Volleyball
All-Conference: A 13-game winning streak helped the Cougars take second place in the WCC and earn an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament, where they made their second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. Freshman middle blocker J. Whitney Young (’17) was named WCC Freshman of the Year. Young led the WCC in blocks with an average of 1.55 per set in conference matches. Sophomore outside hitter Alexa L. Gray (’16) and senior middle blocker Kathryn L. LeCheminant (’14) were named to the All-WCC first team.
Soccer
300: In a 2–0 win over San Francisco, coach Jennifer Rockwood (BS ’89) became the seventh BYU head coach in any sport to win 300 games and the fifth Division I coach to win all 300 at the same institution. Back to Back: Six different players scored in a 6–1 victory over Saint Mary’s to clinch a share of the conference title for the second consecutive year. Senior goalkeeper Erica Owens (’13) was named WCC Goalkeeper of the Year; Cloee Colohan (’14) and Rachel L. Manning (’14) were both named to the All-WCC first team. Colohan also earned All-America Third Team honors.
Cross Country
On the Podium: Jason R. Witt (’14) won first place at the WCC Championship, leading the men’s cross country team to its second conference title in three years. Head coach Edward D. Eyestone (BS ’85, MS ’90) was named WCC Coach of the Year. The team took fourth place at both the NCAA Mountain Region Championship and the NCAA National Championship. It was their 14th consecutive national appearance and their second podium finish under Eyestone. Tylor S. Thatcher (’13) finished 21st and Jared B. Ward (’14) 36th; both were named All-Americans for the second season in a row. Top Three: The women’s team qualified for nationals after taking home third-place finishes at the WCC Championship and the NCAA Mountain Region Championship. Andrea Nelson Harrison (’15), Lindsey Sowards Nielson (’14), Natalie Shields (’16), and Sarah A. Yingling (’14) were selected to the All-Region team.
Football
The Noise on Van Noy: All-American linebacker Kyle Van Noy (BA ’13) was named a semifinalist candidate for the Bednarik Award, the Butkus Award, the Lombardi Award, and the Lott IMPACT Trophy; he is also a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. Van Noy has 26 career sacks, the fourth most among current players nationally, and 60.5 career tackles for loss, third most among active players. The senior outside backer has scored a BYU record five career touchdowns as a defender and is the only bowl subdivision player to record a statistic in every major defensive category during the previous two seasons. Follow his achievements at KVN3.com. Record Highs: Wide receiver Cody T. Hoffman (’14) eclipsed the receiving touchdown record held by Austin K. Collie (’10) with 33 touchdowns; his 248 receptions also beat the career reception record held previously by Dennis G. Pitta (’09).
Basketball
Top of Their Game: Forward Eric Mika (’17) is the first true freshman to start a season opener for BYU since 1998. The Lone Peak High School national champion is no. 98 on CBSSports.com’s list of the top 100 players in college basketball; guard M. Tyler Haws (’15) is no. 34. Haws recently passed his father, Marty Haws (BA ’93), on BYU’s all-time scoring list with his 1,338th career point. He was also named to the pre-
season top-50 lists for the Naismith Award and the Wooden Award, two of college basketball’s most prestigious honors.
