USTFCCCA News & Notes
By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA November 16, 2015   

Play the USTFCCCA Team Builder Fantasy XC Challenge

NEW ORLEANS – The NCAA Division I Regional Championships in the books and the official qualifier lists are out. It’s time for everybody’s favorite part of the collegiate cross country season: the NCAA Division I Championships on November 21 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Part of the fun is, of course, watching the races unfold. The other part: predicting how it’s going to happen. It’s one thing to predict the finishing order of the race. But can you hand-pick a seven-runner squad that’s better than anyone else’s in the country?

You’ve got that chance to find out as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) hosts is second annual online cross country game, the TEAM BUILDER FANTASY CHALLENGE for Saturday’s Division I Championships.

START

How does it work? Simple: you pick your seven-runner team, watch the NCAA Championships in person or on NCAA.com (while following along on the USTFCCCA National Results Wall), and see how the seven runners you picked stack up against the teams created by other XC fans around the country.

The catch? Don’t expect to just load up on last year’s top seven returners. Where’s the fun in that?

Here’s how it’s going to work. Your seven runners will come from three different categories:

  • Frontrunners: Pick THREE runners who finished first or second in their regional championship this past weekend OR were a top-20 finisher at last year’s NCAA Championships OR are listed in the latest top-25 on Flotrack’s Saucony Flo50 individual rankings. (Example: a runner who finished third at regionals but was top 20 at NCAAs last year would be in this category)
  • The Pack: Pick TWO runners who finished between third and 10th in today’s regional championships OR finished between 21st and 50th at NCAAs a year ago.
  • The Dark Horses: Pick any TWO remaining runners in the field in the hopes of getting surprise low points to help your team to the title.

It’s that simple. You get to pick two squads: a men’s team and a women’s team (pick both or your teams won’t submit). Regular NCAA scoring rules apply: we take the top five finishers from your seven and add up their team points. Lowest score wins.

Winners will get the satisfaction and bragging rights of being the most knowledgeable individual who entered this contest. The entrant with the lowest combined men’s and women’s score will lay claim to even more significant bragging rights.

Additionally, check in to USTFCCCA.org this week for special NCAA Championships Fantasy Draft Podcasts featuring some of the preeminent cross country contributors around the country (plus the USTFCCCA communications staff), including:

  • Gordon Mack and Meg Bellino of Flotrack
  • Robert Johnson and Jonathan Gault of LetsRun
  • Adam Schneider of Runnerspace
  • Jesse Squire of the Daily Relay