USTFCCCA News & Notes
Weekend Recap: Joe Piane Invitational, Live in Lou Classic Among Many Great Meets
EDITOR’S NOTE: This post will be updated throughout the weekend.
The cross country season is heating up!
Top-ranked teams squared off across the nation.
From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | USTFCCCA Scoreboard
High-caliber racing is the norm these days – and we’re here for it.
Let’s find out what meets stood out the most to us this weekend.
Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational
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Men’s Blue 5 Mile
Notre Dame defended its home course on Friday.
The ninth-ranked Irish turned away RV Florida State in the Men’s Blue 5 Mile, 87-95. Through about 5k of the 5-mile race, Notre Dame and the Seminoles were separated by just three points at 102-105. But that’s when the Irish pulled away, as they went up by eight points at the 7k split and held on for that margin of victory. Notre Dame only had one athlete in the top-10 (Joshua Methner, sixth), yet was the only program with four in the top-25.
No. 27 Alabama finished third with 114 points, despite a 2-3 finish by Hillary Cheruiyot and Victor Kiprop, while No. 21 NC State nipped unranked Michigan State by three points for fourth.
Chandler Gibbens of Kansas earned top individual honors, covering the 5-mile course in 23:08.4. Gibbens and the aforementioned Crimson Tide duo were locked in a three-way battle for the lead right around 7k, before Gibbens surged ahead to win by 2.2 seconds.
Women’s Blue 5k
Top-ranked NC State passed its first test of the season.
The two-time defending national champion Wolfpack held off a strong challenge from No. 4 Notre Dame on Friday. NC State, running without defending individual national champion Katelyn Tuohy, edged the Irish by nine points, 44-53. The Wolfpack put all five scoring runners in the top-15, led by Kelsey Chmiel (second) and Leah Stephens (fourth).
Notre Dame had a good showing on its home course. Siona Chisholm and Olivia Markezich paced the Irish in fifth and sixth place, respectively. That duo accounted for the only Notre Dame athletes in the top-10, but it had two others in the top-15 in 12th and 13th.
Doris Lemngole of Alabama won the individual title in 16:05.9 to remain undefeated on the young season. Lemngole and Chmiel, as well as Alyson Churchill of Florida State, were lockstep through 4k, but the Crimson Tide star pulled away over the final 1k to win by 9.2 seconds.
Live in Lou Classic
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Men’s Gold 8k
The only thing closer would have involved a tiebreaker.
Longtime NCAA DII rivals No. 2 Adams State and No. 4 Grand Valley State put on a classic at the top of the standings as the Lakers eked out a one-point victory, 104-105, over the Grizzlies.
Adams State had two among the top-10 scorers (Romain Legendre and Dayton Brown finishing 3-9), but GVSU countered with five in the top-27 – led by Andrew Hylen, the Lakers’ top-5 was bunched within 10.4 seconds with places 14-15-23-25-27. ASU’s scorers went 3-9-22-33-38.
Grand Valley made it move in the second half of the race. At the 3.9k split, Adams State was second with 93 points behind Charleston State (76), while the Lakers were in sixth with 214. GVSU’s 1-5 scorers were running together with a 3.9-second spread at that point.
All three NCAA divisions were represented in the top-5: NCAA DI Purdue was third with 160 points, followed by NCAA DII No. 7 West Texas A&M (164) and very impressive NCAA DIII No. 2 North Central (Ill.) 191.
Individual honors went to West Texas A&M’s William Amponsah, who covered the course in 23:08.6, 5.7 seconds up on Jason Bowers of East Tennessee Statte.
Women’s Gold 5k
NCAA DII was on top again, and the rankings took a beating in the process.
Following the Grand Valley State men’s victory a few minutes earlier, the No. 2 GVSU women won the team title over No. 1 Adams State – but not nearly as close as the men, with scores being 58 and 95 points, respectively. NCAA DI schools completed the top-5, with Eastern Michigan (155), hometown Louisville (224) and Purdue (275) following. The Boilermakers edged NCAA DII No. 10 Lee (Tenn.) on a tiebreaker.
Gladys Chepngetich of Clemson grabbed top individual honors, bolting to a 12.6-second lead at 3.9k before cruising to victory in 16:43.4, 14.9 seconds up on GVSU’s Natalie Graber.
Paul Short Run
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Men’s College Gold 8k
It came down to who was stronger over the final 1.7k.
As it turns out, that was Evan Dorenkamp of Penn State and Yale.
Dorenkamp gapped the field on his way to a 5.6-second victory in 23:53.7, while the Bulldogs extended their lead over the final stretch over NCAA DI No. 5 Wingate to win by 22 points, 101-123. Comparatively, the Penn State standout was locked in a five-way battle for top individual honors at the 6.3k split and Yale only led the NCAA DII Bulldogs by 12 points.
In the race within the race, NCAA DIII No. 3 UW-La Crosse proved to be the best program in their division on this day. Ethan Gregg finished third overall in 24:00.2 to guide the Eagles to a seventh-place showing. UW-La Crosse totaled 271 points, 108 fewer than division-mate No. 9 Carnegie Mellon in 13th place and well ahead of No. 12 Johns Hopkins.
Women’s College Gold 6k
Judy Kosgei of South Carolina wouldn’t be stopped on Saturday.
The same could be said about the Utah Valley Wolverines.
Kosgei cruised comfortably to an individual title in 19:54.9, more than four seconds ahead of Hannah Prosser of Boston University. The South Carolina standout gapped the field early and led by more than 10 seconds at 2 miles.
NCAA DI No. 24 UVU surged into the lead at the 2 mile split and never looked back. The Wolverines had two top-10 finishers and the remaining five were all in the top-25. UVU ended up with 77 points, 52 fewer than runner-up NCAA DI NR Wake Forest.
Chile Pepper Festival
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Men “McDonnell Memorial” 8k
Arkansas put the heat on.
With five of the top-6 finishers, the No. 22 Razorbacks combined for an 18-point winning score over NCAA DII No. 11 Western Colorado, runner-up with 93 points.
Kirami Yego led the Razorbacks, racing to a 22.5-second victory over teammate Ben Shearer (23:14.1 to 23:36.6). In third was Kidus Msgina of NJCAA No. 1 Trinidad State (Colo.) in 24:00.2; the Trojans were impressive with another top-15 placer in finishing ninth as the lone two-year program in the field.
In the earlier Prairie Fire Pepper race, Adem Bouldjadj of Butler (Kan.) CC won by 1:32.9 in 24:16.2.
Women “Harter’s Habenero” 5k
New name, same Razorback domination.
The women’s Habanero 5k race was named for recently retired coach Lance Harter, who led Arkansas to the 2019 NCAA DI crown. The Razorbacks didn’t miss a step, winning for a 12th-straight year – this time with 20 points as freshman Paityn Noe led a 1-2-3-4 Arkansas parade across the finish line.
Unranked SMU (89) was second, while NCAA DII No. 6 Western Colorado was third (121). Noe won in 16:09.4, 34.7 seconds ahead of teammate Sydney Thorvaldson.
Blugold Invitational
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Men’s Varsity 8k
UW-Whitewater couldn’t be caught on Friday.
Christian Patzka ran away with the individual title and the rest of the Warhawks followed suit as they outpaced a strong field by 29 points in the Men’s Varsity 8k. Patzka and Mohammed Bati of Augsburg were lockstep through 3.75 miles, but the UW-Whitewater standout pulled away over the final portion of the race to win by 7.7 seconds in 24:31.0 (Will Kelly of St. Olaf was second). With Patzka’s low stick, the Warhawks were staked to an early lead that they didn’t relinquish. UW-Whitewater put all five scoring athletes in the top-10 as it scored just 28 points.
Kelly’s runner-up individual finish led the 13th-ranked Oles to the same placement in the team standings. St. Olaf scored 57 points with two runners in the top-5 and the rest in the top-20.
No. 3 UW-La Crosse, albeit shorthanded with its main squad racing at the Paul Short Run on Saturday, took third place, ahead of NCAA DI Milwaukee (171) and UW-Stevens Point (208).
Women’s Varsity 6k
Good luck catching Fiona Smith.
The same can be said about Carleton.
Saint Benedict’s Smith and the fourth-ranked Knights left their mark on the Women’s Varsity 6k on Friday. Smith romped to the individual title by nearly 42 seconds in 20:21.7, while Carleton’s athletes did the same in the team race, sending the next three runners across the finish line behind Smith (Hannah Preisser was second, Sophie McManus was third, Phoebe Ward was fourth) and put two more in the top-20 for good measure.
Carleton, the top-ranked team in the field, won with 40 points, 47 fewer than runner-up No. 9 St. Olaf with 87. No. 22 UW-Eau Claire took third with 106 points, followed by NCAA DI Milwaukee with 129 and the Smith-led Bennies rounded out the top-5 with 192 points.
Other Meets of Note
Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational
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No. 4 Wisconsin imposed its will in its season opener. The Badgers ran away with the men’s team title on Friday afternoon as they scored 49 points to beat unranked Iona by 60. Bob Liking and Jackson Sharp paced Wisconsin with a 1-2 finish. Liking took top individual honors in 23:26.6 with Sharp not too far behind in 23:31.3.
Furman’s #GirlGang came into the meet unranked, but that might change after its performance in Chicago. The Paladins took down two programs that were ranked in the top-30 of the most recent National Coaches’ Poll: No. 17 Wisconsin and No. 25 Ole Miss. Furman put four runners in the top-15 in the race and all five of their scorers in the top-20 to win by eight points over the Rebels.
Dave Murray Invitational
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Whenever top-ranked teams in the National Coaches’ Polls race, it’s of note.
Both Northern Arizona squads competed – and won – at the Dave Murray Invitational this morning. NAU’s shorthanded No. 1 men – led by an individual title by Brodey Hasty – eked out a victory over host Arizona by two points, 40-42, while the second-ranked Lumberjack women dominated the proceedings behind individual champion Maisie Grice on their way to a 52-point triumph.
Heartland Invitational
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Cross-division competition included the best of JUCO, with top DII and DIII squaring off. The hosts (ranked No. 5 in both the men’s and women’s NJCAA DII polls) won both team titles, but in-state DIII No. 1 Harper (Ill.) – both men and women – made their presence felt, especially in the women’s 6k race. Lilly Alberts of Harper remained undefeated on the season with a 30.3-second win in 18:52.3.