No. 5 BYU earned a podium finish at the Big 12 Championship meet in Stillwater, Okla., on Saturday morning, Oct. 31, 2026. A strong push during the final 1,000 meters allowed the Cougars to secure third place behind champion Colorado and Oklahoma State.
James Corrigan led the Cougars with a 7th-place finish, setting a new course record with a time of 23:20.2. His performance broke the previous course record of 23:30.1 set by Casey Clinger in 2022 by ten seconds. Head coach Ed Eyestone noted that the race was a back and forth battle with the Iowa State Cyclones, as the two teams swapped positions at every 1,000 meter mark.
The Cougars finished with 91 points, surpassing Iowa State's 104 points to claim their first podium finish since joining the Big 12 in 2024. Key scoring contributors included Tayvon Kitchen in 13th, Isaac Hedengren in 21st, Dalton Mortensen in 24th, and Hunter Kitchen in 29th. Hedengren and Mortensen both moved past two Iowa State runners during the final 2,000 meters to secure the result.
Other BYU finishers included Malachi Schoenherr in 32nd, Jefferson McMullin in 33rd, Noah Jenkins in 36th, Land Lambert in 37th, and Carter Cutting in 61st. Schoenherr finished as the fourth freshman in the race. Lambert was the only athlete in the field who had previously run on the course, which BYU will host for the 2027 NCAA Championship meet.
The Cougars will next compete in the NCAA Mountain Regionals in Albuquerque, New Mexico. That race is scheduled to begin at noon MST on Friday, Nov. 13.
