TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – For the 12th time since 2002, Indiana State University and the city of Terre Haute will host the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
The women's 6K race begins at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 19, with the men's 10K to follow at noon. Tickets cost $10 at the gate.
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Men's Individual Preview
By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA
TERRE HAUTE, Indiana – While we singled out two individual favorites in the women's race at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Saturday, everyone in the men's race not named "Edward Cheserek" is simply a challenger to the King's reign.
It's hard to believe it was three years ago that Edward assumed the throne atop the NCAA distance running world on this same LaVern Gibson Championship Course, surging past then-defending champ Kennedy Kithuka – once viewed as untouchable – in the final third of the race.
His first title was won in come-from-behind fashion, his second came on this course in 2014 with a blistering final two-kilometer kick, and his third came in a from-the-gun showdown between him and Patrick Tiernan of Villanova in Louisville a year ago.
In other words, you can't pull away from him, you can't outkick him, and you can't break him. That has held true so far in 2016, as Ches notched decisive wins on the 8K course here in Terre Haute at Pre-Nats, at the Pac-12 Championships and at the West Regional. If it continues to hold true, the Oregon senior will finish his career as the undisputed King of Cross Country, becoming the first man in DI history to win four consecutive national crowns.
THE TOP CONTENDERS
No one on an NCAA Championships cross country course has been able to stop him yet, that is. Who are the men best in position to end his reign?
Based on last year's race the top returner is Patrick Tiernan of Villanova, who pushed Cheserek for eight kilometers in Louisville before the King made the decisive winning move. Tiernan has raced just twice this year with clear victories at the BIG EAST and Mid-Atlantic Regional championships, but has yet to be tested against the NCAA's best this fall. He was tested in a big way over 5000 meters on the track this summer, finishing just about five seconds away from making the Olympic final.
The best-credentialed runner in the field (and the one with the hometown advantage) is Northern Arizona's Futsum Zienasellasse. Futsum has twice finished top-five on this course at NCAAs – a feat matched only by Ches among active runners – with a fourth-place effort in 2013 and a third-place run in 2014. The Big Sky and Mountain Region winner redshirted last cross season just for this opportunity, so he'll be extra motivated to get one last shot at Cheserek.
The man who's emerged in 2016 as the most legitimate threat to the King's reign is Syracuse's Justyn Knight, who was fourth a year ago in Louisville as a sophomore. No one has beaten Knight this fall – including Futsum – as the Orange leader collected titles at Virginia, Wisconsin, ACCs and the Northeast Regional. An emphasis has seemingly been placed upon Knight storming back from sometimes more than 10 seconds off the lead in the late stages of the race to chase down the win, perhaps in anticipation of a hot pace that could be set down late, a la 2014.
Those are the big three challengers, but there are others solidly in the mix for spots in the final chase pack, as well. Big Ten champ and Great Lakes runner-up Morgan McDonald of Wisconsin, and Pac-12 runner-up Grant Fisher of Stanford and his teammate Sean McGorty are among those expected to also push up front. Though he hasn't made as much noise as a year ago, Jonah Koech of UTEP (11th a year ago) will also be a threat at the front.
THE DARK HORSES
Look out for a couple of up-and-coming underclassmen from unheralded mid-major programs to potentially make a big splash after winning their regional meets.
Jacob Choge of Middle Tennessee took down Koech at the Conference-USA Championships (and will run near the front with teammate Kigen Chemadi. They'll be running with extra motivation to make the most of MTSU's first-ever NCAA Championships appearance.
Then there's Tulane's Emmanuel Rotich, victor at the South Central Regional. While he may not have won his conference (third in the American), he seems to be peaking at just the right time after taking down the men from Arkansas at regionals.
The man who won the American is also one to look out for, as well. Luke Traynor won the Midwest title over a stout field headed by No. 8 Oklahoma State. Tulsa's top runner has performed well at NCAAs in recent years between Marc Scott and Chris O'Hare, and Traynor looks to continue that tradition.
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Men's Team Preview
By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA
NEW ORLEANS – Looking for a dark horse in the team race for the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships title and/or podium?
Look no farther than Terre Haute, Indiana, circa October 15.
After initially being declared the victor at the Pre-National Invitational, then-No. 5 Arkansas' celebration was short-lived. Partway through the next race, it was announced that a timing error had omitted a scoring runner for then-No. 4 Oregon and that the Ducks were, in fact, the victors at Pre-Nats.
From there, the Razorbacks' and Ducks' paths diverged, bringing them back to Terre Haute as underdogs for very different reasons.
And, yes, before you ask, the teams with the most and fourth-most team titles in NCAA Championships history, respectively, can be considered underdogs.
While Arkansas has held steady in the polls, coming in at No. 6, Oregon has stumbled through its postseason slate, finishing fourth at both the Pac-12 Championships and the West Regional. Consequently, the Ducks arrive in Indiana at No. 13 in the national poll – a far cry from the No. 3 billing they received in mid-October.
Perhaps the key difference that led to the two teams' very different post-Pre-Nats paths? Who they faced the next two meets.
Arkansas enters this Saturday relatively untested, having only faced – and beaten – No. 2 Colorado from among the current top-10 teams. The Hogs' toughest postseason test came in the form of No. 11 Ole Miss, whom they handled with relative ease at the SEC Championships.
Even the Colorado win might be deceiving, as the Buffaloes seem to have transformed for the postseason as the went on to crush not only Oregon at the Pac-12 Championships two weeks later, but also current No. 3 Stanford and No. 8 UCLA.
Arkansas has two returning All-Americans in Jack Bruce and Frankline Tonui, the latter of whom has really broken through in 2016 with runner-up finishes in the NCAA Outdoor steeplechase final and the Pre-National Invitational. Alex George has made a name for himself this fall in a big way with three wins – including an SEC title – and NJCAA transfer Andrew Ronoh has developed into a potential All-American coming off a runner-up finish in the South Central Regional.
In short, the Hogs are untested, relatively speaking, but have the depth and firepower to make a lot of noise in Terre Haute.
Meanwhile, Oregon has been through the ringer since Pre-Nats, squaring off with Colorado, Stanford, Portland and UCLA at least once each between the Pac-12 and West Region championships. Ultimately, they were unable to get head-to-head wins over any of them.
The Ducks could potentially have the most top-end firepower of any team in the field with three-time national champ Edward Cheserek and Pre-Nats third-place finisher/West Region runner-up Matthew Maton. Key words are "potentially" and "could", since Maton also turned in a less-than-impressive 28th-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships.
Potential is a word that can also be ascribed to the rest of Oregon's scoring lineup, which has plenty of it but has been inconsistent in demonstrating it this fall. Will the Ducks get the near-All-American Travis Neuman from the 2015 NCAA Championships and 13th at Pac-12s? Or the Travis Neuman who finished 50th in the West Region? Same goes for Jake Leingang, who was 50th at NCAAs last year but 46th at Regionals.
If everything clicks behind Edward Cheserek – i.e. Maton runs well; Leingang and Neuman run up to their potential; and younger runners like Tanner Anderson and Levi Thomet perform well – then the Ducks are certainly a team that can challenge for the podium.
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Women's Individual Preview
By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — After Boise State decided to redshirt Allie Ostrander this cross country season, the race for the individual title was wide open.
Then pundits settled on Brenna Peloquin, Ostrander's teammate, to be the heir apparent.
And in the weeks leading up to the 2016 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, the focus shifted to Michigan's Erin Finn.
Now that the big day is almost here, we have a clearer picture of what could happen in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Let's make sense of the favorites, contenders and dark horses that will be competing on Saturday. For the sake of simplicity, we'll list them alphabetically. Favorites are those with a lot of hype this late in the season. Contenders are those with multiple strong performances under their belts and dark horses are those flying under the radar.
Favorites
Erin Finn, Michigan — Name a runner who has been on more of a tear over the past few months. That's right: You can't. After a loss to Boise State's Brenna Peloquin at the Roy Griak Invitational in mid-September, Finn has been untouchable. Finn set a course record at the Louisville Classic the next week and shortly after, ran one of the fastest times in the history of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Pre-National Invitational. Once the postseason hit, she added a Big Ten title and a Great Lakes Region crown to her trophy case. There is very little standing between her and a fifth consecutive win, which would be the biggest of her career to date.
Alice Wright, New Mexico — This might come as a surprise, but Wright is the top returning finisher from NCAAs last year. Wright, now a junior, finished 5th in Louisville, Kentucky and was a key cog in the Lady Lobos' historical performance. This year on the grass, Wright hasn't finished worse than 2nd at any meet and is on a two-race win streak. Wright avenged an early season loss to Boise State's Brenna Peloquin and two of the contenders she has yet to beat — or face — are Michigan's Erin Finn and Notre Dame's Anna Rohrer (five-second winner at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational). If either want to go from the line, Wright should be right there with them as she doesn't mind running away from the pack as her past two wins came by an average of 13 seconds.
Contenders
Erin Clark, Colorado — If the top-ranked Buffaloes get out and run on Saturday, expect their lowest stick to come from their senior leader. Clark returns to the course where she finished runner-up to Michigan's Erin Finn at the Pre-National Invitational. The two other times Clark ran for the win, she placed well. Clark became one of the few women to break 20 minutes in the Rocky Mountain Shootout and took 2nd at the Pac-12 Championships, a split second behind Washington's Amy-Eloise Neale. Clark was 11th last year at NCAAs.
Amy-Eloise Neale, Washington — Something must have clicked in Neale's mind between the end of the track season and the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. There is no other way to explain it. Neale transformed from a 10th-place 1500-meter runner at NCAA Outdoors to an XC national title contender in a matter of months. We took notice of Neale at Wisco when she placed 4th. Then she won individual titles at both the Pac-12 Championships and the West Region Championships. Both meets featured runners who expect to finish in the top-15 or better on Saturday.
Brenna Peloquin, Boise State — It wasn't long ago that Peloquin was the Flavor of the Month. How could she not be after breakthrough wins at the Roy Griak Invitational (over Erin Finn) and the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational? Since then Peloquin — the 9th place finisher at NCAAs last year — hit a rough patch (at least by her lofty standards). Peloquin was 4th at the Mountain West Championships and 3rd at the West Region meet after leading both at one part of the race. If Peloquin finds her stride again, look out.
Anna Rohrer, Notre Dame — Thanks to Notre Dame's schedule, Rohrer hasn't taken a break from racing the best of the best week in and week out. Rohrer went from the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational (Alice Wright) to the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational (Brenna Peloquin, Wright and a host of others) to the ACC Championships (which she dominated) to the Great Lakes Region Championships (runner-up to Erin Finn). That gauntlet could pay off in a big way for the Irish sophomore on Saturday.
Dark Horses
Elinor Purrier, New Hampshire — Purrier is in her own little part of the nation up there in New England. When she jumps in larger races, she opens some eyes. After a track season that saw her finish 3rd in both the indoor mile and outdoor steeplechase, Purrier won the Coast to Coast Battle in Beantown to open the XC season, finished 5th at Pre-Nats and won the America East and Northeast Region individual titles. In other words, she knows how to race.
Karissa Schweizer, Missouri — If you're reading this, you probably know about Schweizer already. If not, allow this to be a crash course. Schweizer is 4-1 this season with victories at the Commodore Classic, Chile Pepper Festival, SEC Championships and the Midwest Region Championships. Her only loss came at the Pre-National Invitational, where she finished 4th. Schweizer also showed her chops on the track with a 3rd-place finish in the outdoor 5000.
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Women's Team Preview
By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — So much has been made of the favorites in the women's race at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
We know Colorado is the unanimous No. 1 entering Saturday's meet — and for good reason. Have you seen the carnage the Buffs left in their path to Terre Haute, Indiana?
No. 2 NC State, No. 3 Providence, No. 4 Stanford and No. 5 Michigan are all hot on Colorado's heels and need to execute their race plan perfectly to topple the nation's best.
What about those dark horses? You know those teams that could pull a surprise or two and make things REALLY interesting in the team race.
We'll highlight two in this post: one from inside the top-10 and one outside of it. As fate would have it, both of these teams stood out from the rest as recently as mid-October.
No. 7 Washington
Remember the Huskies?
The team that won the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational?
It wasn't too long ago that Washington soared from No. 12 to No. 2 in the National Coaches' Poll and owned four 1st-place votes in the Week 5 installment. Depth proved to be the rocket fuel for the Huskies as they mushed their way to the top and toppled NC State and Providence in Madison.
That commodity has been in short supply for Washington as of late, though.
The Huskies couldn't hang with Colorado at the Pac-12 Championships and watched a young Stanford team upend them at the West Region Championships. Washington fell to No. 4 after the first race of the postseason and down to No. 7 in the most recent poll that came out Monday.
Don't worry about the Huskies: They will end up on the podium if they recapture the magic that propelled them to No. 2 after Wisco.
What needs to happen?
First — and most importantly — Charlotte Prouse needs to be right on Amy-Eloise Neale's shoulder. Neale is on a two-race win streak (Pac-12s, West Region), while Prouse hit a bit of a slide in recent races (6th and 10th in her last two after placing 5th at Wisco). Neale and Prouse are as dangerous as any duo in the nation and Washington needs them up in the pack if it wants to finish among the top-4 teams.
Secondly, the Huskies' 3-4-5 runners can't stray too far from the top-50. If Washington has three All-America selections, look out.
No. 23 Baylor
Quick!
Name the team at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational that had four runners across the finish line before any other team in the field.
Here's a hint: It wasn't one of the top-4 teams.
Give up?
That would be none other than Baylor, the 5th-place team in Madison.
The Bears had a breakthrough race as their top-4 finishers went 11-15-29-31. If final scores were tallied after four finishers instead of the usual five, Baylor would have been runner-up to meet champion Washington. Unfortunately the Bears' fifth runner crossed the finish line in 142nd and they dropped three spots in the team standings.
A similar thing happened this past weekend at the South Central Region Championships to Baylor. The Bears were well on their way to a region title — and an upset of Arkansas in the process — but their back-end runners couldn't keep up with the Razorbacks.
Baylor should have two All-America selections on Saturday in the guise of Maggie Montoya and Lindsey Bradley. Behind that duo, Peyton Thomas and Anna West will hold their own. For the Bears to end up on the podium, Kathryn Foreman (191st at Wisco) and/or Gabrielle Satterlee (142nd) must have the race of their lives.
