Alder becomes first BYU female athlete since 2019 to triumph at NCAA Pre-Nationals, with Cougars placing five athletes in top 10 to earn first victory at October preview event in 21 years; Shearer helps Razorbacks produce five scorers in top 20 to sweep men’s individual, team titles at Panorama Farms

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

EARLYSVILLE, Va. – Almost as if it was a sign from the heavens, when a light rain quickly turned into a driving rainstorm midway through the women’s blue 6-kilometer race Saturday at the Virginia College and Open meet, Carmen Alder and her Brigham Young teammates responded by pouring it on the competition at the Panorama Farms Course.

With Arkansas establishing a lead through the 2-kilometer mark and motivated to produce a sweep of the marquee races at the NCAA Division 1 Pre-Nationals event after Ben Shearer was the catalyst for the men’s win earlier for the Razorbacks, BYU quickly seized the momentum and washed away any hopes of a comeback.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

Alder continued to build momentum during the second half of the race, prevailing in 19 minutes, 36.2 seconds, including a strong final kilometer of 3:04.4, despite uneven footing on the wet terrain and an uphill finish over the final 200 meters.

Jenna Hutchins finished fifth in 19:58.3, Aubrey Frentheway clocked 20:00.6 to secure seventh, with Lexy Halladay-Lowry (20:04.0) and Riley Chamberlain (20:06.0) taking ninth and 10th, respectively, as sixth-ranked BYU achieved a 32-90 victory against No. 19 Arkansas in the program’s first appearance at Panorama Farms since 2016.

The Cougars earned their first win at the NCAA Pre-Nationals since 2002 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

Alder became the first BYU female athlete to triumph at the event since Erica Birk-Jarvis was victorious in 2019, also at the LaVern Gibson Course.

Maddy Elmore placed second in 19:47.0, leading Oregon to a fourth-place finish with 117 points, as the Ducks surged over the final kilometer to overtake Tennessee (127 points).

Paityn Noe ran 19:49.6 in her first collegiate 6-kilometer race to take third for Arkansas, which also had Sydney Thorvaldson secure sixth in 19:58.9, as the Razorbacks placed five scorers in the top 40.

Margot Appleton was looking to deliver a big highlight for host Virginia, but the junior finished fourth in 19:55.6, helping the Cavaliers achieve five scorers in the top 50 to take third with 104 points.

Sadie Sigfstead earned eighth in 20:01.6 for Villanova, which placed 10th with 351 points.

Shearer covered the final kilometer with a 2:39.4 split to rally from third and emerge victorious in the men’s blue 8-kilometer competition in 22:55.0, becoming the first Arkansas male athlete to triumph at the NCAA Pre-Nationals.

The No. 21 Razorbacks had five scorers in the top 20, including four athletes among the first six finishers, to prevail at NCAA Pre-Nationals for the first time with a 35-89 victory against No. 17 Tennessee, led by runner-up Yaseen Abdalla (22:58.6), eighth-place finisher Dean Casey (23:25.9) and 11th-place performer Gabriel Sanchez (23:30.7).

Kirami Yego, a South Alabama transfer, was leading entering the final kilometer for the Razorbacks, but took third in 23:04.2.

Patrick Kiprop finished fifth in 23:11.5 and Jacob McLeod secured sixth in 23:17.1 for Arkansas, which had Myles Richter place 20th in 23:40.0.

Virginia, led by a 10th-place performance from Gary Martin (23:30.0), took third with 112 points and Montana State – last year’s NCAA Pre-Nationals winner at Oklahoma State – finished fourth at 137 points, with Purdue achieving fifth with 215 points.

Chandler Gibbens from Kansas finished fourth in 23:09.6, Penn’s Dylan Throop captured seventh in 23:20.1 and Santa Clara’s Nicholas Russell grabbed ninth in 23:27.5.

Kansas State freshman Josephine Wanjiku, representing Kenya, won the women’s orange 6-kilometer race in 20:37.3, lifting the Wildcats to a 116-139 triumph against Richmond.

Kent State junior Baidy Ba pulled away from Virginia’s Nick Karayianis (24:14.8) in the final kilometer to prevail in the men’s orange 8-kilometer race in 24:06.7.

UMass Lowell had five athletes in the top 25 to produce a 49-73 victory against Missouri.