TSR Collaboration
Nov 18, 202223 min
Written by Grace McLaughlin, Eric Baranoski & John Cusick
Additional edits and commentary by Garrett Zatlin
Grace: I am fairly confident in Missouri Southern winning the Central region. Gidieon Kimutai TSR #4), Ryan Riddle (TSR #9) and JP Rutledge (TSR #24) hold firepower and low-stick scoring potency, but as a whole, the trio hasn’t been quite as consistent as we would expect.
Luckily their fourth runner, Riley Simpson, has been fairly reliable.
Regardless, Missouri Southern holds too much talent for me to be confident in another team winning the Central Regional XC Championships.
As for the elusive third spot, I will go with the Antelopes of Nebraska-Kearney. They were the runner-up finishers at the MIAA XC Championships behind Missouri Southern and have been surprisingly consistent throughout the season.
Led by the trio of Luke Stuckey, Ben Arens and Myles Bach, the UNK men have shown steady progress this season. I do not think there is another team in contention for third spot that can beat the low-stick scoring potency of that trio.
Eric: I agree with Grace on this one that Missouri Southern should win. Even though the Augustana men had a very dominant day at the Northern Sun XC Championships, totaling just 18 points, their youth is the kicker for me as to why I’m picking the veteran Lion team when moving up to the 10k distance.
I trust Gidieon Kimutai, Ryan Riddle and JP Rutledge too much for anyone else to stand a chance against them in this region. In my mind, if they race the way that they should, then things should good smoothly for the Lions.
However, the energy that I have seen from the guy of Nebraska-Kearney has made it seem like this was going to be a special year for them. That is enough for them to predict them taking the third and final automatic qualifying stop in the Central region.
Oh, and the fact that they finished 2nd place at the MIAA XC Championships, like Grace mentioned earlier, might mean that it's the ‘Lopes year to surprise some less observant distance running fans.
John: Despite being the biggest Missouri Southern fan coming into the season, I think I will side with Augustana this weekend.
Yes, their season hasn’t been as good as we expected it to be.
But it’s also true that this team was performing at a similar level going into last year’s regional weekend. And during (roughly) this time last year, they walked away with a 38-point victory. While I don’t think that the Vikings will win by that much this weekend, I do think that their level of depth is better than that of Missouri Southern right now.
The Vikings dominated at the NSIC XC Championships without Henry Klitzke and Kray Person racing. You could argue that the Vikings have four athletes who could finish inside the top-10 this weekend. Now compare that to the Lions where we expect three men to be inside that top-10 threshold.
At some point, the math will work in the favor of the Vikings and it should lead them to a second-straight regional title.
I will agree that the 3rd place spot will go to Nebraska-Kearney. They’re the next team in line from the Central region with the most talent. As already mentioned, Ben Arens, Myles Bach and Luke Stuckey have been incredibly strong for the Lopers up front.
If things break right for UNK, they could finish 2nd in this region and change the trajectory of a successful season in December.
Jose: I agree with John that Augustana will go home with the regional title.
Seeing how they’ve performed through the previous season, while taking home last year's regional title, gives me the impression that Augustana’s program is built on thriving in the postseason. After all, the Vikings won the team title at the NSIC XC Championships without their full lineup.
Gidieon Kimutai, Ryan Riddle and JP Rutledge, as a whole, have extensive experience when it comes to championship racing for Missouri Southern. However, they’ll be challenged by Augustana's pack-running of Matt Steiger, Ryan Hartman and Jesse Kaas which may hold more scoring weight in a larger field like this.
It’ll be a tight race, but I believe that Augustana will pull away from the Lions.
As for the third spot in the region, I agree that Nebraska-Kearney is the favorite to round out the top-three. The Lopers will not shy away from adding themselves to the battle between Augustana and Missouri Southern and will look to chase the Lions who bested them at the MIAA XC Championships.
Grace: Augustana has been one of the most confusing and frustrating teams to analyze this season. Despite being a powerhouse program and having plenty of experienced veterans on their team, they have not been consistent.
The Vikings are more talented than their results have shown so far this season. That's why they are still ranked at TSR #7. We do, after all, have to respect the fact that they won the NSIC XC Championships.
Is there another team that could beat the Vikings?
Possibly, but history suggests that Augustana knows when to peak for championship season.
Since their usual rival (U-Mary) is going through a substantial rebuilding phase, the Minnesota State women seem to be the next team in line.
The Mavericks were the runner-up finishers to the Vikings at the NSIC XC Championships, totaling 68 points to Augustana's 56 points. They won the Bob Waxlax Invitational and placed 2nd at the Lucian Rosa Invitational. They had a disappointing 7th place finish at the Griak Invitational, but have since redeemed themselves.
Speaking of the Griak Invitational, could Minnesota-Duluth pull off an upset?
In addition to winning Griak, the Bulldogs placed 2nd at the Lewis Crossover. They raced a “B” team at Bob Waxlax and had an unfortunate 4th place finish at the NSIC XC Championships, but their performances at Griak and the Lewis Crossover suggest that the talent is there for an upset bid.
Eric: Augustana knows they have a target on their back year in and year out. However, this year, it seems as though they have felt the pressure. Lacking the normal confidence, I’m not sure they even know which team will show up to the race- the one we ranked TSR # 7 in our latest rankings or a team that was just 13 points away from losing the Northern Sun championship. Either way, the bus can stop here if they don’t perform as they can.
And although Grace made a great point with Minnesota-Duluth, I’m going to go with the hot team in Minnesota State having the best shot to topple the Vikings.
Being so close at the Northern Sun XC Championships (finishing 2nd) has opened their eyes to the possibility of qualifying as a team for the national championship. With upperclassmen Amanda Montplaisir, MaKenna Thurston and Mackenzie Gaherty flexing their racing experience, they have a solid shot to take down the Vikings and if not that, at the very least punch their ticket to the national meet.
John: Given the competition level of the Central region, it’s pretty tough for me to pick anyone except for the women of Augustana.
Experienced veterans such Nicolette Schmidt and PJ English have helped stabilize this team all season long. Sure, the regression of Megan Means this season is certainly something that we had not prepared for, but Mia Salas has stepped into the third scoring role and has performed fairly well for the Vikings.
Ella Bakken and Taylor Melton are both underclassmen, but they have both stepped into varsity roles this season. Despite their youth, they’ve flashed the necessary potential to be difference-makers for Augustana and we should expect that to remain true this weekend.
As for teams that could challenge the Vikings, it could be any one of Minnesota State, Minnesota-Duluth and Winona State.
Minnesota State has shown that they’re capable of competing at the top of their conference after they finished as the runner-up finishers at the NSIC XC Championships. Amanda Montplaisir and MaKenna Thurston have been strong low-sticks and should help make up for some of the backend scoring gaps.
Minnesota-Duluth is probably the strongest threat to Augustana despite their 3rd place team finish at the NSIC XC Championships. In fact, the trio of Cailee Peterson, Maddie Verkerke and Julia Nielsen outperformed the Vikings' top-three at their conference meet and are capable of doing so again this weekend.
Meanwhile, Winona State arguably boasts the best scoring potency in the region, but you could argue they also have the least depth. Lindsay Cunningham, McKenna Taylor and Kaylee Beyer are one of the best scoring trios in the country. However, their potency is hampered by their backend scoring which was demonstrated at the NSIC XC Championships where their fourth scorer was 19th and their fifth scorer was 48th.
With how things have been trending, any of those three teams feel like somewhat realistic contenders to pull off an upset. Even so, that's still unlikely, so I will trust the Vikings and Coach Hellman to bring home yet another regional title this weekend.
Jose: I agree with Eric’s idea that this year, it seems like the Vikings aren’t responding to the pressure as well as they usually do.
The Augustana women are one of the few teams this season who have been trending down, and this lack of consistent results has given more motivation to teams like Minnesota State, Minnesota-Duluth and Winona State to potentially dethrone the Vikings.
And yet, despite this downward trend, Augustana still earned the conference team title at the NSIC XC Championships somewhat by a notable enough margin.
Minnesota State, the recent NSIC runner-up finishers, seem to be the team with the highest chance to possibly upset the Vikings. However, the conference title may be the boost of confidence that Augustana needed to get back to their usually-dominant selves.
Grace: For the women, I have to go with Cedarville.
The Yellow Jackets have had several strong performances this season and have the momentum going to continue their success this weeknd. They won the GMAC XC Championships with just 20 points, easily won the UAH DII Festival Year Invitational, won the Lucian Rosa Invitational and placed 10th at the Louisville Classic.
Additionally, Cedarville has a tight scoring pack which favors them in larger fields.
On the men’s side, I really like the momentum and consistency of the Saginaw Valley Cardinals. Led by front-runner Dayton Brown (TSR #10), they placed 2nd at the GLIAC Championships and 5th at the Lewis Crossover.
However, I think there will be a much more thrilling battle for 2nd place in which the Cardinals are just one contender.
At the UAH DII Festival Year Invite and at the Lewis Crossover, the Illinois-Springfield men beat Lewis by a fairly significant margin. However, Lewis and Illinois-Springfield had a much closer race at the GLVC XC Championships in which the Prairie Stars managed to pull off the win by a single point.
In my mind, that just shows us that the Flyers have some serious momentum going heading into Saturday's race.
Then, of course, there’s Michigan Tech and Walsh who are also in the conversation for the silver medal, but I think my pick of Saginaw Valley is a fairly safe bet based on their consistency and improvement throughout the season.
Eric: The Cedarville women are a tough, pack-running team.
Their season has really allowed them to pick up solid momentum along the way, starting with a home win at the All-Ohio meet. They followed that up with a huge learning experience in Louisville which allowed them to learn how to run in the big races. That was shown by earning wins at the Lucian Rosa, the UAH Festival Year meet and the GMAC XC Championships.
Those victories should have the Yellowjackets buzzing with excitement to punch their ticket to the NCAA XC Championships. They've really grown a lot this year.
When the news broke that Zach Kreft (TSR #11) was going to transfer to Walsh from Notre Dame as a graduate student, the Cavaliers likely knew that they would have to make the most of this season.
And coming into the Midwest Regional XC Championships, they have done just that.
They are GMAC champions, the Run Fast River Run champions and they had a very solid showing at Paul Short. The results have left meet high on the Cavaliers for when they toe the line next to Grand Valley State on Saturday.
John: There is no doubt in my mind that the Cedarville women are my pick to finish behind Grand Valley State this weekend.
All year long, we have seen this team move together as a collective group and it has paid dividends. They’ve kept a tight time-spread throughout the entire season and that has effectively resulted in some strong team victories at the GMAC XC Championships and the UAH D2 Festival Year Showcase.
The front of Yellow Jackets's lineup has been slightly interchangeable, but they’ve consistently had an athlete finish near the front of multiple competitive races. Savannah Ackley was their low-stick at the G-MAC XC Championships, but it could very well be Alayna Ackley, Naomi Herman or Remington Hobson leading this team on Saturday.
If they can keep their time-spread in the same range that it’s been all season long (20-25 seconds), then the Yellow Jackets should be walking away with a 2nd place finish on Saturday.
On the men’s side, I think that Eric is right when he says that Walsh will take home that runner-up honor.
Zach Kreft has really changed the dynamic of this team and the possibility of him finishing in the top-five on Saturday is a really encouraging thing for the Cavaliers. Nathan Moore has quietly been a very reliable second scorer while Julian Schrock, Mitchel Dunham and Joseph Walsh have rotated through the latter-half of this lineup.
Barring a tremendous blowup from those three, the scoring dynamic of Kreft and Moore gives the Cavaliers a really good shot at finishing 2nd place this weekend. They don’t have quite the depth of Grand Valley State, but their top-two scorers will carry this team to their ceiling.
I also like both Saginaw Valley and Wayne State (MI). Both programs boast strong low-sticks in Dayton Brown and Ransom Allen, respectively. However, their team finish on Saturday will largely come down to their second scorers.
At the GLIAC XC Championships, Thomas Hufton finished 11th for the Cardinals while Tyler Buchanan finished 19th for the Warriors. In turn, the Cardinals finished 2nd and the Warriors finished 4th in the team race.
Michigan Tech is likely the other team to keep an eye on. The duo of Clayton Sayen and Drew Kolodge have performed very well this season. If I were to bet on a result this weekend, it’d be those two men finishing in the top-10. based on their excellent consistency this fall.
But how the Huskies fare as a team will largely depend on their third scorer. At the GLIAC XC Championships, the duo Sayen and Kolodge finished 5th and 6th overall, respectively, while the 3-4-5 portion of their lineup finished 20-26-31.
And to be blunt, that's likely not going to be good enough for this weekend where the field size is even bigger than the one they just competed in.
Jose: The Cedarville women look to be the favorites to earn runner-up honors behind Grand Valley State on the women’s side. That shouldn't be too surprising.
Coming off of an individual title by Savannah Ackley and a team title at the GMAC XC Championships, the Yellow Jackets have really good momentum, especially with four runners finishing in the top-five overall.
Cedarville will definitely have a challenge trying to match just some of Grand Valley State's scoring prowess, but they still seem like the clear-cut second option in the Central region.
On the men’s side, I could see either Walsh or Saginaw Valley State emerging with silver in this race.
Saginaw Valley State showed promise with a strong display of scoring at the GLIAC XC Championships, specifically with Dayton Brown finishing just behind Tanner Chada.
However, the Cardinals will have a harder time earning a runner-up honor than Walsh will. Notre Dame graduate transfer, Zach Kreft, has opened up the scoring possibilities for the Cavaliers, earning an individual title and a team title at the GMAC XC Championships.
Kreft has also pulled along teammate Nathan Moore this season, a guy who earned a respectable 3rd place finish at his conference meet a few weeks back. With the chase pack of Evan Jarold, Drew Roberts and Julian Shrock, the Walsh men will likely have an easier time with their campaign for a regional runner-up honor compared to Saginaw Valley State.
Grace: We’ve questioned Stanislaus State’s ability to win a few times now, but they’ve repeatedly proved us wrong each time.
I think the trio of Kaela Dishion (TSR #8), Najwa Chouati and Kayden Legan make the Warriors a very hard team to beat. Backend support scorer, Yahairia Zuniga, has been inching closer to Legan over her last few meets while Haleigh Humble has proven to be fully capable of closing out this scoring lineup.
Yes, Chico State did manage to take down Stan State earlier in the season, that was not the Warriors' top lineup. I have full faith in the Stanislaus State women to win the West Regional XC Championships, but Chico State is definitely their biggest challenger.
The Wildcats' depth is unmatched and their front-runners have been steadily improving throughout the season. However, they don’t have quite the same firepower or consistency that Stanislaus State has shown.
Biola is an up-and-coming team worthy of discussion, but I would not put them on the same level as Stanislaus State and Chico State...yet.
Eric: I've said it before and I will say it again.
If Kaela Dishion wins the West regional title, then the Warriors will also win.
Period.
Najwa Chouati and Kayden Legan know that they have to be as close to Dishion as possible for the Warriors to take home the victory and the rest of the lineup will take care of itself.
At the CCAA XC Championships, it was nice to see an emerging presence in Yahairia Zuniga who finished 9th overall while Haleigh Humble has been providing necessary stable scoring at the backend of this lineup.
But let's not just give Stan State the title so quickly.
Chico State isn’t just going to let the Warriors simply walk away with the win at the West Regional XC Championships -- not if Marissa D’Atri and company have anything to say about it. And I think the Wildcats know what needs to happen for them to win: They need to form a pack around D’Atri and hope the gap between her and everyone stays somewhat narrow.
If that doesn't happen, then I find it hard to see the women from Chico State taking home the team victory on Saturday.
John: If you had asked me this question six weeks ago, I would have told you that there was no way Stanislaus State was going to hold off Chico State.
But since then, we’ve seen the emergence of Yahairia Zuniga. Her performances this season give the Warriors more than just three reliable runners and that has helped make this team one of the best in the country.
Then we saw Haleigh Humble return to their scoring lineup and all of the sudden, the women from Stanislaus went from three strong runners to five strong runners.
Obviously, the trio of Kaela Dishion, Najwa Chouati and Kayden Legan give the Warriors a benefit that only Chico State can match on their best day. That firepower proved to be the difference maker at the CCAA XC Championships and I haven’t been given any reason to believe that it’ll be any different on Saturday.
The pack-running from the Wildcats will certainly give them a shot at the team title, but things will likely need to break perfectly for them. That includes having someone (or multiple runners) finishing inside the top-10 and their time-spread being less than a minute, unlike what transpired at their conference meet.
Jose: I agree with John on this take -- the firepower from Stanislaus State will be vital in their chances of winning a team title. Of course, we don't have a reason to believe that it will be any different than what we saw at the CCA XC Championships.
Kaela Dishion is going into this weekend after securing the individual CCAA title all while helping the Warriors to team gold at their conference meet. Her level of confidence must be through the roof after those performances and she'll be looking to capitalize on that yet again going into Saturday.
That said, Chico State, the runner-up finishers at the CCAA XC Championships, have the ability to shake up the pack of Kaela Dishion, Najwa Chouati and Kayden Legan. The Wildcats had an astounding nine runners in the top-20 at their conference meet, meaning that Chico State could potentially permeate Stan State's top-five if one or two runners falter below expectations.
Biola is not a team to overlook, either. They could take away Stanislaus State’s possible title, although that is admittedly unlikely.
When comparing the two champions in their respective conference meets, Biola posted a faster average time than Stanislaus State, although times on the grass are an admittedly loose way to project future success.
Grace: While the Choctaws of Mississippi College are a talented team, I think that Lee (TN) is the favorite.
They have a history of success, consistency and championship experience on their side. They also just beat the Choctaws, 38 points to 41 points. I fully believe in Coach Morgan preparing his team to win the South region.
Eric: The Flames will be in yet another close one with the Choctaws from Mississippi College on the men’s side.
I’m not convinced that it will be a blowout, but rather another slight win for the Lee men. Even though their top runner at the Gulf South XC Championships, Aaron Himes, has never raced a 10k before, his teammates Will Stone and Silas Eckenroad have.
With Coach Morgan at the helm of this program, I wouldn't be surprised to see this team thrive over the 10k distance this weekend.
John: I agree with Eric that this will not be a blowout.
While the Flames have a strong team across the board, I feel confident that Jan Lukas Becker will win this race, giving the Choctaws at last some margin of error this weekend.
Whoever finishes as the top scorer for Lee will likely need to be inside the top-five to mitigate Lukas Becker’s score. After that, it’s going to be a crapshoot. Gabe Poulin and Hunter Kurz bring in a veteran presence that is so valuable in a setting such as this which could effectively aid Mississippi College in winning the team title.
The Choctaws put three men across the finish line at the GSC XC Championships before the Flames did. In that instance, the Flames’ depth paid off as they placed seven athletes inside the top-15...but is that sustainable in a larger field?
In fairness to the Flames, they proven to us that their lineup structure could be effective at the Lewis Crossover and the UAH D2 Festival Year Showcase with their pair of 2nd place finishes.
Alabama-Huntsville will also be in this hunt for the team title, but I’m not certain that they hold enough top-end scoring for them to pull off an upset. Their team is incredibly experienced and that will help tremendously, but I feel like they’ll fall off in scoring by the time the results have been tallied.
Jose: I don't think the South region will have a singularly dominant team. I agree with Eric and John that the race between Lee and Mississippi College will be very tight.
Jan Lukas Becker of Mississippi College, the individual champion at the GSC XC Championships, is a favorite to win the individual title. However, I feel like the real battle will be between each team's second and third scorers.
Gabe Poulin and Hunter Kurz of Mississippi College finished within the top-five at the GSC XC Championships, but were covered by Silas Eckenroad and Will Stone of Lee who placed 6th and 7th place overall in that same race. The team battle will almost certainly come down to the battle between those four runners.
Lee has great experience in championship racing and have made enough appearances on the national stage to make me feel confident in picking them. I feel like that kind of experience will be massively important going into a close race between the Choctaws and Flames.
Grace: For the men, both West Texas A&M and Colorado Mesa need a strong showing at the South Central Regional XC Championships.
The Buffaloes won the Lone Star Conference XC Championship title and have progressed throughout the season. Meanwhile, the Mavericks have been battling strong RMAC competition and recently placed 5th at the RMAC XC Championships.
Their resumes are good, but a strong performance here would do wonders for their respective stock and momentum going into the national meet.
For the women, I think Westminster (UT) needs to have a strong performance at the South Central Regional XC Championships. The group of Adams State, Colorado Mines and UC-Colorado Springs are essentially locked-in as the top-three teams in the region while Western Colorado and CSU-Pueblo are almost guaranteed an at-large selection to the national meet.
That leaves the Griffins on the outside looking in. A strong performance at the South Central Regional XC Championships will likely determine if they get a spot to the NCAA XC Championships.
Eric: On the women’s side, give me Dallas Baptist.
Madison Brown (TSR #13) is much improved and she led her team to their third-straight Lone Star Conference XC Championship team title. I also think that the Patriots are a confident team, even if their regional meet is at altitude in Denver.
For a team from sea level, if they can perform there, then they can perform anywhere.
The men are a different story. I’m going to say, Colorado Christian. It didn’t appear that the Cougars brought their varsity lineup to Durango, CO for the RMAC XC Championships which has to mean that they were preparing for the South Central Regional XC Championships.
Putting all of their eggs in one basket like that shows us a tremendous amount of confidence to perform when needed. It’s up to Colorado Christian to prove once again that their strategy is a legitimate approach year-in and year-out.
John: I completely agree, once again, with Eric about the women of Dallas Baptist.
I’ve been on the Madison Brown hype train for a while now and I think this is the year where we see her talent truly stand out. If she runs well, then that sets the Patriots up for a successful team outing.
The biggest test for the DBU women this weekend will be on Marissa Insinna. She’s been a very good secondary scorer for this team all season long and will need to replicate that value on Saturday.
KayCee Keller, Rylee Cristan, Emme O’Donnell and Emily Cole have all served as a scorer for this team at one point or another this season. Keller has been the most consistent of those four athletes and a strong showing from her can help make Dallas Baptist stand out on Saturday.
I’m also intrigued to see how the Colorado Christian women perform. They’ve been the team that we’ve seen the least this season and their performance this weekend will determine our expectations for them at the national meet.
The Colorado Mesa men are also a team I’m interested in watching this weekend.
Things have quietly turned around in Grand Junction, Colorado and the Mavericks are a national-caliber team...on paper. Tony Torres is a good low-stick in both a strong conference and a strong region. Ethan Abbs has improved alongside Triston Charles and the two men have consistently been the second and third scorers for this team.
Kevin DeGree has had a strong freshman season and has been an added boost to a team lacking in depth after the graduation of some veteran athletes.
Some backend scoring could still be improved, but a strong performance from those four runners would result in some great things for Colorado Mesa.
On paper, the Mavericks are a national qualifying team. But this weekend, we need to see that they are an actual nationally qualifying team in the final results.
And like Eric, I am also curious about the Colorado Christian men.
We haven’t seen them since a strong performance at the Lewis Crossover and there’s nothing to do but wait and see what they do next. They have a chance to mix things up in this region and a strong performance would really make me feel good about their chances in December.
Jose: I agree with John about Colorado Mesa being an interesting team to watch on the men’s side.
The versatility of Tony Torres has made him a well-known runner within his loaded conference and region. He will definitely be able to pull along his teammates as the Mavericks make a bid for the national meet.
Then we have the women.
With their third-consecutive Lone Star XC Championships title, it’s very hard to overlook the Patriots of Dallas Baptist. Madison Brown led herself and three of her teammates to top-10 finishes at their conference meet. That's fairly impressive.
Going up against the powerful RMAC teams will prove to be a difficult task for any team, but I feel like Dallas Baptist has the ability to possibly shake up the rankings this weekend.
Grace: I think the South Central Regional is the most predictable for both men and women.
The Adams State women are on another level while both Colorado Mines and UC-Colorado Springs are clearly a cut above the rest of their competition. The gap between the UCCS women and the next team is far too big for me to consider any other team finishing in the top-three.
The RMAC dominance continues on the men’s side with Colorado Mines, Adams State and Western Colorado clearly being the top-three teams in the region. There's not much debate.
Eric: I agree with Grace that the South Central region is the easiest to predict and the top three teams at the RMAC will be the same ones in the South Central region this weekend. There's not a whole lot to talk about here as Grace was spot-on with her analysis.
John: I personally believe the West region will be the “lock” of the weekend.
I see the Stanislaus State women winning with Chico State in 2nd and Biola in 3rd. Those are the three best teams in the region and I think that will stay true after Saturday.
I see Chico State winning the team title on the men's side yet again. They’ll be followed by Western Washington in 2nd place and Cal Poly Pomona in 3rd place. Chico State’s depth is better than Western Washington’s depth, but the Western Washington men are deeper than Cal Poly Pomona.
You could argue that there are deeper teams than Cal Poly Pomona, but I think the Broncos will be the third-best team in the West region after this weekend.
Jose: I agree with both Grace and Eric that the South Central region will be the “lock” of this weekend for the men.
Colorado School of Mines has shown complete dominance over the region, showing no signs of slowing down or giving up the throne.
Fellow RMAC foes Adams State and Western Colorado have also shown no signs of throwing away their second or third regional ranks. Those teams are definitely a “lock” when it comes to their South Central regional dominance.
However, I have to agree with John about the West region being the main “lock” this weekend on the women’s side.
The three teams of Stanislaus State, Biola and Chico State have shown supremacy in their region and I think the team battle for runner-up between Biola and Chico State will be a fun race to watch. Those three teams are a fairly clear trio in terms of auto qualifiers.
Grace: I think the West region will be thrilling. I am eager to see the battle between Kalea Dishion of Stanislaus State against the likes of Kendall Kramer and Naomi Bailey (TSR #6) of Alaska-Fairbanks.
Dishion has proven that she can win against the best individuals in California while Bailey has proven to be a top talent by winning D2 Pre-Nationals. Kramer then beat (more like tied) Bailey at the GNAC XC Championships.
Dishion hasn’t competed against top-tier talents in terms of D2 competition while Bailey and Kramer raced some top competitors, but not enough to give me enough of insight on this matchup.
That will be fun to watch unfold on Saturday.
Eric: The South Central region and everyone attempting to take down Dillion Powell (TSR #1) will be fun to watch as they know how he likes to get out front just as he did at the RMAC XC Championships.
The real question is: Will anyone change their race strategy to try to throw him off his game? Or will his fitness simply take over?
We should also head to the South region for the women as Johanna Wistokat (TSR #24) from Christian Brothers has the most to gain from the meet.
Yes, she has already had a dominant season, but there is no Celine Ritter or Toni Moore from Lee (TN) to stop her from trying to win her first South regional title this year. I know it's survive and advance scenario, but if I were her, it would be more of a pride thing to go out there and take the win.
In my eyes, that would really solidify her spot among the best of the best.
John: I will opt for the men’s Central Regional XC Championships.
Gidieon Kimutai and Ryan Riddle are looking to make it two years in a row of Missouri Southern athletes finishing 1st and 2nd overall. Ryan Hartman (TSR #15) and Matt Steiger will look to usurp them, but their work will be cut out for them.
Add in other strong racers such as Matthew Oglesby and Diego Contreras from Pittsburg State, Brian Mitei from Central Missouri and the duo of Amos Pkiach and Oliver Kiptoo from East Central and all of the sudden, it’s a crowded field up top.
On the women’s side, I’ll be looking to the South Central region.
This race should be between the trio of Stephanie Cotter (TSR #2), Brianna Robles (TSR #3) and Florance Uwajeneza (TSR #5). These three women are above the rest of this field and all eyes will be on Cotter and her reemergence in the Division Two world.
Robles is a superstar in her own right and Uwajaneza has been a consistent low-stick throughout her West Texas A&M career.
I think it will still go Cotter, Robles and then Uwajeneza, but I do think the battle leading up to the finish will be something to watch.
Jose: I have an interesting race that I am looking forward to watching on the men’s side.
Despite the popular powerhouse regions like the South Central, West and Central, I’m actually looking forward to watching the individual battles at the Southeast Regional XC Championships.
That's because Joshua Chepkesir of UNC Pembroke will be challenged by Wingate’s Pierre Galbourdin.
Chepkesir is a two-time individual champion in the Conference Carolinas XC Championships. He won the Southeast Regional XC Championships in 2019 and was the runner-up finisher at the 2021 meet last year. He’ll be looking to put himself atop the podium once again, but he hasn't looked like his normal self in 2022.
In theory, that opens for the door for Pierre Galbourdin who has been sneaky-good this fall.