OREM, Utah — Everlyn Kemboi took home the individual title to lead Utah Valley University's 27th-ranked women's cross-country team to a perfect score on Friday at the UVU Invitational at Lakeside Park. The Wolverines had the top nine finishers and 13 of the top 15 overall.
Kemboi ran in front nearly the entirety of the race, finishing the 5k in 18:25.6, with
Hannah Branch behind her in second with a time of 18:43.0. Both runners are coming off All-American outdoor track seasons in the 10k this past spring. Newcomer
Madison Flippence, a transfer from Utah Tech, was third, followed by returners
Mazzie Melaney Preston and
Maggie Zwahlen in fourth and fifth, respectively. Behind the top five was a group of four freshmen: Hailey Phillips,
Emma Mahon,
Eliese Hohmann, and
Ari Trimble, who were each making their collegiate debuts.
"It was nice to see the crowd there and the support that our teams received. It was really good for the kids to see that," said UVU head coach
Scott Houle. "The focus today was to go out and tempo the first lap and really push the second lap and I think we were able to do that. Obviously, the women ran really well. We have a lot of seniors right at the top but some freshmen right behind them. I'm pleased with how they came out and attacked the race."
Following Utah Valley's perfect score of 15, BYU took second with 50 points with Southern Utah, Idaho State and new program Salt Lake Community College rounding out the five team scores. The University of Utah also had four individuals compete, with Maddie Reed coming in as the top non-UVU runner, in ninth place overall.
On the men's side, returning WAC Freshman of the Year
Max Mahon led the Wolverines with a third-place finish, running his 5k race in 15:40.4. UVU's
Ayden Womack,
Austin Hone,
Habtamu Cheney, and
Jason Hoffman finished in spots six through 10, in order. In the team race, the Wolverine men finished second behind BYU, with the Cougars' Joey Nokes winning the individual title.
"Our guys did a really good over the summer to get into better shape and I think the future is bright. They're going to continue to get better and stronger. There's work that both teams can do and it's a matter of fine tuning some things, staying healthy, and just being competitive," Houle said.
Salt Lake CC took third on the men's side with Idaho State and Southern Utah's contingent of runners rounding out the team scoring.
Utah Valley will next race on the week of Sept. 23-24, sending runners to two different races. A group of Wolverines will head to Pocatello, Idaho for the Idaho State Invitational on Friday, Sept. 23. Another group will head to Stillwater, Oklahoma — the site of the 2022 NCAA Championships — to compete in the Cowboy Jamboree at Oklahoma State.
