USTFCCCA News & Notes
By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA November 24, 2019   

Moving Up At The NCAA Cross Country Championships

A championship race might begin when the gun goes off.

But championship racing – Notice the difference – doesn’t really start until the final 2K of a high-caliber 6K or 10K competition. That’s when athletes pin their ears back and truly get to work as national titles and All-America honors are decided.

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: National Championships Central

Let’s take a closer look at those individuals who excelled when the lactic acid built up.

There were 1580 athletes who competed this past weekend across the nation as part of the NCAA Cross Country Championships. That is counting athletes from each of the three NCAA divisions: NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III.

  • 851 athletes moved up at least 1 spot on Saturday in the final split
  • 746 athletes moved up at least 2 spots on Saturday in the final split
  • 271 athletes moved up at least 10 spots on Saturday in the final split
  • 159 athletes moved up at least 15 spots on Saturday in the final split
  • 94 athletes moved up at least 20 spots on Saturday in the final split
  • 52 athletes moved up at least 25 spots on Saturday in the final split

As you can see, the number of athletes drops exponentially as you narrow the scope.

When it comes to All-America honors – which will officially be awarded on Monday – 19 athletes moved from fringe candidates to right into the thick of things.

  • NCAA Division I Men
    • Jack Aho, Michigan; Geordie Beamish, Northern Arizona
  • NCAA Division I Women
    • Bailey Hertenstein, Indiana; Maria Mettler, Air Force; Mahala Norris, Air Force; Hannah Nuttall, New Mexico; Jeralyn Poe, Michigan State; Christina Rice, UCLA
  • NCAA Division II Men
    • Dane Blomquist, Adams State
  • NCAA Division II Women
    • Taryn Christi, Illinois-Springfield; Zoe Jarvis, Tampa
  • NCAA Division III Men
    • Noah Falasco, RPI; Tyler Johnson, Calvin; Nick Licari, North Central (Ill.); Tyler Morris, Colby; Marco Quaroni, Washington (Mo.)
  • NCAA Division III Women
    • Emma Becker, Kenyon; Meredith Cronin, Connecticut College; Helen Dolan, Hamline

All things considered, here were the biggest movers in each race from the final split to the finish.

  • NCAA Division I Men’s 10K
    • Diego Zarate, Virginia Tech (+36)
  • NCAA Division I Women’s 6K
    • Lotte Black, Rhode Island (+46); Samanta Drop, Georgia (+46)
  • NCAA Division II Men’s 10K
    • Ryan Riddle, Missouri Southern (+32)
  • NCAA Division II Women’s 6K
    • Jacqueline Feist, Wayne State (Mich.) (+27)
  • NCAA Division III Men’s 8K
    • Zachary Chapman, North Central (Ill.) (+54)
  • NCAA Division III Women’s 6K
    • Abby Hamilton, Bates (+52)

If you want to know which teams moved up the most spots from the final split to the finish…

  • NCAA Division I Men’s 10K
    • Tulsa (+3) Utah State (+3)
  • NCAA Division I Women’s 6K
    • Minnesota (+3), Five teams tied (+2)
  • NCAA Division II Men’s 10K
    • Colorado Christian (+4), Mount Olive (+2)
  • NCAA Division II Women’s 6K
    • Pittsburg State (+2), Seattle Pacific (+2), Southern Indiana (+2)
  • NCAA Division III Men’s 8K
    • Carleton (+6), UW-Stout (+4)
  • NCAA Division III Women’s 6K
    • Wesleyan (Conn.) (+6), Bates (+5)

Check back this week as we name All-Americans and National Athletes & Coaches of the Year.