USTFCCCA News & Notes
Weekend Recap: 2023 NCAA DI Cross Country Conference Championships
The best season is the postseason.
We’re officially in that realm in NCAA DI Cross Country.
From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | USTFCCCA Scoreboard
Out of the 31 conferences holding their championships this weekend, 14 have at least one nationally ranked program among their coffers.
Let’s find out which meets stood above the rest this weekend.
2023 ACC Cross Country Championships
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Men’s Recap
The No. 11-ranked Tar Heels of North Carolina doubled down at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida. Led by individual champion Parker Wolfe, UNC placed four in the top-10 of the race to take the team crown, 49-65, over No. 4 Syracuse.
North Carolina won its first men’s cross country conference title since 1985. No. 16 Virginia placed third (77) while No. 14 Notre Dame, with a 16-second top-five spread, took fourth with 86 points.
Wolfe, last year’s conference runner-up, won the 8k in 23:03.1, putting five seconds ahead of nearest challenger Paul O’Donnell of Syracuse. Wolfe started to break away with one kilometer to go and wasn’t matched as he surged to the finish. For UNC, it’s their first individual conference win since 1997 (John Cline).
Women’s Recap
The No. 2 Wolfpack of NC State left no doubt en route to their eighth-straight ACC team title. It’s the league’s longest winning streak, surpassing a seven-year stint by NC State that lasted from 1987 to 1993. Placing their five in the race’s top 15, NC State scored 37 points with No. 8 Notre Dame taking runner-up (80) and No. 10 Virginia claiming third (82).
Katelyn Tuohy won her second-straight conference cross country crown in 19:22.8, taking the title by seven seconds ahead of Duke’s Amina Maatoug. Tuohy is the first to win back-to-back since Susan Kuijken of Florida State who took three straight from 2007 to 2009. 2021 ACC champion Kelsey Chmiel placed third while NCAA steeplechase champion Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame took fourth.
2023 SEC Cross Country Championships
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Men’s Recap
Familiar faces were back on top of the podium.
Victor Kiprop of Alabama successfully defended his individual title and No. 8 Arkansas emerged victorious in the team race. Kiprop is the first back-to-back individual champion since Barnabas Kirui of Ole Miss in 2009 and 2010, while the Razorbacks captured their third team title in the past four years (Arkansas’ potential three-peat was thwarted by Alabama last year).
The Razorbacks asserted themselves early and never looked back. Arkansas had all of its runners in the top-15 at the 1.8k split and eventually settled for its entire scoring lineup in that realm to finish with 38 points. Patrick Kiprop finished runner-up in 22:31.6, 8.3 seconds behind the Crimson Tide’s Kiprop, with teammates Ben Shearer and Kirami Yego also in the top-10.
No. 22 Alabama, led by Kiprop’s low stick and a third-place finish by Hillary Cheruiyot, was second behind Arkansas with 57 points. No. 13 Tennessee finished third with 59 points, followed by Texas A&M and Auburn in a distant fourth and fifth, respectively.
Women’s Recap
Nobody could catch Parker Valby and the Florida Gators when they turned on the jets.
Valby, who sat second at the 4k split, put 33.8 seconds between herself and eventual runner-up Doris Lemngole of Alabama over the final 2k to capture her second individual title in a row. With Valby’s ultimate low stick in 18:37.5, No. 7 Florida pulled away late to win its first conference title since 2012, beating No. 11 Arkansas by 10 points, 49-59.
Behind Valby, the Gators had two talented transfers in the top-10: Alabama transfer Flomena Asekol in fourth at 19:31.9 and New Mexico transfer Amelia Mazza-Downie in eighth at 19:56.7. Elise Thorner and Allison Wilson rounded out the Florida top-5 in 17th and 19th place, respectively.
The Razorbacks were a clear runner-up behind the Gators, while No. 23 Tennessee jumped both No. 13 Alabama and No. 18 Ole Miss for third place. The Volunteers finished with 80 points, four fewer than the Crimson Tide and 27 fewer than the Rebels.
2023 Big Ten Cross Country Championships
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Men’s Recap
Wisconsin won this meet for a sixth consecutive year (and 54th all-time) – and the first on its home course since 2010.
The Badgers were dominant, placing all five scorers in the top-7 in scoring an impressive low of 19 points – the lowest winning score since the Badgers totaled 17 in 2011. Bob Liking led the way, winning the individual crown for the third consecutive year. Liking joins six other men with three or more consecutive individual titles. His nearest pursuer was teammate Jackson Sharp – 9.5 seconds back as the Badger scoring-5 were separated by 33.9 seconds.
Wisconsin was ranked just No. 24 entering the meet, behind No. 19 Michigan in the National Coaches’ Poll. The Wolverines were runner-up on this day with 63 points. Michigan State was third with 86 points.
Women’s Recap
Michigan State defended its team title on Friday and won its fourth crown in the past five years. The 18th-ranked Spartans compiled 46 points behind a third-place finish from Makenna Veen and a fourth-place effort from Katie Osika. Three other Michigan State athletes finished in the top-15.
No. 22 Wisconsin was runner-up with 81 points, followed by Michigan with 102.
Addie Engel of Ohio State won top individual honors for the second year in a row, winning the 6k contest by 9.5 seconds in 20:47.9. She’s the first back-to-back winner since Alicia Monson of Wisconsin (2018-19).
2023 Pac-12 Cross Country Championships
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Men’s Recap
Stanford stands alone.
The 25th-ranked Cardinal became the winningest program in meet history on Friday, as it won its 17th conference title. Stanford had been locked in a tie with Oregon with 16 going into the final meet of the Pac-12’s current alignment, but jumped ahead at Chambers Creek Regional Park.
2023 NCAA outdoor double champion Ky Robinson led the Cardinal with top individual honors, as he broke the tape first in 22:40.2. Cole Sprout and Robert DiDonato finished fourth and ninth, respectively, to give Stanford three top-10 athletes. When final scores were tallied, the Cardinal amassed 41 points, nine fewer than runner-up Washington and 19 fewer than third-place Oregon.
Colorado, which came into the meet ranked ninth nationally, ended up fourth.
Women’s Recap
The final women’s race in the current iteration of the Pac-12 didn’t disappoint.
Six top-30 programs descended upon Chambers Creek Regional Park and when the dust settled, No. 19 Washington reigned. The Huskies, who were the fourth-best ranked program in the conference, beat No. 5 Stanford by two points, 58-60. The Cardinal was the best-ranked program and led through the first 3k before Washington surged ahead over the final 3k.
Sophie O’Sullivan and Julia David-Smith paced the Huskies with a sixth- and seventh-place finish, while two other teammates were in the top-15. O’Sullivan and David-Smith helped offset an individual title by Stanford freshman Amy Bunnage, who won in 19:09.7.
No. 20 Colorado finished third behind Washington and Stanford with 87 points, just one point fewer than No. 14 Oregon. No. 21 Utah was fifth with 103 points, while No. 9 Oregon State ended up sixth with 105 points. The Beavers had two athletes in the top-3 – Grace Fetherstonhaugh (second) and Kaylee Mitchell (third) – but was undone by depth issues.
2023 Big 12 Cross Country Championships
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Men’s Recap
The Cowboys of No. 2 Oklahoma State announced that they are serious contenders for the national title as they claimed their fourth-straight Big 12 crown with a decisive, 25-55, tally over conference newcomers No. 3 BYU. No. 6 Texas was third with 70 points and No. 17 Iowa State took fourth with 114.
Led by freshman Brian Musau and defending champion Alex Maier, the Cowboys placed its five in the front nine finishers. Despite the cold and blustery conditions, Musau crossed the line in 22:46.6, becoming the first freshman to win the Big 12 crown since German Fernandez in 2008.
BYU was led by third-place finisher Creed Thompson. Texas transfer Devin Hart placed fourth.
Women’s Recap
In a clash of national top-10 teams, No. 4 BYU took the Big 12 title over No. 6 Oklahoma State, 35-39. BYU, in its first year as members of the Big 12 Conference, placed its five in the race’s top 10 and seven in the race’s top seven to take top honors. No. 17 Iowa State placed third with 70 points.
Winning the individual title was Oklahoma State senior Taylor Roe in 19:35.4 who put nearly six seconds between her and teammate Billah Jepkirui who claimed runner-up honors. Roe, who placed in the top three in each of her four career Big 12 cross country races, claimed Oklahoma State’s first individual crown in the event.
Texas Tech freshman Juliet Cherbet placed third and BYU’s Lexy Halladay-Lowry took fourth.