VARIOUS SITES, October 27 & 28 — Conference championships, perennial highlight comps that close out fall’s short cross country regular season, provided the sharpest focus yet on teams’ readiness for the Regionals and Nationals ahead.
Among squads tagged as top-10 Nationals contenders in our October issue XC Preview, five men’s teams (North Carolina, Northern Arizona, Stanford and Wisconsin) and three women’s squads (Florida, Georgetown, NC State and Northern Arizona) prevailed as conference winners.
Among men’s individuals tipped in the Preview, Harvard’s Graham Blanks, Stanford’s Ky Robinson and New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel won loop crowns. (Samuel was a late Preview add after we cottoned to his elite résumé.)
From the women’s slate of Preview touts, defending NCAA champ Katelyn Tuohy of NC State, Northern Arizona’s Elise Stearns and Florida’s Parker Valby raced to titles.
In a sense these are deceptive stats because likely Nationals players often line up in the same conference. For example, the last pre-conference USTFCCCA coaches poll (October 17, thus informed by more recent data than our Previews) rated the Oklahoma State and BYU men 2 and 3 nationally, the order in which they finished at the Big 12, the Cowboys scoring 24 to the loop newbie Wildcats’ 55.
See also the SEC women individually, where entrants included Preview top 10 picks Doris Lemngole and Hilda Olemomoi of Alabama, who placed 2–3 behind Valby.
Never expect a 360-view of the harrier landscape before Nationals. NAU’s Drew Bosley, our top men’s Preview pick individually, sat out the Big Sky meet. Doesn’t mean the winner at September’s Virginia Invitational on an 8K version of the Nationals course won’t suit up for Regionals. Deep teams are able to strategically platoon — race or rest — their harriers and still win titles. We guess this explains conference absentees Casey Clinger (BYU men) and Amaris Tyynismaa (NC State women), among others.
Top 5 teams & individuals from conference meets that included poll-ranked or recently poll-ranked teams. Subscribers can find deeper results in our eTrack Newsletter.
ACC
Tallahassee, Florida, October 27—
Men’s Teams: 1. North Carolina 49; 2. Syracuse 65; 3. Virginia 77; 4. Notre Dame 86; 5. Florida State 117.
Individuals: 1. *Parker Wolfe (NC) 23:03.1; 2. Paul O’Donnell’ (Syr-Ire) 23:08.2; 3. *David Mullarkey’ (FlSt-GB) 23:11.5; 4. Alex Phillip (NC) 23:14.2; 5. Perry Mackinnon’ (Syr-Can) 23:15.2.
Women’s Teams: 1. NC State 37; 2. Notre Dame 80; 3. Virginia 82; 4. Syracuse 167; 5. North Carolina 172.
Individuals: 1. *Katelyn Tuohy (NCSt) 19:22.8; 2. *Amina Maatoug’ (Duke-Neth) 19:29.9; 3. Kelsey Chmiel (NCSt) 19:36.5; 4. Olivia Markezich (NDm) 19:38.1; 5. *Margot Appleton (Va) 19:44.5.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC
Greenville, North Carolina, October 28—
Men’s Teams: 1. Tulsa 38; 2. Charlotte 44; 3. Tulane 61; 4. Wichita State 107; 5. Rice 135.
Individuals: 1. Nickolas Scudder (Char) 22:33.4; 2. Bradley Makuvire’ (Tul-Zim) 22:55.6; 3. **Maddon Muhammad (Char) 22:56.7; 4. ***Charlie Krasnoff (Tuls) 23:00.6; 5. *Illia Kunin’ (Tul-Ukr) 23:02.3.
Women’s Teams: 1. Tulane 42; 2. Charlotte 58; 3. SMU 76; 4. Tulsa 102; 5. Wichita State 128.
Individuals: 1. *Gemma Rebollo’ (Tul-Spa) 20:39.2; 2. *Lucy Ndungu (Wich) 20:45.8; 3. *Kaitlyn Gearin (SMU) 20:50.6; 4. **Julia Anna Lily Bell (Tul) 20:53.7; 5. *Danna Diaz’ (Tul-Col) 20:58.0.
BIG 10
Verona, Wisconsin, October 27—
Men’s Teams: 1. Wisconsin 19; 2. Michigan 63; 3. Michigan State 86; 4. Purdue 115; 5. Illinois 133.
Individuals: 1. *Bob Liking (Wi) 23:56.8; 2. Jackson Sharp’ (Wi-Aus) 24:06.2; 3. Tom Brady (Mi) 24:18.7; 4. *Evan Bishop (Wi) 24:23.1; 5. **Adam Spencer’ (Wi-Aus) 24:25.8.
Women’s Teams: 1. Michigan State 46; 2. Wisconsin 81; 3. Michigan 102; 4. Penn State 136; 5. Ohio State 154.
Individuals: 1. *Addie Engel (OhSt) 20:47.7; 2. **Leane Willemse (Wi) 20:57.2; 3. *Makenna Veen (MiSt) 21:01.1; 4. Katie Osika (MiSt) 21:05.1; 5. *Katherine Hessler (NWn) 21:10.0.
BIG 12
Ames, Iowa, October 28—
Men’s Teams: 1. Oklahoma State 25; 2. BYU 55; 3. Texas 70; 4. Iowa State 114; 5. Texas Tech 171.
Individuals: 1. ***Brian Musau’ (OkSt-Ken) 22:46.6; 2. Alex Maier (OkSt) 22:49.1; 3. *Creed Thompson (BYU) 22:54.1; 4. Devin Hart (Tx) 22:57.6; 5. **Fouad Messaoudi’ (OkSt-Mor) 23:00.4.
Women’s Teams: 1. BYU 35; 2. Oklahoma State 39; 3. Iowa State 70; 4. West Virginia 163; 5. Kansas State 185.
Individuals: 1. Taylor Roe (OkSt) 19:35.4; 2. **Billah Jepkirui’ (OkSt-Ken) 19:42.1; 3. ***Juliet Cherubet’ (TxT-Ken) 19:43.4; 4. Lexy Halladay-Lowry (BYU) 19:44.3; 5. Molly Born (OkSt) 19:45.1.
BIG EAST
Kenosha, Wisconsin, October 28—
Men’s Teams: 1. Butler 36; 2. Villanova 42; 3. Georgetown 71; 4. Providence 75; 5. Creighton 168.
Individuals: 1. *Liam Murphy (Vill) 24:46.3; 2. Haftu Strintzos’ (Vill-Aus) 24:57.9; 3. Florian LePallec’ (Butler-Fra) 25:05.5; 4. ***William Zegarski (Butler) 25:09.6; 5. *Matthew Forrester’ (Butler-SA) 25:09.9.
Women’s Teams: 1. Georgetown 28; 2. Providence 56; 3. Villanova 80; 4. Connecticut 89; 5. Butler 118.
Individuals: 1. *Chloe Scrimgeour (Gtn) 19:59.7; 2. *Kimberley May’ (Prov-NZ) 20:06.5; 3. **Melissa Riggins (Gtn) 20:19.9; 4. **Sadie Sigfstead’ (Vill-Can) 20:25.7; 5. **Emma McGill (Vill) 20:30.9.
BIG SKY
Missoula, Montana, October 27—
Men’s Teams: 1. Northern Arizona 20; 2. Montana State 45; 3. Weber State 79; 4. Idaho 119; 5. Eastern Washington 156.
Individuals: 1. *Nico Young (NnAz) 22:49.9; 2. Aaron Las Heras’ (NnAz-Spa) 23:10.8; 3. *Ben Perrin (MtSt) 23:33.1; 4. *Kang Nyoak’ (NnAz-Aus) 23:37.8; 5. *Corey Gorgas (NnAz) 23:39.0.
Women’s Teams: 1. Northern Arizona 15; 2. Montana State 57; 3. Weber State 107; 4. Idaho 109; 5. Eastern Washington 146.
Individuals: 1. *Elise Stearns (NnAz) 16:21.0; 2. Annika Reiss (NnAz) 16:44.3; 3. *Aliandrea Upshaw (NnAz) 16:46.1; 4. Gracelyn Larkin’ (NnAz-Can) 16:47.6; 5. Maisie Grice (NnAz) 16:50.9.
BIG WEST
San Luis Obispo, California, October 27—
Men’s Teams: 1. Cal Poly 27; 2. UC Santa Barbara 87; 3. Cal State Fullerton 89; 4. UC Riverside 94; 5. UC Davis 129.
Individuals: 1. *Davis Bove (SLO) 23:37.4; 2. *Aidan McCarthy (SLO) 23:41.6; 3. **Ethan Godsey (UCSB) 23:45.2; 4. *Ashraf Abdelmagid (UCR) 24:01.6; 5. *Anthony Guerra (SLO) 24:03.2.
Women’s Teams: 1. Cal Poly 39; 2. UC Davis 58; 3. UC Riverside 87; 4. Cal Statre Fullerton 101; 5. UC Irvine 110.
Individuals: 1. Sierra Atkins (UCD) 19:52.5; 2. *Brianna Weidler (UCD) 20:09.8; 3. *Danielle Barrett (UCD) 20:29.9; 4. *Schuyler Gooley (SLO) 20:34.0; 5. **Linda Perez (UCR) 20:43.5.
CUSA
Bowling Green, Kentucky, October 28—
Men’s Teams: 1. Middle Tennessee 37; 2. Liberty 53; 3. UTEP 64; 4. Sam Houston 88; 5. New Mexico St. 117.
Individuals: 1. **Victor Kibiego’ (UTEP-Ken) 22:28.3; 2. Titus Cheruiyot’ (UTEP-Ken) 22:42.3; 3. Habtamu Geta (MTn) 22:47.2; 4. *Vincent Yegon’ (MTn-Ken) 22:58.7; 5. **Brian Kiptoo’ (MTn-Ken) 22:59.5.
Women’s Teams: 1. Middle Tennessee 52; 2. Liberty 61; 3. New Mexico State 61; 4. Florida International 78; 5. UTEP 110.
Individuals: 1. Purity Sanga’ (MTn-Ken) 21:01.2; 2. *Adelyn Fairley (Lib) 21:07.0; 3. *Faith Nyathi’ (MTn-Zim) 21:08.4; 4. *Ruth Jerubet’ (UTEP-Ken) 21:51.8; 5. Catherine Farrell (Lib) 21:52.8.
HEPS
Boston Massachusetts, October 28—
Men’s Teams: 1. Princeton 40; 2. Harvard 43; 3. Cornell 97; 4. Yale 107; 5. Penn 108.
Individuals: 1. *Graham Blanks (Harv) 23:47.4; 2. *Dylan Throop (Penn) 23:55.2; 3. *Ben Rosa (Harv) 23:57.8; 4. *Nicholas Bendtsen (Prin) 24:08.5; 5. Acer Iverson (Harv) 24:09.1.
Women’s Teams: 1. Harvard 47; 2. Princeton 73; 3. Dartmouth 90; 4. Columbia 92; 5. Penn 99.
Individuals: 1. *Maia Ramsden’ (Harv-NZ) 20:16.2; 2. *Phoebe Anderson’ (Col-GB) 20:22.2; 3. *Ella Gilson (Harv) 20:40.5; 4. **Maeve Stiles (Penn) 20:47.6; 5. **Elia Ton-That (Col) 20:51.0.
MOUNTAIN WEST
Eagle, Idaho, October 27—
Men’s Teams: 1. New Mexico 34; 2. Air Force 36; 3. Boise State 75; 4. Wyoming 96; 5. Utah State 130.
Individuals: 1. ***Habtom Samuel’ (NM-Eri) 22:57.7; 2. ***Evans Kiplagat’ (NM-Ken) 23:15.7; 3. ***Lukas Kiprop’ (NM-Ken) 23:23.3; 4. **Max Sannes (AF) 23:27.3; 5. Joe Hudson (Boise) 23:31.1.
Women’s Teams: 1. Colorado State 39; 2. Boise State 65; 3. Air Force 87; 4. New Mexico 111; 5. Utah State 113.
Individuals: 1. Sarah Carter (CoSt) 19:48.5; 2. *Nicola Jansen’ (NM-SA) 19:54.1; 3. *Halle Hamilton (AF) 20:19.8; 4. *Emma Thornley (UtSt) 20:23.3; 5. *Quinn McConnell (CoSt) 20:26.1.
PAC-12
University Place, Washington, October 27—
Men’s Teams: 1. Stanford 41; 2. Washington 50; 3. Oregon 60; 4. Colorado 81; 5. Cal 132.
Individuals: 1. *Ky Robinson’ (Stan-Aus) 22:40.2; 2. *Luke Houser (Wa) 22:51.8; 3. **Nathan Green (Wa) 22:56.5; 4. *Cole Sprout (Stan) 22:56.5; 5. *Elliott Cook (Or) 23:00.3.
Women’s Teams: 1. Washington 58; 2. Stanford 60; 3. Colorado 87; 4. Oregon 88; 5. Utah 103.
Individuals: 1. ***Amy Bunnage’ (Stan-Aus) 19:09.7; 2. Grace Fetherstonhaugh’ (OrSt-Can) 19:15.1; 3. Kaylee Mitchell (OrSt) 19:19.9; 4. *Maddy Elmore (Or) 19:23.8; 5. *Lucy Jenks (Stan) 19:30.0.
SEC
Columbia, South Carolina, October 27—
Men’s Teams: 1. Arkansas 38; 2. Alabama 57; 3. Tennessee 59; 4. Texas A&M 140; 5. Auburn 148.
Individuals: 1. *Victor Kiprop’ (Al-Ken) 22:23.4; 2. *Patrick Kiprop’ (Ar-Ken) 22:31.6; 3. *Hillary Cheruiyot’ (Al-Ken) 22:39.4; 4. Yaseen Abdalla’ (Tn-Sud) 22:47.5; 5. **Ben Shearer (Ar) 22:50.2.
Women’s Teams: 1. Florida 49; 2. Arkansas 59; 3. Tennessee 80; 4. Alabama 84; 5. Mississippi 107.
Individuals: 1. *Parker Valby (Fl) 18:37.5; 2. ***Doris Lemngole’ (Al-Ken) 19:11.2; 3. **Hilda Olemomoi’ (Al-Ken) 19:23.5; 4. Flomena Asekol’ (Fl-Ken) 19:31.9; 5. ***Paityn Noe (Ar) 19:43.7.
SOUTHERN
Chattanooga, Tennessee, October 27—
Men’s Teams: 1. Furman 22; 2. East Tennessee 47; 3. Mercer 112; 4. Chattanooga 133; 5. Samford 145.
Individuals: 1. *Dylan Schubert (Furm) 23:33.7; 2. **Jason Bowers (ETn) 23:45.6; 3. Cameron Ponder (Furm) 24:02.0; 4. *Carson Williams (Furm) 24:07.8; 5. *Evan Guzman (ETn) 24:10.0.
Women’s Teams: 1. Furman 20; 2. Samford 71; 3. Chattanooga 75; 4. Mercer 104; 5. East Tennessee 122.
Individuals: 1. Abigail Robertson (Furm) 16:41.7; 2. **Carly Wilkes (Furm) 16:45.8; 3. Lesley Green (Chatt) 16:49.9; 4. **Kaylie Armitage (Furm) 16:52.3; 5. *Kamila Soja (Mercer) 16:57.3.
WAC
Abilene, Texas, October 27—
Men’s Teams: 1. Cal Baptist 17; 2. Utah Valley 57; 3. Southern Utah 67; 4. Texas-Arlington 152; 5. Utah Tech 165.
Individuals: 1. Arturs Medveds’ (CalB-Lat) 23:38.0; 2. Giedrius Valincius’ (CalB-Lit) 23:38.1; 3. ***Valentin Soca’ (CalB-Uru) 23:38.1; 4. *Matias Reynaga’ (CalB-Arg) 23:42.8; 5. *Guled Mohamid (UtV) 23:45.1.
Women’s Teams: 1. Utah Valley 30; 2. Cal Baptist 36; 3. Texas-Arlington 92; 4. Southern Utah 115; 5. Grand Canyon 134.
Individuals: 1. *Greta Karinauskaitė’ (CalB-Lit) 19:49.9; 2. **Ari Trimble (UtV) 20:22.7; 3. Grace McLaughlin (CalB) 20:24.3; 4. ***Matro Jepkemboi’ (UTA-Ken) 20:33.5; 5. *Morgan Nokes (UtV) 20:35.1.
WEST COAST
Malibu, California, October 28—
Men’s Teams: 1. Gonzaga 44; 2. Portland 56; 3. Santa Clara 66; 4. Loyola Marymount 101; 5. San Francisco 122.
Individuals: 1. *Matt Strangio (Port) 24:08.1; 2. Nicholas Russell (SClara) 24:10.7; 3. *Wil Smith (Gonz) 24:34.2; 4. **Bryce Cerkowniak (Gonz) 24:42.1; 5. Jacob Cann (USF) 24:45.5.
Women’s Teams: 1. Portland 40; 2. Gonzaga 46; 3. St. Mary’s 89; 4. San Francisco 108; 5. Santa Clara 109.
Individuals: 1. **Rosina Machu (Gonz) 20:28.8; 2. *Laura Pellicoro’ (Port-Ita) 20:52.7; 3. ***Fleur Templier (Port) 21:05.3; 4. Sadie Tuckwood (Gonz) 21:08.3; 5. ***Jessica Frydenlund (Gonz) 21:25.7.