USTFCCCA News & Notes
Weekend Recap: Dellinger Invitational, Lewis Crossover Headline Action
Business is picking up!
We’re already in October, which means the postseason is rapidly approaching.
From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results
Teams are fine-tuning their approach to peak at the right time.
Let’s find out which meets stood out to us this weekend across the nation.
Bill Dellinger Invitational
Men’s 8k Recap
BYU left no doubt.
Led by an individual title by Casey Clinger in 22:54.8, the second-ranked Cougars posted a perfect score on Friday. It was the first perfect score by a men’s champion at the meet since Oregon in 2015. BYU, which also won the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational last month in resounding fashion, had a meager 5.7-second spread between its No. 1 and No. 5 runners.
No. 22 Oregon, RV Montana State and RV Gonzaga had quite the battle for second. The trio was separated by just five points at the 7k split and got much closer by the end. How close? Try three points! Ultimately it was the host Ducks who took runner-up honors with 92 points, followed by the Bulldogs with 94 points and the Bobcats with 95 points.
Women’s 6k Recap
Hometown favorite Maddy Elmore made quick work of the competition.
And so did Utah in the team race, for that matter.
Oregon’s Elmore, who went to nearby South Eugene High School, won the Women’s 6k Collegiate going away on Friday. Elmore gapped the field by more than eight seconds by the 3k split, led by 17.4 seconds at 5k, and cruised the rest of the way for a 9.6-second victory in 19:40.2.
Equally as impressive were the sixth-ranked Utes. Racing for the first time since finishing runner-up at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational in late September, Utah put its entire scoring lineup in the top-10 and throttled No. 12 Oregon by 28 points, 25-53. Erin Vringer and McKaylie Caesar led the way for the Utes in second and third place, respectively.
Lewis Crossover
This annual event aims to attract teams from every NCAA DII region – hence, the “crossover” part of its name. This year, 14 of those men’s squads were nationally ranked along with 10 women’s programs.
Men’s 8k Recap
No. 3 Colorado School of Mines packed its top-5 within the top-22 to easily win with 62 points over No. 11 Western Washington’s 123 points. No. 18 Colorado Christian (194), host No. 10 Lewis (200) and No. 16 Biola (Calif.) (202) rounded out the top-5. No. 4 Grand Valley State was sixth (286).
The Orediggers were led by Ethan Grolnic, who finished third in 23:52.4, followed by Jeremiah Vaille (seventh in 24:09.2), Braden Struhs (14th in 24:18.2), Alberto Campa (20th in 24:26.0) and Matthew Mettler (22nd in 24:27.6). Their sixth runner would have scored for any other team.
Ryan Hartman of Augustana (S.D.) took individual honors with an 8.5-second victory in 23:38.5 over Colorado Christian’s Matthew Storer (23:47.0). It was Hartman’s second win of the year after winning the Maroon 8k at the Roy Griak Invitational three weeks ago.
Women’s 6k Recap
Four of the top-6 nationally lined up in a huge matchup, and the results will likely shake up the next rankings.
No. 5 Colorado School of Mines made it a sweep of the team titles, winning with 69 points over No. 6 host Lewis (114). No. 2 Grand Valley State (157), No. 4 Augustana (S.D.) (188) and No. 19 Alaska (200) completed the top-5.
The Orediggers claimed the individual title as well with Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge winning by 11.3 seconds over Alaska’s Kendall Kramer in 20:38.5. Rutledge-Ramsey is now 2 for 2 this season after winning the Roadrunners Invitational three weeks ago.
Klaudia O’Malley – competing unattached (she was third in the NCAA DII 1500 in May for Grand Valley State) – was third in 20:53.8. Mines was the only team with multiple runners in the top-10 with Grace Strongman adding a sixth-place finish in 21:10.9.
Tiger Preview
It was a preview of the NJCAA Region 6 Championships, which is comprised of schools from Kansas. But nearby Crowder (Mo.) was also there to provide additional firepower with multiple top-10 ranked teams.
Men’s 8k Recap
Emmanuel Otim led No. 4 Butler (Kan.) CC to the team title with 38 points, winning the individual race by 4.5 seconds in 23:12.1 over Sibonelo Khumalo of Colby (Kan.) CC.
The Grizzlies were followed by No. 8 Crowder (52), No. 5 Hutchinson (Kan.) CC (56), No. 10 Garden City (Kan.) CC (113) and NJCAA DII No. 7 Cowley (Kan.) (119).
Women’s 5k Recap
Faith Jepchirchir of No. 6 Hutchinson (Kan.) CC easily won the individual race in 16:55.4, which was 32.1 seconds ahead of Crowder’s Pelisha Kosgei.
Crowder went 1-2 in team scoring (Faith Jeptoo 0.6 seconds behind Kosgei) to breeze to the team crown with 23 points over No. 9 Butler (Kan.) CC (50), No. 14 Garden City (Kan.) CC (73) and NJCAA DII No. 7 Cowley (Kan.) (87). Hutchinson did not have a full squad.