The first WCC cross country championships after reigning first place team BYU left the conference- Saint Mary’s women secure third place spot

After years of sweeping the competition at the conference championship race, BYU’s departure from the WCC has left a notable impact on the racing field.

By Caledonia Buchanan
American Journalism Student

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For five consecutive years, BYU’s women’s cross country team has swept the competition and won the WCC cross country championship race. On the men’s side, the 2022 season resulted in their ninth straight win. As of June 2023, BYU officially left the West Coast Conference to join the Big 12, and this departure created a shift in the competition. “Usually BYU runners would take up most of the higher slots, so this year it was refreshing to see the competition shift a bit,”said Rayna Stanziano, a current grad student on the St. Mary’s women’s XC team. 

Since they were reigning champions for years, leaving the conference meant leaving the number one spot available in a way that it hasn't been in years. “There was a dramatic change not having BYU in the conference,” said St. Mary’s women’s XC coach Marty Kinsey. “Last year they placed 10 runners in the top 20. And 7 of the 15 ‘All WCC’ accolades went to BYU,” he added. 

“The race definitely felt more open with BYU leaving the conference, and like every school had a chance to win,” said SMC senior cross country runner Emily Field. 

“The focus was no longer just on how much BYU was winning by; there was a tight race between first and second, and the other team positions were up for grabs,” said Stanziano. Whereas previously, when BYU was still in the WCC; “Having that many talented runners in a team front loads the results and makes for an uneventful outcome,” said senior Molly Dreher from the St Mary’s team when asked about previous years competing with BYU. “You don't want one team to sweep every year,” Dreher added. 

“BYU leaving had a profound impact [in a positive way] on the student athlete experience. They used to take it out really fast and it would stretch out the field in ways that made it more of a time trial for them and a barn burner for the rest of the field.” Kinsey said. 
    
BYU competed in its first Big 12 conference championship race on October 28 of this year, and the women did in fact secure the winning spot in their debut race with the conference, finishing with five of their runners placing in the overall top ten according to the Big 12 championship recap. 


“The competition field without BYU created more diversity among all-conference runners.” Stanziano commented ini reference to the new competition field and the room for runners to improve and secure higher placements now that BYU is no longer in the WCC. “I’m happy they are gone, I don’t think they would have dominated the conference forever but it’s nice to have variety and give athletes a goal of winning conference as a team.” Dreher remarked in regards to how the change has impacted athletes and teams and their ability to score higher as a team. “I’m a huge supporter of not having them in the field. BYU doesn’t resemble any school or team in the WCC. They have nearly unlimited funds and tuition there is about $6,000 vs. a WCC average of about $55,000. Having them in the conference was like putting a whale in a fishbowl.” Kinsey added.

In this year’s WCC championship race, Portland took home the winning title, with Gonzaga in second and our very own Saint Mary’s taking third. This is an improvement from the 2022 season’s 6th place finish, and outstanding performances from the team secured their spot. “We did great, an all around amazing performance that got us third!” Dreher said. With BYU gone, “I feel this made for a more exciting outcome, particularly our awesome third place finish.” Stanziano remarked. “Our team was able to implement a rewarding team strategy as well that normally is hard when the pace is that hard from the start. We fared well.” Kinsey remarked in regards to SMC’s team performance at the race.

Overall, the departure of BYU certainly left spots open and available for teams to shuffle and claim, and made it possible for the athletes to strive to win as a team, instead of having the expectation that BYU would take the title again. “This year there was a much better representation for All-WCC awards with USF, SMC, Portland, Gonzaga, all earning multiple honors and SCU with one as well, it wasn’t a BYU takes all moment which is better for the conference and student athlete’s experience.” said Kinsey. The Saint Mary’s women had a remarkable championship race, and continued on to race at the NCAA West regionals competition on Saturday November 11th, with the team finishing 17th out of 39 teams. Stanziano led the Gaels with a 44th place finish, and achieved her second fastest ever 6k time. Followed by Sophomore Kaylee Barnes and Senior Molly Dreher, the Gaels had three athletes finish within the top 100 racers for the first time in program history. “Our team is really strong this year so it will be exciting to build on in the future.” Field remarked. ​