KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Behind a repeat victory from senior Kevin Lynch, the Utah Valley University men's cross country team claimed its fifth WAC Championship in the past seven years while the women's team followed with a runner-up finish on Saturday at Swope Park in Kansas City. 
 
The senior Lynch won the men's 8K competition by clocking in at a time of 24:48.72 en route to winning WAC Men's Athlete of the Year honors for the second consecutive season and being a key contributor to UVU's victory. Two other Wolverine men posted top-10 finishes in sophomore Hawk Call and junior Geofrey Kemboi. Call came in eighth place overall with a time of 25:21.96 and Kemboi followed right behind in ninth by clocking in at 25:27.91.  
 
The UVU men's squad took home the tightly contested conference championship with 44 overall points, while California Baptist takes runner-up honors by finishing just three points behind with a total of 47. UT Rio Grande Valley rounded out the top three by taking third with 68 points. 
 
Other Wolverines that contributed to UVU's success in Kansas City were sophomores Britain Reynolds (25:36.46) and Jared Gonzalez-Perez (25:43.45) who placed 12th and 14th, respectively. Gonzalez-Perez pushed for that fifth-place team finish to help UVU take the three-point win over CBU. Following suit was freshman Daniel Bausch (25:58.95) who came in 19th overall, making his WAC Championship debut. 
 
Head UVU coach Scott Houle earned WAC Men's Coach of the Year honors for the fifth time in the sport of cross country, while Lynch received first team All-WAC accolades for his second consecutive season. By finishing in the top-14, four other Wolverine men were named All-WAC Second Team in Call, Kemboi, Reynolds and Gonzalez-Perez. 
 
"Our guys ran very well today. Obviously led with Kevin Lynch. Kevin being able to have a back-to-back conference championship is always fun and exciting as well as pretty impressive," said Houle. "It's definitely exciting for him to finish his cross country career with that."
 
The Utah Valley women posted a second-place conference finish for the third straight year by finishing behind California Baptist in the 6K competition. Senior Savannah Neuberger led the UVU women's squad by placing sixth overall and clocking in at 21:39.63. Another Wolverine posted a top-ten finish with Neuberger, as sophomore Maggie Zwahlen placed seventh overall with a time of 21:45.13.
 
"Our women ran a great race," Houle added. "We were led by Savannah again. She ran a very controlled race and did what she was planning on doing. All five of our runners were able to run smart and controlled today."
 
CBU took the win for the women's 6K championship race by posting a perfect score of 15 total points. Utah Valley claimed second place honors with 69 points, while Grandy Canyon placed third with 88 points. The perfect score by CBU marks the first time in WAC history that a perfect score has been achieved at the WAC Championships. 
 
Also finishing in the top-20 on the day for the Wolverine women were Maddie Bench Empey (22:11.96) and Mazzie Melaney (22:23.49). Bench Empey finished in 15th, while Melaney placed 20th. Freshman Kate Richardson was UVU's fifth-place finisher by taking 21st with a time of 22:25.39. Sophomore Skye Jeppson also ran well for Utah Valley by finishing in 22nd with a time of 22:27.05.
 
By placing sixth and seventh, both Neuberger and Zwahlen earned first team All-WAC honors. It marks the second consecutive season that Neuberger has been named to the WAC's first team. 
 
Both the UVU men's and women's teams will get some rest after a busy October before heading to Salt Lake City for the NCAA Mountain Region Championship on Friday Nov. 15. The NCAA Regional will be hosted by the University of Utah at Rose Park Golf Course. 


 
MEN'S AWARDS
First Team All-WAC
Kevin Lynch, Utah Valley
Abraham Chirchir, UT Rio Grande Valley
Michael Kirwa, New Mexico State
McMarshall Hartzenberg, California Baptist
Zlatko Kozuhar, California Baptist
Manuel Peris, California Baptist
 
Second Team All-WAC
Hawk Call, Utah Valley
Geofrey Kemboi, Utah Valley
Max Selbach, Kansas City
Omer Almog, UT Rio Grande Valley
Britain Reynolds, Utah Valley
Iley Bruce, New Mexico State
Jared Gonzalez-Perez, Utah Valley
 
Men's Athlete of the Year: Kevin Lynch, Utah Valley
Men's Freshman of the Year: Zlatko Kozuhar, California Baptist
Men's Coach of the Year: Scott Houle, Utah Valley
 
WOMEN'S AWARDS
First Team All-WAC
Anett Somogyi, California Baptist
Anna Mate, California Baptist
Andrea Kolbeinsdottir, California Baptist
Fruzsina Ladanyi, California Baptist
Emilie Renaud, California Baptist
Savannah Neuberger, Utah Valley
Maggie Zwahlen, Utah Valley
 
Second Team All-WAC
Elizabeth Balsan, Grand Canyon
Erika Wallace, Grand Canyon
Sommer Herner, Kansas City
Jessica Dominguez, New Mexico State
Karolina Iznerowicz, California Baptist
Dorcas Koech, UT Rio Grande Valley
Paige Hildebrandt, Grand Canyon
 
Women's Athlete of the Year: Anett Somogyi, California Baptist
Women's Freshman of the Year: Andrea Kolbeinsdottir, California Baptist
Women's Coach of the Year: Adam Tribble, California Baptist


Kevin Lynch winning his second straight WAC Championship! 

Head UVU coach Scott Houle with WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd.