USTFCCCA News & Notes
Weekend Recap: September 17-19, 2021
The 2021 collegiate cross country season hit second gear this weekend.
Numerous meets with top-ranked programs dotted the nation, as athletes and coaches began the two-month trek toward their respective national championships in earnest.
From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | Scoreboard
Here are a few of the meets that stood out to us from an exciting weekend.
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Florida State Open
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Both the co-No. 1 BYU women and the No. 5 Stanford men made statements on Friday.
The Cougars, who were ranked alone at No. 1 in the preseason, but fell into a tie with NC State in Week 1, pulled away in the final 2k to win the women’s team title. Led by Whittni Orton’s individual victory in 20:16.8, BYU put all five of its scoring athletes in the top-10. Lexy Halladay (3rd), Aubrey Frentheway (4th), Ana Weaver (6th) and McKenna Lee (10th) followed Orton across the finish line. That gave the Cougars 24 points, 27 fewer than runner-up No. 19 Florida State, which held the lead at 4k.
Through four finishers of the men’s race, the Cardinal and RV Florida State were knotted at 5-all (Adriaan Wildschutt gave the Seminoles the all-important low stick with his 23:22.0 victory and teammate Ahmed Muhumed took fourth, while Charles Hicks and Cole Sprout went 2-3 for Stanford). The Cardinal quickly brandished its depth after that, as they took three of the next seven spots to round out its scoring lineup with Thomas Boyden in sixth, Evan Burke in 10th and D.J. Principe in 11th. Stanford finished with 32 points, 29 fewer than No. 20 Furman. The Seminoles ended up third with 83 points.
Cowboy Jamboree
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A course record fell and the top-ranked teams in both the men’s and women’s races emerged victorious at the Cowboy Jamboree.
No. 1 Northern Arizona put on a clinic in the final 4k of the 8k race on Saturday, as they went from third place at the 4k mark and down by 15 points to winning by 23 points once the meet concluded. The Lumberjacks put three runners in the top-5 with Abdihamid Nur (3rd), Nico Young (4th) and Drew Bosley (5th) all finishing in order to take down three other top-15 teams in attendance – No. 6 Oklahoma State (2nd, 62), No. 12 Colorado (3rd, 80) and No. 8 Tulsa (5th, 122). Individually, Isai Rodriguez led from the gun and not only gave the Cowboys the all-important low stick, but broke the 8k course record with his winning time of 23:05.77.
No. 8 Colorado held off a strong challenge from No. 23 Oklahoma State in the women’s race. The Buffs and the Cowgirls were never separated by more than seven points at any of the splits. When the dust settled in Stillwater, though, Colorado emerged victorious, 30-35. The Buffs had each of their top-7 runners in the top-12 with Emily Covert (3rd), Abby Nichols (5th), India Johnson (6th), Rachel McArthur (7th) and Kaitlyn Barthell (9th) accounting for their score. Oklahoma State took the top-2 spots, led by an individual title by Taylor Roe in 20:25.88.
Ray Bullock Invitational
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Taylor (Ind.)’s men and St. Francis (Ill.)’s women are NAIA No. 1s for a reason.
The Trojans, who played the role of host, turned away a strong challenge from No. 8 St. Francis (Ill.) in the men’s race, winning 36-44. Taylor athletes took each of the top-3 spots – Derek Van Prooyen won the individual title in 25:31.3, followed by Daniel Gerber in 2nd and Alex Helmuth in 3rd – but the Saints came roaring back with four athletes in the top-10. Things were looking bleak for the top-ranked Trojans when St. Francis (Ill.) capped its scoring lineup with Oscar Tejada in 14th place, yet Taylor’s fifth Joshua Harden wasn’t too far behind in 17th place.
The Saints, who won the women’s team title this past spring, cruised to victory at the TUXC Farm. St. Francis (Ill.) made it look easy as it was the only team with four athletes in the top-10: Sabrina Baftiri (2nd), Laisha Corona (3rd), Katherine Bakken (6th) and Daly Galloway (7th). Once Bailey Wilk rounded out the scoring lineup in 15th place, the Saints could celebrate the crown. St. Francis (Ill.) finished with 33 points, 32 fewer than No. 14 Cornerstone (Mich.).
Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational
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Cross-divisional competition, especially that in the Gold Division, highlighted the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational on Saturday.
The Gold Division men’s race was particularly exciting, as four teams many expect to contend for the NJCAA Division I national title come November – Cloud County (Kan.) CC, Colby (Kan.) CC, Iowa Central CC and Iowa Western CC – squared off against Northwest Missouri, a top-25 NCAA Division II program. Ultimately, the race for the title came down to Iowa Central CC and Northwest Missouri, who both put three runners in the top-10. However, the Tritons saw their three finish in the top-6, which helped ward off the Bearcats’ superior depth. Iowa Central CC took the crown, 48-52, with Colby (Kan.) CC, Iowa Western CC and Cloud County (Kan.) CC taking third, fourth and fifth place, respectively.
It wasn’t as exciting in the Gold Division women’s race. NCAA DII Northwest Missouri romped to the team title with 27 points, 67 fewer than NAIA Hastings (Neb.). Top JUCO programs, like Cloud County (Kan.) CC, Iowa Central CC and Iowa Western CC, ended up in the middle of the top-10.
St. Olaf Invitational
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The 50th running of the St. Olaf Invitational was a good one!
The men’s race, which featured three top-30 programs from NCAA Division III, resulted in a victory by the hosts. No. 22 St. Olaf upended No. 7 UW-La Crosse and No. 19 UW-Eau Claire. The Oles were the only team with three athletes in the top-10, as they scored 46 points, 10 fewer than the runner-up Eagles and 22 fewer than the third-place Blugold. Gustavus Adolphus, who had the individual champion in Andrew Stumbo (25:26.5), took fourth.
The women’s race, which featured four top-30 programs from NCAA Division III, nearly went according to the form chart. No. 12 UW-La Crosse captured the team title with three runners in the top-6, which was more than enough to distance itself from No. 20 Carleton, 42-56. No. 19 UW-Eau Claire was right on the Knights’ heels in third place with 57 points. No. 30 St. Olaf ended up a distant fourth with 113 points.
adidas XC Challenge
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NC State, the co-No. 1 team in the NCAA DI Women’s National Coaches’ Poll, swept the proceedings at the adidas XC Challenge on Friday. The Wolfpack, led by Kaitlyn Tuohy’s individual title, took the top-6 spots before runner-up Wake Forest saw its top finisher Carolien Millenar earn 7th place.
No. 29 North Carolina took down No. 15 Wake Forest and RV NC State for another breakthrough effort. The Tar Heels, who finished with 47 points, 11 fewer than the Demon Deacons, put its entire scoring lineup in the top-10 with freshman Parker Wolfe earning individual laurels.
Missouri Southern Stampede
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Arkansas, the sixth-ranked team in the NCAA DI Women’s National Coaches’ Poll, was a late add to the University/Open Women’s 5k and rolled to the team title. The Razorbacks totaled just 38 points, easily distancing themselves from NCAA DII No. 12 Southwest Baptist, NCAA DII No. 22 Dallas Baptist and NR West Texas A&M, among others. Florence Uwajeneza remained undefeated in NCAA Cross Country, giving the Lady Buffs the ultimate low stick with an individual title in 16:43.52.
NCAA DII RV Pittsburg State surprised everybody, except themselves, by winning the title in the University/Open Men’s 8k. The Gorillas were able to turn back four top-30 NCAA DII programs in the process – No. 6 Missouri Southern, No. 17 West Texas A&M, No. 26 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 28 Mississippi College – as well as NAIA No. 4 Saint Mary (Kan.). Pittsburg State was the only team with four athletes in the top-15.
Other Results Of Note
NCAA DII No. 2 Grand Valley State took down NCAA DI No. 18 Michigan State at the MSU Spartan Invitational on Friday, 35-51. The Lakers put each of their top-7 runners in the top-16, led by four in the top-10. The Spartans got the ultimate low stick from Morgan Beadlescomb, who covered the 8k tract in 24:15.9, but didn’t have an answer for GVSU’s depth.