Top Five Countdown to the NCAA Cross Country Championships
Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 05:07
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With the excitement mounting and teams and fans making their final preparations to travel to Terre Haute, Indiana on Monday, we'll take a look at the top five men, men's teams, women and women's teams to watch from now until Sunday, with a top five countdown.
#1
Men
The individual match-up of the weekend pits Oregon's Galen Rupp against Liberty's Sam Chelanga. Both athletes have proven this season that they are hands down the best runners on the collegiate scene and will finally get to battle Monday. Both easily won their conference and regional races, thus adding even more thrill to the head-to-head match up.
Both athletes had dominating performances that have defined their season's thus far. Chelanga's came at Pre-Nationals, where he crushed the field with a course record of 22:51. The old record was held by his 2007 teammate Josh McDougal, who went on to win the NCAA individual title and beat Rupp. Rupp's big performance at regionals has everyone talking now as well. Rupp bested the field by nearly a minute, winning the 10k race (short by 85m) by 51 seconds in 27:41.
Both these performances are simply outstanding and on Monday as these two take to the starting line, one can bet that the fans in attendance will be split on who they want to win. Rupp v. Chelanga. The race is on!
Men's Team
Here we go. The clash of two championship caliber teams is upon us. #1 Oregon v. #2 Oklahoma State. The defending national champion Ducks versus the fan favorite crew of Cowboys. Both these squads have shown time and again why they are ranked so high this season, starting with big wins at their respective conference meets and regional meets.
At the Pac-10 Championships, Oregon placed six in the top 12 and four in the top nine, easily running away from the field and beating a strong Stanford team very easily. At the Big 12 Championship OSU placed four in the top five and easily beat a Colorado team that had never lost a Big 12 championship race before.
At regionals Oregon won the West Regional with three in the top six and five in the top 15, while Oklahoma State placed four in the top seven while sitting out two of their top six. Both teams have front runners that will vie for top ten finishes, both have great 3-4 runners, but both have a question mark or two after that, which creates questions but creates so much anticipation for the men's race as well. Two evenly matched teams, one national trophy at stake...who will win?
Women
No woman has ever won three individual NCAA cross country titles. That all could change this year as Sally Kipyego (Texas Tech) goes for her third consecutive NCAA title. Through past performances this season, Kipyego is looking as if she'll win running away once again. While she may get some competition from a few individuals, her torrid pace and even keel racing always seems to knock out the competition.
Kipyego's season has gone on without many problems. At the Chili Pepper Invitational she won by 16 seconds in her closest finish of the year. At the Big 12 Championships she pulled away early to win by 51 seconds over runner-up and teammate Lillian Badaru. At the Mountain Regionals she won yet again by a large margin, besting Badaru for first by 41 seconds. Her regional victory came in Fort Collins, Colorado, at 5,000 feet altitude no less.
With one more collegiate cross country race to go, you can bet Kipyego wants to go out in grand fashion. The Texas Tech senior has shown no weakness over the past few years and on Monday Kipyego could set some historical NCAA history.
Women's Team
Four runners in the top eight at Pre-Nationals. 1-6 at the Pac-10 Championships. 3-7 at the West Regional. Those are each team performances that have defined the University of Washington's season thus far, and in one day the Huskies will have their shot to bring home their first national championship.
Early in the season Washington showed the talent necessary to win a national title. Despite conference rival Oregon holding the U.S. #1 ranking, Washington's freshman editions of Canadian Kendra Schaaf and American Christine Babcock, as well as a healthy Mel Lawrence, meant big things ahead for the team. To top it off all-American runners Anita Campbell and Katie Follett returned, while miler Amanda Miller slowly built fitness to be prepared at seasons end.
With the team rested, healthy and ready to run, it seems nearly impossible that another squad can beat them. Schaaf and Miller sat out at regionals to rest for nationals, but the team still beat now #2 Oregon by a large margin, tallying only 25 points. So much talent, such a great hunger to win, and the Huskies seem poised to finish a top the awards podium.
#2
Men
When was the last time a freshman had as many expectations on them as this season with German Fernandez? You might have to go back to when Dathan Ritzenhein was a freshman. Fernandez came out of high school running some record breaking times. National records in the 3000m, 3200m and two mile, as well as one of the fastest 1600m times ever, had many labeling him as the next hope in American distance running.
Despite such large expectations, Fernandez has not disappointed, continually showing why he could very well vie for a national title Monday. His two biggest results of the season came at the Pre-National meet and the Big 12 Championships. At Pre-Nationals he won the Open Race in 23:34, a time which would have ranked him fifth overall on the day. A relaxed effort and little competition had many wondering just how fast he could run.
Then came the Big 12 Championship, where Fernandez beat Texas A&M's Shadrach Songok for the title 23:47-23:53. The win was not only significant because he won one of the hardest conferences in the land, but also that he beat Songok, who was the seventh place finisher at last year's NCAA Championships and a mutli-time all-American.
Last weekend at regionals Fernandez ran to a fifith place finish, cruising into the chute with three other teammates all within a second of one another. While it remains to be seen just how well he'll adapt to the 10k distance, every indicator says he is a top three threat at Nationals. While the battle up top may be only between Galen Rupp and Sam Chelanga, you can bet most of the fans will have their eyes glued to Fernandez throughout the race, seeing just how well this freshman performs.
Men's Team
Stanford and Alabama are certainly two of the biggest trophy threats on the course Monday. These two teams dominated the competition at Pre-Nationals, each winning their respective races. Alabama won the Blue Race by 24 points over powerhouse Northern Arizona, while Stanford crushed the competition in the White Race by beating Iona by 46 points.
Since then both teams have had their ups and down. Alabama won both the SEC Championship and South Regional, while Stanford placed second to defending national champion Oregon at the Pac-10 Championship and West Regional. Alabama looked strong at SEC's by placing five in the top ten, but looked a bit off this past weekend by beating runner-up Auburn by only ten points. Stanford seemed much the same after placing very well at Pac-10's, but seemingly faltering a bit at regionals.
If both squads are to earn trophies they will need to count heavily on the performances of their 4-5 runners. Stanford looks good up front with Chris Derrick and Garrett Heath, however, they need Elliott Heath, Hakon DeVries and Jake Riley to come up big. Meanwhile, Alabama has a quality trio up front with Tyson David, Augustus Maiyo and Emmanuel Bor, but 4-5 runners Abraham Kuitingala and David Kirwa need to perform stronger. Alabama looks especially weak after their top five, so there is no room for error.
Both teams have plenty of talent to start Monday's race, but the most talented squads don't always win. Stanford and Alabama have shown multiple times this year that they are top four teams, but it is all about performing on the day.
Women
Last fall the Washington Huskies placed 8th in the women's NCAA Championships, but knew that they could accomplish much more in 2008. They knew they could do that before Greg Metcalf and his staff signed Christine Babcock and Kendra Schaaf. While Babcock received much of the attention, since she set a U.S. national record in the 1500m, Schaaf had her own fantastic resume, which included a Canadian National Cross Country championship and a 20th place showing at the World Cross Country Championships.
Early on in the season it was clear Schaaf was the leader up front for the squad. Impressive early season workouts and racing signaled big things to come. At Pre-Nationals Schaaf led the race and kept with the leaders nearly the whole way, finishing third overall in the Blue Race, 12 seconds behind North Carolina's Brie Felnagle.
Then came the Pac-10 Championship. Schaaf finished first overall, winning by 28 seconds, and clearly showing that she was hitting her stride at the perfect time. The big win earned Schaaf a lot of media exposure and many predicting that she'll finish in the top three individually Monday.
Despite what happens Monday, Schaaf is one of the fiercest freshmen the collegiate scene has seen in some time. Her front running skills should prove big at nationals and once again she'll be expected to lead her Huskie teammates to victory.
Women's Team
Last fall at the NCAA XC Championships, Oregon placed second to national champion Stanford by 32 points. The squad boasted five returnees for '08, including their top four, while Harvard all-American Lindsey Scherf enrolled in graduate school at UO and joined the team for one more season. With so much talent coming back many expected Oregon to simply run away with the national title this year.
That was then, this is now. The Ducks are certainly favorites for a top three finish, however, the addition of Kendra Schaaf and Christine Babcock to the University of Washington team has put the Ducks in the underdog position once again. Twice over the past three weeks Oregon has finished runner-up to Washington, both at the Pac-10 Championship and West Regional. Both times Washington turned in some of the most dominating performances in NCAA history, thus making it hard to actually critique just how good Oregon is.
The Ducks are good...real good! Nicole Blood and Alex Kosinski placed 1-2 at the West Regional, while Blood placed eighth at conference and Kosinski 11th. Scherf is one of the keys to the team's success. She was the top finisher for Oregon at Pac-10's in 7th place, but finished a disappointing 19th at regionals. If she can run up with Blood and Kosinski, that will give Oregon three athletes capable of finishing in the top ten.
Behind those three come a nice pack of individuals, which could include some combination of Mattie Bridgmon, Zoe Nelson, Zoe Buckman and Melissa Grelli. All four will need to come up big and push for a top 50 finish if they hope to beat squads like Florida State and Princeton. The Ducks have the advantage up top, but many teams seem to have a little bit better depth. A Vin Lananna squad can never be discounted at the NCAA Championships and Oregon will be pushing for a top two finish from start until finish Monday.
#3
Men
While Oregon's Galen Rupp, Liberty's Sam Chelanga and Oklahoma State's German Fernandez have received most of the individual fanfare this fall, freshmen standouts Chris Derrick of Stanford and Luke Puskedra of Oregon have been accomplishing big results as well. It's rare for a freshman to be considered a top ten threat, but this year there are four first year runners that have the talent and strength to really challenge for a top ten finish. Fernandez, Derrick, Puskedra and Girma Mesecho of Auburn.
Being in the same conference, Derrick and Puskedra have created quite the rivalry for themselves. At the Pac-10 Championships, which were held at Oregon, Puskedra outran Derrick to finish second, while Derrick placed third, 23:33-23:38. Last Saturday Derrick outkicked Puskedra at his home course, placing fifth and sixth respectively, Derrick coming up one second ahead 28:44-28:45.
Rivalries are great for any sport and the clash these two seem to be making is big. Derrick and Puskedra are two of the best talents to ever come out of the high school distance scene and the fact that they''ll get to face each other for the next four years time and time again will only create more excitement for the sport.
Men's Team
Few teams have been as successful as the Iona Gaels have been over the past six years. Team trophies are nothing new for this squad, and after finishing second in 2007, the team once again returns to Terre Haute with enough talent to make a run at a top four finish. Despite head coach Mick Byrne leaving over the summer to Wisconsin, current head coach Ricardo Santos has done a great job preparing the team to be ready on Monday.
The team is led by potential all-American talents in Mohamed Khadraoui, Andrew Ledwith and Harbert Okuti. Last year this trio finished between 25-38 place at Nationals, thus making them some of the top returnees this season. All three have been running like top 20 runners, which means big things for the squad.
However, the key to the Gaels' success lies in how well 4-5 runners Ryan Sheridan and Chris Vizcaino run. Both have shown consistent improvement throughout the year and helped Iona win their conference meet once again with a perfect 15 points. At regionals Vizcaino finished 11th overall, while Sheridan rested for the big weekend ahead. If both athletes can push for a top 60 finish come Monday, Iona should once again be hoisting a trophy over their head by days end.
Women
Few women have dominated collegiate cross country over the past two years as Florida State's Susan Kuijken. In fact, if it wasn't for Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech, Kuijken may have been the favorite to win last year's national title and this year's national title. Despite Kipyego's pure dominance, Kuijken has continued to grind out workouts and improve.
Earlier this season at the NCAA Pre-National meet, Kuijken dominated the competition over the final 2k, besting the field in impressive fashion while running 19:48, easily the fastest time of the day. Her tenacity held strong once again, as she held off Virginia Tech's Tasmin Fanning at the ACC Championships, besting Fanning 20:11.0-20:11.6.
This past Saturday Kuijken helped her squad by leading the pack, placing third overall in the South Regional, but running nearly stride for stride with teammate Pilar McShine. Resting up for nationals was the important piece of the day. Now with the final meet of the season upon her, Kuijken should be looking to not only improve upon her third place finish in '07, but also, just maybe, give Kipyego a run for her money all the way to the line.
Women's Team
The Mid-Atlantic Regional was the most exciting regional race to watch this year. Not only did the top two teams tie, but the third place team was a mere eight points back. Ivy League champion Princeton continued their impressive season by tying West Virginia, as both squads scored 51 points a piece. Off of the sixth runner, Princeton would have won. Villanova finished a strong third with 59 points, as now all three teams are expected to vie for a trophy on Monday.
The ride to nationals has been an experience for each squad. All three entered the season with heavy expectations, but have over achieved in many ways. Princeton tied Florida State at Pre-Nationals in the White Race, packing it up and running strong from 1-6. Their depth has certainly helped time and again this fall, and showed as the team won HEPS with 17 points.
Meanwhile, Villanova and West Virginia have battled for Big East bragging rights. At Pre-Nationals, which WvU did not compete in, Villanova placed a strong second in the Blue Race behind U.S.#1 Washington, surprising a few other teams in the process. Led by senior Frances Koons and freshman Bogdana Mimic, the squad is looking strong.
At the Big East Championships Villanova outpaced West Virginia, taking home the team title 40-48. However, WVU got revenge on Saturday by having a great race from their entire team, especially the talented trio of Marie Loui Asselin, Clara Grandt and Keri Bland up top. With Princeton, WVU and Villanova all riding high into nationals, the Mid-Atlantic Region could have the best showing of the weekend.
#4
Men
They've simply blown away the competition this year and on Monday they could place three runners in the top ten. No, I am not talking about Oklahoma State's top runners or Oregon's. I am not talking about Alabama's talented group or Wisconsin's or Iona's or Stanford's. It's the Auburn trio of Felix Kibioywo, Elkanah Kibet and Girma Mesecho.
All fall the talented trio has shown that they can each contend for a top ten finish in Terre Haute. Last weekend at regionals, Kibioywo won, while Kibet and Mesecho placed 2-3. At the SEC Championships in Mississippi, the freshman Mesecho won, while Kibet and Kibioywo placed 3-4 respectively. Even at Pre-Nationals the group looked strong, with Kibioywo placing second in the White Race, with Mesecho placing fifth and Kibet eleventh. With their bright orange jerseys, these three will be hard to miss on Monday.
Men's Team
Just to be clear, this isn't a prediction piece, rather it's to point out who some of the best teams and individuals to watch on Monday are. That said, few teams have had as much success as the Colorado Buffaloes over the past decade. Mark Wetmore and his teams consistently show up and perform, race after race, year after year.
This year the squad went through many ups and downs, seemingly putting the pieces together at the right time. Transfer Jordan Kyle has led the squad all year, however, teammates Chris Pannone, Richard Medina and Kenyon Neuman are all coming together to run close to Kyle. The team's 1-5 split of 19 seconds at regionals, which they won, was impressive.
If the Buffaloes hope to sneak up and grab a trophy they will need Kyle to finish in the top 20 and have another strong sub-25 second split behind him. The key to the squads' success may lie in their 5-7 runners. Seth DeMoor, Christian Thompson and Matt Tebo are all going to be counted on, with one of them needing to step up and finishing with the rest of the pack.
Women
While the ACC isn't known as a powerhouse conference for collegiate cross country, the top three women in the conference this year could all finish in the top five Monday. Conference champion Susan Kuijken of Florida State is certainly an athlete to watch, as she could battle for the national title, but two other runners will vie for a top three finish as well. Virginia Tech's Tasmin Fanning and North Carolina's Brie Felnagle have both shown throughout the season that they are contenders.
Earlier in the season Felnagle won her side of Pre-Nationals, crushing the field over the final 800m to win rather easily and post the second fastest time of the day. Meanwhile, Fanning didn't run Pre-Nationals but has continued to build momentum each week towards the biggest challenge of the year. Over the past three weeks Felnagle and Fanning have met twice.
At the ACC Championships Fanning placed second, only .6 behind champion Kuijken, while Felnagle placed third. At their regional this past Saturday Fanning beat Felnagle for first 20:07-20:15. Both runners have great experience and composure, which certainly helps at national meets. Fanning and Felnagle are two women who can not be counted out as the gun goes off Monday in Terre Haute.
Women's Team
At #4 for women's teams to watch, the Big Ten Conference has shown all season that they are the most talented conference from top to bottom. Five teams have a shot to finish in the top ten, as Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Illinois are all coming on strong when it matters most.
Minnesota is the favorite after picking up another conference championship and a Midwest regional crown. Led by Megan Duwell, the Golden Gophers will rely on their pack to push them into the top five. With Duwell eyeing a top 15 finish, the rest of the team will need to have a tight split, like the five second 2-5 split they had at regionals.
While Minnesota proved they were the best in the Big 10 this year by winning conference, Big 10 runner-up Wisconsin gave them a run for their money, only losing 63-67. However, Wisconsin placed third at the Great Lakes regional with 83 points, while Michigan placed first with 72 pointsa nd Michigan State second with 80 points. Each squad has a proven front runner, as Nicole Edwards leads Michigan, Nicole Bush leads MSU and Gwen Jorgensen leads Wisconsin.
Illinois is the fifth team to watch. The squad placed fifth at the conference championships, while placing second behind Minnesota 57-64 at the Midwest Regional. Front runner Angela Bizzarri is hitting her stride at the right time after starting her season late due to injury, which saw her place second at regionals. With Illinois as the fifth best team in the conference, the Big 10 is looking incredibly good heading into the NCAA Championships.
#5
Men
Unlike the women's race, where there are a handful of individuals that are clearly better than everyone else, the men's field has Sam Chelanga and Galen Rupp at the front, but then a large pack will fight it out for the rest of the top five. While there are clear favorites in the field, a few of the names not as well known or not as talked about are Hassan Mead (Minnesota), David McNeill (Northern Arizona), Patrick Smyth (Notre Dame) and Shadrack Songok (Texas A&M).
All four won their respective regional competitions last weekend, each showing that they were the best runners in their region quite clearly. McNeill, Mead and Smyth finished 2-3-4 in the Blue Race at Pre-Nationals, all finishing within eight seconds of one another. At their conference meets, Mead and McNeill won, while Songok finished second to OSU's German Fernandez, losing to the freshman by six seconds, and Smyth placed second behind Georgetown's Andrew Bumbalough at the Big East Championships by three seconds.
All four have shown the talent to finish in the top three, all four have past success' at national meets, but if Chelanga and Rupp finish as expected, all four of these runners will have a say in the matter in who finishes third.
Men's Team
The Badgers of Wisconsin have been counted out all year. Perhaps it was because two of their senior leaders and all-Americans, Stuart Eagon and Matt Withrow, sat out much of the season with injuries. Perhaps it was because they didn't run Pre-Nationals. Perhaps it was because Wisconsin doesn't have the flashy front runners like Oregon or Oklahoma State. Regardless, if the past three weeks have shown anything it is that Wisconsin is once again at trophy contender.
For the tenth straight year Wisconsin won the Big 10 Championships. Yet again the squad won the Great Lakes Regional. Both times Eagon and Withrow ran, and both races showed improvement by the two. At regionals the team had their strongest showing, packing up their top four runners while finishing 4-7. Landon Peacock led the way, as he did at conference, showing that he is a top 20 threat. If Eagon, Christian Wagner and Craig Miller can all stay close, Wisconsin will be fighting for a top three finish.
The keys to success for the squad lie most in Withrow and Jack Bolas. Withrow finished 23rd at conference, while coming back last Saturday to finish 17th overall. On the other hand, Bolas finished seventh at conference, but sat out regionals with the intention to rest up for nationals. Last year Bolas placed 176th overall at Nationals, so first year coach Mick Bryne sat him in the hopes he can vastly improve upon that finish this time around. If Bolas or Withrow hit big on Monday and finish in the top 50, the Badgers will be in the thick of things for a top four finish.
Women
They shouldn't be considered darkhorse runners this coming Monday, but Michigan State's Nicole Bush and Auburn's Hollie Knight are just that. While much of the attention on the women's side focuses in on the Washington and Oregon women, Sally Kipyego, Susan Kuijken, Tasmin Fanning and Brie Felnagle, Bush and Knight could quickly make their way into the top three, especially with how well they've been running as of late.
Bush is on a roll, especially after her last two meets, which saw her win the Great Lakes Region and Big 10 Conference championship. While she finished sixth earlier in the year at Pre-Nationals, her workouts and races seem to be pointing to her making a legitimate run at top three. Knight came up big at her regional as well, winning it by 21 seconds. Her second place showing at Pre-Nationals and second place showing at the SEC Conference Championship, also point to the fact that she is hitting her stride at the right time.
Women's Team
Earlier in the season Florida State looked like a sure bet to earn a trophy. Despite running well below their abilities at Pre-Nationals, the team still ended up in a tie with Princeton for the win. At the ACC Championships the squad simply crushed the field, and from there they looked like the second best team in the country behind Washington.
With Susan Kuijken leading the way, as a prohibitive favorite to finish second to defending champion Sally Kipyego, and Pilar McShine, Linzi Snow and Lydia Willemse running so well (8 sec. 1-4 split at regionals), the Seminoles are looking very strong. Lesley Van Miert sat out regionals, but with her in the line-up Monday it certainly gives FSU another dimension to their attack., especially with Van Miert eyeing a top 15 finish.
08:56, Thursday, November 20, 2008
.. Posted by Anonymous
Smyth did not win his conference, I believe Bumbalough did.
Untitled Comment
09:02, Thursday, November 20, 2008
.. Posted by scott
Thanks for the note on Bumbalough winning the Big East. I just made the correction. Thanks!
tiebreak
12:34, Sunday, November 23, 2008
.. Posted by Anonymous
Just to clarify, the tie between Princeton and West Virginia would have been decided by a head-to-head comparison of the top 5 finishers, not the 6th runner. West Virginia wins that tiebreak 3-2 over Princeton.
Kinsella
02:55, Sunday, November 23, 2008
.. Posted by Anonymous
How can David kinsella not be mentioned for a top 5 place?!??!? guy was top 10 last yr(not sure if it was 7 or 8) but definitely has the ability to be in the top 5. In addition, ryan vail?! i know fernandez has been running great but vail was 11th at this meet last yr and clearly vail is gonna be ready to go tomorrow. i expect vail to lead the cowboys with himself a top 5 finish.
Untitled Comment
03:20, Sunday, November 23, 2008
.. Posted by scott
These aren't predictions, rather key athletes and teams to watch. With a top five countdown you can't cover every team or individual. I agree that Kinsella and Vail are two great athletes to watch and both could make a run at top five.
