SAN BRUNO, Calif. – No. 2 BYU was a unanimous selection to defend its West Coast Conference Championship in the annual preseason survey of the nine conference coaches. After posting a runner-up finish at the 2018 NCAA Nationals, BYU claimed a perfect score of 64 points, edging No. 6 Portland with 57 points and the remaining first-place vote.
 
The Cougars and Pilots each earned top-10 rankings in the USFTCCCA preseason national poll for the second straight year. BYU is second both nationally and in the highly competitive Mountain Region behind No. 1 NAU. The Pilots are the two-time defending West Region champions and are rated No. 2 in the West.
 
All told, six of nine WCC programs earned a USFTCCCA preseason regional ranking. Gonzaga enters the 2019 campaign in the “receiving votes” category in the national poll and is seventh in the West followed by San Francisco (No. 10), LMU (No. 12) and Pepperdine (No. 14).
 
BYU and Portland dominated the preseason All-WCC squad claiming nine of 11 spots. The Cougars return a pair of All-Americans – Conner Mantz and Clayson Shumway, who placed 10th and 32nd at NCAA Nationals a year ago.
 
The 2019 WCC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll and All-WCC team is selected solely by the nine conference head coaches.
 
The 2019 WCC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships are set for Friday, November 1 at the Woodley Lakes Golf Course in Van Nuys, Calif.
 
2019 WCC Men’s Cross Country Coaches Poll

Team (First Place)		Pts.
1. No. 2 BYU	(8)	64
2. No. 6 Portland	(1)	57
3. RV Gonzaga		50
4. San Francisco		40
5. Santa Clara		37
6. LMU		30
7. Pepperdine		19
8. Saint Mary’s		17
9. San Diego		10

 
2019 All-WCC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Team*

Name	Institution	Yr.
Jacob Heslington	BYU	Sr.
Peter Hogan	Gonzaga	Jr.
Zac Jacklin	BYU	So.
Reuben Kiprono	Portland	Jr.
Brayden McLelland	BYU	Sr.
Conner Mantz	BYU	So.
James Mwaura	Gonzaga	So.
Riley Osen	Portland	Jr.
Clayson Shumway	BYU	Jr.
Evert Silva	Portland	So.
Caleb Webb	Portland	Sr.

*Due to a tie, the preseason team has 11 student-athletes instead of the usual 10
 
WCC CROSS COUNTRY 2018 NCAA HIGHLIGHTS

• All four competing WCC teams earned a top-15 finish: No. 9 BYU women (7^th), No. 2 BYU men (2^nd), No. 4 Portland men (3^rd) and No. 23 Portland women (12^th)
• No. 2 BYU and No. 4 Portland reached the podium on the men’s side for the second consecutive year. BYU finished second with 116 points in their 20^thconsecutive NCAA Championship appearance while the Pilots took third with 160 in their 19^thoverall 
• The WCC has now had five podium finishes in the last two years (BYU men, Portland men, San Francisco women in 2017)
• The Pilots have now earned three podium finishes in the last five seasons
• Portland has won back-to-back NCAA West Regional races, while BYU has posted back-to-back runner-up finishes – each to eventual NCAA Champion NAU 
• This is the first time in BYU history that both the men’s and women’s teams have finished in the top seven at the NCAA Championships
• Seven men’s runners earned All-American status: Conner Mantz, BYU (10^th/29:17.10); Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse, Portland (21^st/29:41.66); Rory Linkletter, BYU (22^nd/29:42.43); Connor McMillan, BYU (24^th/29:48.08); Logan Orndorf, Portland (25^th/29:49.54); Clayson Shumway, BYU (32^nd/29:54.86) and Nick Hauger, Portland (40^th/29:58.50)