Lion Links: 5/17/21
Orlando City wins on the road, the Orlando Pride draw at home, MLS results, and more.
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Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports
Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! What a weekend of soccer it was. Both Orlando City and the Orlando Pride earned results. There was also tons of drama in MLS, the English Premier League, La Liga, and almost any other league you can think of. All in all, it was a very satisfying slate of matches. Can you believe we’re over halfway through May? I hope you were able to get some sleep following all of the excitement, because it’s back to work today. Before we dive into today’s links, let’s wish a happy birthday to Pride draft pick Kaylie Collins!
Olympic overview: BYU track and cross country teams take home national championships
The BYU track and cross country teams had a heyday at NCAA nationals, taking first place as a team in the women’s distance medley relay and women’s cross country, as well as individually in men’s cross country.
Cross Country
The BYU women’s cross country team won the NCAA National Championship on March 15, the Cougars’ fifth team national title in program history. The team competed at the OSU Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma, finishing with 96 overall points.
BYU had seven runners competing, five of which finished in the top 40. Senior Anna Camp-Bennet led the way for the Cougars, finishing the 6K course in just 20:28.3, 11th place overall. Junior Aubrey Frentheway and senior Whittni Orton were not far behind her, finishing 15th and 17th respectively.
Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images
The West Conference tournament has entered the semifinal stage in Las Vegas, NV. The WCC regular season champion Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated the Santa Clara Broncos 72-62 on Monday afternoon and the BYU Cougars face the San Francisco Dons at 5 p.m. ET.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs went 16-1 during the regular season and have won the WCC regular season title 16 of the last 17 seasons. However, the Bulldogs have not managed to win the WCC tournament since 2018.
The Bulldogs feature the 2021 WCC Co-Player of the Year in senior forward Jenn Wirth. Wirth was second in scoring with 13.2 points and led her squad with 8.4 rebounds per contest, which was good for third in the conference. Jill Townsend joined her teammate on the All-WCC First Team list after leading her team with 13.8 points. LeeAnne Wirth, a WCC Honorable Mention, averaged 8.9 points and 5.8 rebounds.