Despite the loss of individual national champion Whittni Orton, All-American Anna Camp-Bennett and veteran Sara Musselman, seventh-year head coach Diljeet Taylor returns a BYU women’s cross country team filled with both experience and promising newcomers.

“I am excited to get the team back together,” Taylor said. “I am really looking forward to seeing what this group can accomplish.”

Seniors Aubrey Frentheway and McKenna Lee-Hansen lead the team into 2022 with a combined 30 career collegiate meets on their resume. Frentheway, a two-time All-American from Cheyenne, Wyoming won the BYU Autumn Classic to go along with three other top-10 finishes a season ago. Lee-Hansen, a native of North Ogden, Utah, narrowly missed All-American honors at nationals in 2021 with a 46th-place finish.

Lexy Halladay-Lowry and Anna Martin also return after appearances at the 2021 championships.

After finishing second to NC State in 2021, the Cougars will vie for a second national title in three seasons as the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships return to the Oklahoma State course in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Nov. 19.

The BYU men’s cross county team enters the season with anticipation of capitalizing on experience gained by core returning members of the 2021 team who finished seventh at the NCAA Championships.

All-American senior Casey Clinger, who finished eighth in the 2021 NCAA Championships with a time of 28:55.7, headlines the 2022 roster. Fellow senior Brandon Garnica and All-American Weber State graduate transfer Christian Allen are also expected to make significant contributions. Garnica finished just outside the top 50 in last year’s NCAA National Championships with a 54th-place, 29.41.8 performance. Hailing from West Jordan, Utah, Allen placed 16th at the 2021 NCAA Division 1 Cross Country Championships for the Wildcats with a time of 29.17.0, good for a personal best.

Veteran Aidan Troutner returns after a 2021 sophomore campaign spent garnering All-WCC Second Team and All-Mountain Region honors. The junior from Provo clocked in at ninth last year in the NCAA Mountain Regional with a 30:04.2 race. Sophomore Kenneth Rooks aims to build upon his success with the track and field team last year, recording a personal best 8:22.56 (6th-place finish) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in June.

The season begins for both squads on Thursday, Sept. 1 with the UVU Invitational at Lakeside Sports Park in Orem.

The Cougars will once again be on the road for the NCAA Mountain Regional event on Friday, Nov. 11 in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the UNM North Golf Course.

BYU will look to qualify for the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday, Nov. 19.