DI Women’s Regional Championships Overview

NEW ORLEANS – Next weekend may hold in store the most spectacular cross country day of the year — the NCAA Division I Championships November 22 in Terre Haute, Indiana — but in order to make it to the big dance, you’ve got to make it through the most important day: regional championships.

Regional Championships Info Division I Regionals Overviews MEN | WOMEN Breaking Down NCAA Qualifying Scenarios MEN | WOMEN Can’t be at any regional championship meets this weekend? Will you be at one and want to contribute to the national conversation? Check out the USTFCCCA National Results Wall! Want to hear what some of this weekend’s biggest players have to say? Give the USTFCCCA QA₂ Max Podcast a listen!

For whatever NCAA dreams teams may have, they are all for naught if their performances on the course this Friday turn nightmarish.

While some teams near the top of the National Coaches’ Polls have their NCAA Championship berths all but sewed up leading into the nine regional meets this Friday, for still so many others this is a make-or-break type of day.

Just to recap what’s at stake here: the top two teams in each region automatically advance to the NCAA Championships (18 teams total).

The remaining 13 teams are selected one-at-a-time based on head-to-head performances against teams already in the NCAA Championships field.

For a more nuanced explanation of the qualifying criteria, we break it down for you here and (more metaphorically) here.

When the dust clears on the full 31-team field, the top four individual finishers in each region who did not make it to NCAAs as part of a team will also be invited to join in on the fun in Terre Haute.

Before we quickly overview some of the main storylines in each women’s region (men’s overview here), you’ll notice that the tables of each region’s top 10 teams (based on the USTFCCCA Regional Team Rankings) are color-coded.

We broke down the at-large qualifying picture in significant depth (for those of you running nerds who want to get into the nitty-gritty of it all) and the colors correspond to several categories of at-large qualification status (based on head-to-head wins) identified in that article based on our projections.

Check that piece out to get all the scenarios on how things could play out.

And just in time, winter has decided to arrive! Eight of the nine regions around the country will be run in very cold conditions. Here’s a breakdown:

So there we go. Ready? Let’s get to it, in alphabetical order.

Great Lakes Region Women

Defending Team Champ: Michigan (three in a row)
2013 Champion: Juli Accurso, Ohio (two-time) (graduated)
Top Returner: Erin Finn, Michigan (2nd); Leah O’Connor, Michigan State (5th)

Unbeknownst to the country at the time, the 2013 Great Lakes Regional would ultimately end up producing three of the top six teams at the NCAA Championships: third-place Butler, fourth-place Michigan and sixth-place Michigan State.

The region is shaping up once more as the country’s most top-heavy, as No. 1 Michigan State, No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 8 Michigan will square off for the second time in three weekends. When last they met at the Big Ten meet, MSU kept up its habit of rolling over the competition with a sound victory over a surging Wisconsin team led by Big Ten runner-up Sarah Disanza and a falling Michigan squad.

Michigan has a streak of three-straight region titles going, but will be hard-pressed to keep it going should its front-runner Erin Finn miss her second meet in a row. She sat out Big Tens with an injury, and she is the top returner from a year ago in this field, having finished runner-up in ’13. That mantle falls to Big Ten champ Leah O’Connor of MSU, who was fifth in 2013.

Each of those three teams – along with No. 19 Ohio State – are very likely to make it to NCAAs, with Mid-American Conference champ No. 26 Toledo and No. 29 Notre Dame on the bubble depending how they (and the teams over whom they have head-to-head wins) do Friday. Those two, along with national vote-receiving Indiana and Butler, will look to finish ahead of one of those four teams for the added security of a possible "push" into the championships.

The race is expected to be very cold with temperatures in the low-to-mid 20s at race time.

Individuals to Watch: O’Connor & Rachel Schulist, Michigan State; Sarah Disanza, Wisconsin; Shannon Osika, Michigan; Victoria Voronko, Eastern Michigan; Katie Borchers, Ohio State; Molly Seidel, Notre Dame; Mara Olson, Butler

Mid-Atlantic Region Women

Defending Team Champion: Villanova
2013 Champion: Emily Lipari, Villanova
Top Returner: Samantha Nadel, Georgetown (3rd)

As the team that deposed Michigan from its preseason No. 1 status, No. 2 Georgetown is the heavy favorite in this race on the campus of Penn State Friday. The Big East champs were boosted by the addition of Samantha Nadel – last year’s top returning finisher in this meet – to their line-up for the conference meet a week ago and the continued emergence of individual Big East winner Katrina Coogan as a strong No. 1 runner. That’s right, they took down then No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Oregon without the services of one of their best runners.

In addition to a No. 30 Villanova (more on the Wildcats in a moment) squad they defeated handily at the Big East meet, the Hoyas will face a new national caliber team in Jillian Forsey and her No. 7 West Virginia Mountaineers, the runners-up at the Big 12 meet and the fifth-place squad in a loaded race at Wisconsin earlier this season.

Both of those squads are very likely in, and Princeton – ranked behind Nova in the region but ahead of them nationally at No. 28 – with a couple head-to-head wins to its credit, is on the at-large bubble. But No. 30 Villanova is in a very precarious position. With no projected head-to-head wins over the NCAA Championships field, the Wildcats are in the unenviable position of racing for one of the two automatic-bid spots just to make the championships, despite being a top-30 team entering the weekend.

Individuals to Watch: Coogan, Nadel; Forsey; Meg Curham, Princeton; Siofra Cleirigh Buttner, Villanova; Elizabeth Chikotas, Penn State

Midwest Region Women

Defending Team Champion: Iowa State (four in a row)
Defending Individual Champion: Crystal Nelson, Iowa State

By far the top-ranked team in the field, the No. 5 Iowa State women are the clear class of the Midwest Region and have been for some time: the Cyclones are holders of the nation’s longest active regional win streak with four in a row, tied with Florida State in the South.

In addition to Big 12 champ and defending regional champ Crystal Nelson and Katy Moen, the Cyclones should also be adding 2013 All-American Bethanie Brown back into the mix after she missed a pair of meets with injury.

At No. 20 as the only other ranked team in the field, Minnesota moved up to No. 2 and Bradley to No. 3 in the region most recently after a disappointing Big 12s showing by Oklahoma State dropped the Cowgirls to No. 4 in the region and out of the national top-30. This could be a redemption race for OSU, or a statement race by Minnesota. Or it could be that Missouri Valley champ and host Bradley upends both teams for the auto NCAA bid.

As it stands now, both Bradley and OSU would need to get one of those two auto spots to make the NCAA field, giving them something very concrete for which to race.

Individuals to Watch: Nelson, Moen, Brown; Courtney Frerichs, UMKC; Monika Juodeskaite, Oklahoma State; Kaitlyn Fischer, Missouri; Liz Berkholtz, Minnesota

Mountain Region Women

Defending Team Champion: Colorado
2013 Individual Champion: Sammy Silva, New Mexico (graduated)
Top Returner: Charlotte Arter, New Mexico (3rd)

With two nationally ranked teams in the top 12, the Mountain Region’s two automatic delegates to Terre Haute are likely going to be Mountain West champ No. 9 New Mexico and third-place Pac-12 finisher No. 12 Colorado.

Colorado is the defending regional champ after snatching the title away from New Mexico a year ago, but the Lobos return the region’s top active 2013 finisher in Charlotte Arter. After winning at Notre Dame earlier this season, Arter has looked out-of-sorts in her past two races, but regionals will provide her another chance to return to that form.

These two teams have yet to race against one another this year.

A pair of national vote-receiving teams are also in the field in BYU and Northern Arizona. BYU appears to be in good position to earn an at-large bid should its finish stick to the Regional Rankings, but Northern Arizona will be racing to upset them and possibly one of those two top teams. The Lumberjacks are currently projected on the bubble, and need as many head-to-head wins this weekend as possible—if not an auto bid.

Individuals to Watch: Arter; Erin Clark, Colorado; Melanie Townsend, Northern Arizona; Holly Page, Wyoming; Sharlene Nickle and Jocelyn Caro, Texas Tech; Andrea Harrison, BYU; Calli Thackery and Alice Wright, New Mexico

Northeast Region Women

Defending Team Champion: Providence (two in a row)
2013 Individual Champion: Abbey D’Agostino, Dartmouth (three-time)
Top Returner: Sarah Collins, Providence (3rd); Kate Avery, Iona (5th)

There might be more subplots threading through the Northeast Region than all the others combined this weekend. Let’s start with No. 17 Iona, which stormed into the top-20 for the first time this season following a strong MAACs performance and the debut of national contender Kate Avery. Outside of that performance, however, Iona has very few key wins to its name and as a result will need to race for one of those two auto bids to Terre Haute.

The problem? The Gaels have a pair of teams tied for No. 22 in the nation breathing down their necks. Dartmouth has some wind in its sails coming off an Ivy League title two weekends ago, while Syracuse was a somewhat disappointing fourth at ACCs to drop down six spots in the rankings.

Dartmouth will likewise be running for one of those two top spots with few head-to-head  wins to its credit, which will likely push the pace of the race for Syracuse and another team in decent qualifying position in vote-receiving Boston College (led by ACC champion Liv Westphal).

The Avery-Westphal race could be the individual race of the day (along with Bates/Houlihan in the West and O’Connor/Disanza in the Great Lakes). The two have yet to face one another this year. Westphal has lost only to Crystal Nelson of Iowa State, Rachele Schulist of Michigan State and Houlihan all year long, while this will be Avery’s second race of the season.

Perhaps the most interesting bubble team are the vote-receiving Providence Friars, who one year ago won this meet en route to a national team title. Providence showed some promise in a runner-up finish at Big Easts, but will need to continue to improve and notch a win or two to give themselves a legitimate shot at a return trip to NCAAs if they have any hope of trying to defend their title.

Individuals to Watch: Westphal; Avery; Dana Giordano, Dartmouth; Catarina Rocha, Providence; Elinor Purrier, New Hampshire; Margo Malone, Syracuse; Lucy Young, Northeastern

South Region Women

Defending Team Champion: Florida State (four in a row)
Defending Individual Champion: Colleen Quigley, Florida State

Home of the nation’s longest regional winning streak (tied for it, anyway) is Tallahassee, Florida, where No. 14 Florida State will host the South Regional. FSU already lost its streak of six ACC titles in a row, and could be in danger of snapping this run, as well. Colleen Quigley has an individual honor to defend, as well, being the region’s defending individual champion.

FSU was upset two weeks ago at ACCs by a North Carolina team ranked in the teens, which is exactly what its facing this weekend in No. 16 Vanderbilt. At Wisconsin in mid-October, Carmen Carlos and the Vanderbilt women tied Virginia for ninth with 367 points, while FSU was just barely ahead in eighth at 309. The difference between the two at Wisconsin was almost entirely attributable to the strength of FSU’s top two (13 and 38 points) to Vandy’s (42 and 67) – an advantage that will be diminished in a smaller, less powerful field.

These are the only two teams in the national rankings from the South, and the only two with head-to-head wins over other significant national players.

Individuals to Watch: Quigley; Carlos; Chelsea Blaase, Tennessee; Rhianwedd Price, Mississippi State; Madeline Talbert, Lipscomb; Katherine Delaney, Vanderbilt; Hannah Maina, Middle Tennessee State

South Central Region Women

Defending Team Champion: Arkansas (three in a row)
2013 Individual Champion: Marielle Hall, Texas (two-time) (graduated)
Top Returner: Dominique Scott, Arkansas (2nd)

Another region that will likely only send two teams to NCAAs if the race plays out as the Regional Team Rankings predict, the South Central will come down to a battle between No. 4 Arkansas and No. 21 Baylor. The two teams haven’t yet faced one another at full strength (though both programs competed at Arkansas’ Chile Pepper Festival).

Arkansas, led by Dominique Scott (two-time SEC champ and the region’s top returner from 2013) and a strong pack of runners, has won the past three region titles. After dominating the SEC championships and a runner-up showing in a stacked field at Wisconsin, there’s no reason to believe the Razorbacks won’t make it four in a row.

Baylor is coming off a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championships. After a tough race against Iowa State’s Crystal Nelson and Katie Moen, the Bears’ frontrunner Rachel Johnson will have an opportunity to get back on track ahead of NCAAs in her showdown with Arkansas’ Scott.

Don’t just assume that the top two teams are going to make it to NCAAs, however. Last year, SMU was ranked No. 3 in the region entering the meet and ended up usurping No. 2 Texas A&M – a team ranked No. 28 in the country, mind you – for the NCAA auto bid. The Aggies stayed home as a result.

SMU is fifth entering the meet this year, with Southland champion Lamar in that third spot. If you recall the Pre-National meet, Baylor was seventh overall with 302 points, while Lamar was just behind in eighth with 345. Baylor put two runners ahead of Lamar’s No. 1 on that day, but Lamar had four across the line 10 spots sooner than Baylor and their No. 5 in 30 better.

Individuals to Watch: Scott; Johnson; Grace Heymsfield, Arkansas; Cali Roper, Rice; Hillary Montgomery, Texas A&M; Minttu Hukka, Lamar; Agnes Sjostrom, SMU

Southeast Region Women

Defending Team Champion: Virginia
Defending Individual Champion: Emily Stites, William and Mary
Next-Best Returner: Joanna Thompson, NC State (5th)

Ready for the ACC Championships, part two? Tune into the Southeast Region championships, then, as six of the top seven teams vying for NCAA bids hail from said conference. No. 11 North Carolina is the clear favorite after it dethroned Florida State from atop the conference in convincing fashion, but the picture is muddied from that point on.

No. 14 Virginia had been the regional favorite for much of the year before finishing third at ACCs with 109 points, just ahead of No. 18 NC State with 119 (UNC won with 57, for reference). Virginia actually has a head-to-head win over UNC at Wisconsin, but recent results favor the Tar  Heels. Certainly those two teams will be racing for the second automatic qualifying bid, but our projections show that whomever ends up in that No. 3 spot is likely going to NCAAs, as well.

What if one of those teams doesn’t get third? Bubble teams Virginia Tech and Colonial champ William and Mary (both receiving votes nationally) have a lot to gain by chasing after those three teams and trying to sneak in front of at least one of them to get the "push" into the NCAA field.

Va Tech was fourth at ACCs more than 40 points back of NC State, while William and Mary – which has been running without All-American Emily Stites all season long – was 27th at Wisconsin while Virginia was ninth and North Carolina was 11th.

Individuals to Watch: Annie LeHardy and Lianne Farber, North Carolina; Joanna Thompson, NC State; Sarah Rapp, Virginia Tech; Carolyn Hennessy, William & Mary; Sarah Fakler and Morgan Kelly, Virginia; Ann Eason, Eastern Kentucky

West Region Women

Defending Team Champion: Arizona
Defending Individual Champion: Emma Bates, Boise State

With six nationally ranked teams, there isn’t a region in the country deeper than the West. The top two teams in the region, No. 3 Oregon and No. 10 Stanford, have dueled twice this year with both races at Washington and Pac-12s going in favor of the Ducks.

Both teams have had lingering personnel questions throughout the year, and we have the answers: No, frosh Sarah Baxter will not debut Friday for Oregon. No, Stanford will not get either last year’s fourth-place finisher Aisling Cuffe or Cami Chapus back for this meet.

Behind the Ducks and Cardinal is a pack of three teams that are sitting in good position entering the meet in No. 15 Washington, No. 24 Arizona State and No. 25 Boise State. Not only will these three teams be racing to take a shot at upsetting Oregon or Stanford for one of those two auto bids, but positioning amongst themselves will also be crucial for at-large purposes.

Washington has proved themselves a notch above Arizona State this year with head-to-head victories at Wisconsin and Pac-12s, but the duel between ASU and Boise will be very close, indeed. When last they met at Wisco, ASU was able to edge out Boise State by just 16 points in 16th and 17th. For reference, Washington was 13th in that field. However, Boise did defeat Arizona State at Roy Griak in late September.

Arizona State and Boise State is also the backdrop for the individual title race. 2013 national runner-up and reigning West champ Emma Bates of Boise State has been beaten twice this year by ASU’s Shelby Houlihan, who was runner-up in this meet a year ago.

Looking to throw a wrench in those plans is No. 27 UCLA, which also has a head-to-head win over Arizona State from the Pac 12 Championships two weekends ago.

Individuals to Watch: Bates; Houlihan; Elise Cranny, Stanford; Frida Berge, Oregon; Waverly Neer, Oregon; Bethan Knights, California; Maddie Meyers, Washington; Kelsey Smith, UCLA; Marissa Howard, Boise State; Danielle Shanahan, Loyola Marymount; Abby Regan, Washington State