m excited to continue to train hard and come back in a month to showcase our toughness."
BYU sophomore Matt Owens won the 8,000-meter open (non-team scoring) event with a time of 24:24.8. Teammates Garrett Marsing (24:45.1), Connor Weaver (24:51.8) and Talem Franco (25:11.1) also finished in the top 10 of the open race.
Maddie Cannon led the BYU women in the 6,000-meter open race, finishing third in 21:30.2.
The Wildcat women finished 25th, with junior Abby Lawrence leading the way in 20:44.7 for 35th individually.
BYU next turns its attention to the West Coast Conference championships, which will be held Nov. 1 in Van Nuys, California. The NCAA Mountain Region Championships will be held Nov. 15 in Salt Lake City, followed by the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana.
