STILLWATER, Okla. – For the first time in school history, Utah Valley University had multiple competitors compete at the NCAA Cross Country Championships as Maddie Bench Empey took part in the women's championship race while Britain Reynolds participated in the men's race on Monday afternoon at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater.
 
The junior Bench Empey, who became UVU's first female runner to compete at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in program history on Monday, led the way by posting a 136th-place finish out of 256 competitors. Bench Empey covered the 6K course in a time of 21:45.6 to record the respectable finish at her first NCAA Championship appearance. 
 
The junior Reynolds, who became the fourth men's runner to compete at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in program history, finished 156th out of 251 runners in the men's 10K championship. Reynolds too posted a respectable finish with a time of 32:18.2 in his first 10K of the season.
 
"The meet went really well. I'm proud of both Maddie and Britain for getting out and racing smart and finishing right in the thick of things," head UVU coach Scott Houle said. "I'm pleased with the places that they both finished in, and the best part is that they both will return for us next year. 
 
"It was great for both of them to get this NCAA Championship experience. This is by far the toughest NCAA course out there so I'm very proud of their efforts, their times, and their places that they finished in. Hopefully they will both be able to come back to the NCAA Championships again next year and I'm looking forward to their growth and their training to see how they improve moving forward."
 
Bench Empey and Reynolds become UVU's first NCAA cross country qualifiers since 2017 when Tyson Lambert posted a 104th-place finish in the men's 10K championship that season. Former UVU great Joshua McCabe also previously competed for the Wolverine men at both the 2010 and 2012 NCAA Championships—McCabe placed 94th in 2012 and 242nd in 2010 (sustained an injury during the race). 
 
"There are over 4500 men and 4500 women that compete in cross country at the Division I level and for them to both finish in the top-250 in the sport puts in perspective of what they just achieved. I'm very proud of both Maddie and Britain and I they truly represented Utah Valley University very well!" 
 
In the team race, BYU won the women's national championship with 96 points, while Northern Arizona took home the men's championship with 60 points. 

The 2020-21 NCAA Cross Country Championship was hosted by Oklahoma State University. 
 
The meet marks a close to the 2020-21 cross country season for UVU. The Wolverines will continue their track & field season this weekend by taking part at the UNLV Spring Invitational in Las Vegas in outdoor competition this weekend (March 18-20). Utah Valley will then host the UVU Collegiate Invitational on April 2-3 at Hal Wing Track & Field in Orem.