2024 Conference Weekend First Thoughts (Part One): BYU Men Stun Oklahoma State, Oregon Women Take Down Washington & Gary Martin Earns Upset ACC Title Victory

NCAA conference weekend is off to a wild and entertaining start! With many of the biggest conference championship meets all wrapped up, we wanted to kick-off our weekend analysis by reviewing results from the Power Four conference meets.

Unfortunately, due to the very limited time that we have for writing, we'll only be able to discuss a handful of the top teams at each conference meet. Some conference meets will have more analysis than others.

Don't see your conference meet listed? No worries! We'll have more conference meet analysis coming tomorrow in Part Two of our "First Thoughts" analysis.

ACC XC Championships (Men)

1. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (60 points)

Going into the ACC XC Championships, there were roughly six teams that we felt were capable of securing the team title. Of those six teams, both myself and fellow writer Mike McKean felt that the Wake Forest men were the best pick of the bunch.

And sure enough, they proved us right.

However, the way in which the Demon Deacons secured the title on Friday wasn’t what we expected. Sure, Luke Tewalt (7th) was great just like we thought he'd be, but freshman JoJo Jourdon (8th) was flat-out awesome in his first collegiate postseason race. His ability to offer a low-stick result was huge for a team that saw elite star Rocky Hansen (32nd) struggle greatly.

Thankfully for Wake Forest, their backend scoring reinforcements stepped up and delivered on the reliability that we knew they had. Charlie Sprott, Aiden Ross and Joseph O’Brien went 14-15-16, respectively, to give the men of Winston-Salem a complete scoring five.

In a crowded field, that balanced lineup was the difference between Wake Forest earning gold and settling for silver.

2. Stanford Cardinal (69 points)

In what felt like a historically deep year for the ACC, the Stanford men were excellent on Friday, mostly validating their 3rd place performance from Pre-Nationals.

Cole Sprout (4th) further proved that he is, in fact, back in top low-stick form. The same can be said for Thomas Boyden (9th) who arguably had the best race of his cross country career. Lex Young (11th) gave the Cardinal a complete top-three that was noticeably better than what Wake Forest put together.

Admittedly, there was drop-off after that scoring trio, but the gap wasn’t huge by any means. Robert DiDonato (22nd) and Leo Young (23rd) held their own, offering highly valuable backend stability. They ensured that their team score didn’t inflate to the point where UNC could catch them.

Overall, this runner-up performance has to be considered a success for Stanford. Sure, they didn’t win the ACC title, but they did legitimize their presence as a top-10 team in the NCAA this fall.

3. North Carolina Tar Heels (80 points)

Structurally, North Carolina’s lineup didn’t look too different from what we were expecting. The Tar Heels’ elite duo of Ethan Strand (2nd) and Parker Wolfe (3rd) unsurprisingly offered great scoring potency, although seeing Wolfe fade to the bronze medal position was fairly surprising. That’s something to monitor moving forward.

Colton Sands (12th) has likely done enough to deserve the status of “low-stick,” giving his team a third lead scorer to lean on. That, of course, was very much needed. Sure, Will Coogan (21st) had a quietly great day relative to expectations, but UNC’s final scorer dropped back all the way to 44th place. That, in turn, was the difference between North Carolina winning and taking 3rd.

Even so, I think we saw enough from North Carolina to believe that, on a really, really, really good day, they can still make the podium later this month in Madison, Wisconsin.

4. Virginia Cavaliers (94 points)

Wow, Gary Martin was absolutely incredible on Friday!

The Virginia star has suddenly become a superstar, taking down two men (Strand and Wolfe) who could be argued as top-10 names in the NCAA this fall. Not only that, but he did so relatively comfortably!

Having a true national-caliber ace like Martin looks even better when you pair him next to Will Anthony (5th), another clear All-American favorite after this race. We knew that this Cavalier duo was good, but matching UNC’s 1-2 punch is no joke.

Fellow teammate Nathan Mountain (19th) ran relatively well all things considered. However, the backend portion of this lineup once again left us wanting more via 31st and 38th place finishes to close out the scoring.

The scoring value of UVA’s top-three is beginning to come together in the way that we thought it would during the preseason. Even so, the latter-half of their lineup will need to make improvements if this team wants a shot at cracking the top-10 at the NCAA XC Championships.

5. Syracuse Orange (122 points)

With the exception of the pandemic-altered season, this was the first time that the Syracuse men did not finish in the top-two at the ACC XC Championships. And yes, I was in such disbelief of that stat that I had to go back to each year since they joined and double check.

Despite fading to 5th place, I actually thought that this was a pretty respectable performance for the Orange men.

Sam Lawler (10th) and Assaf Harari (13th) had quietly solid races and Alex Comerford (20th) had one of the best races of his career. Of course, the inexperience of redshirt freshmen Benne Anderson (34th) and Connor Ackley (47th) ultimately proved to be the main aspect that held this team back.

In a larger field, I could see this team faring better. Both Anderson and Ackley proved at Pre-Nationals that they can be better, although the increased pressure that comes with the postseason certainly isn't going to make things easier.

6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (127 points)

If I'm being blunt, this was a super disappointing result for Notre Dame.

The amount of talent on this roster is plentiful and they were having a very good season up until Friday. However, Ethan Coleman (18th) was the team's only top-20 finisher and even then he wasn't all that potent of a lead scorer.

Sure, the Fighting Irish packed their remaining four scorers inside of the top-30, but pretty much everyone on this team, with the possible exception of Kevin Sanchez (26th), underperformed relative to expectations.

I understand that the ACC is as loaded as it ever has been. Even so, for a team that took down Northern Arizona and then placed 7th at Pre-Nationals, finishing outside of the top-five of their conference meet simply shouldn't happen.

Notable Individual Results (not already mentioned)

I know we already spoke about Gary Martin, but I can't get over how impressive that win was. Sure, he was a great cross country runner who was capable of being an All-American this fall, but defeating the field that he did was wildly impressive.

What does this result mean going forward? Truthfully, it's hard to say. He's now a very heavy All-American favorite, but does this mean that he's a top-10 runner, nationally? Is it more appropriate to place him among the top-20? Where should he be ranked relative to Strand?

These are all questions that we'll find out shortly in our upcoming rankings update.

Also, great run from Virginia Tech's George Couttie (6th). He was a great D2 distance talent last year, but he has taken a huge step up this fall. The idea of him being an All-American this season feels more and more realistic. Don't sleep on his rising momentum.

ACC XC Championships (Women)

1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (115 points)

Admittedly, some of us at The Stride Report thought that the Notre Dame women would secure this conference title more convincingly than they did.

However, it's important to note that Emily Covert (37th) simply struggled on Friday, falling out of scoring contention. The fact that the Fighting Irish still won without one of their low-sticks producing a scoring result is VERY impressive.

Siona Chisholm (6th) continues to be awesome. However, the supporting cast behind her, while far from amazing, was very solid in their own right. Mary Bonner Dalton (22nd), Erin Strzelecki (26th), Gretchen Farley (30th) and Isabel Allori (31st) all held their own despite three of those four women behind inexperienced underclassmen.

Sure, we thought Strzelecki could have been better, but the backend portion of this lineup was very stable and they avoided any excess scoring. And for a team that didn't have a crucial ace in top form, that was a big deal.

2. Stanford Cardinal (121 points)

While Zofia Dudek (10th) and Sophia Kennedy (11th) could have been a couple of spots higher, we still thought that they had strong races. They did their jobs when it came to delivering on their low-stick responsibilities.

Thankfully, the backend of this lineup was better than what they showed at Pre-Nationals, albeit only marginally.

Riley Stewart (27th), Julia Flynn (34th) and Nicola Hogg (39th) did enough to keep the Cardinal in the hunt. However, without star low-stick Amy Bunnage, it was clear that the Stanford women were missing the extra scoring spark that was necessary to take down Notre Dame.

Is this an improvement on their last outing? Yes, it was. But at the same time, without Bunnage, the ceiling for this team will only rise so high.

3. North Carolina Tar Heels (121 points)

We knew that the 1-2 punch of Brynn Brown and Fatima Alanis was good, but what we saw from those two women on Friday was VERY good. At the ACC XC Championships, Alanis placed 5th while Brown placed 8th.

That scoring potency was huge given how spread out the rest of their lineup was. Eva Kleingbel (28th) held her own, but Taryn Parks (36th) and Sydney Masciarelli (44th) were simply too far back.

And yet, despite all of that, UNC still tied Stanford for 2nd place and was six points out from the win. Sure, Notre Dame and Stanford were both missing low-sticks, but the fact that the Tar Heels were able to be as competitive as they were was encouraging to see.

4. Virginia Cavaliers (152 points)

The last time that we saw the Virginia women face a nationally competitive field, they had placed 11th place at the Nuttycombe Invite. At the time, that seemed like a fairly unexciting result. But on Friday, a 4th place finish seemed like a clear step in the right direction, especially with how deep the conference is.

So...what changed? Well, the Cavaliers were able to introduce veteran star Margot Appleton back into their lineup on Friday. She placed 7th overall, giving UVA a second low-stick alongside Jenny Schilling who placed 14th. Through two runners, the firepower on this team looked excellent.

Camryn Menninger (33rd) had a fairly decent outing to offer solid scoring value in the middle portion of the Cavaliers' top-five. However, a drop-off to their final two scorers (47th and 51st) was ultimately what took UVA out of contention for a top-three effort.

It should be noted that Virginia didn't have Gillian Bushee, a sophomore who looked like a fringe low-stick at the Nuttycombe Invite where she placed 26th. If she was in this field, then how much closer to Stanford and UNC do the Cavaliers get?

5. NC State Wolfpack (160 points)

Seeing Grace Hartman win the individual ACC title was fantastic. It validated her as a true superstar and the long-term face of a powerhouse program. The ongoing excellence of Hannah Gapes has also been exciting. A 3rd place result truthfully surpassed what we thought a best case scenario would look like for her.

And yet, despite having an insanely lethal 1-2 punch, the scoring reinforcements behind those two women was simply lacking. Freshman Ellie Shea (29th) had a quietly great day, but NC State's final two scorers? Well, they settled for 59th place and 68th place...so, yeah, not great.

The silver lining for NC State is that they have two low-stick stars. We're also somewhat confident that Fiona Smith, the team's final scorer can be better in the future. But truthfully, this was a rough all-around day for a squad that no longer appears to be in the hunt for a spot on the podium.

Notable Individual Results (not already mentioned)

Seeing Grace Hartman win the ACC individual title felt like validation that she is, in fact, the focal face of NC State's distance program now that their veteran stars are gone. Was it possible for her to win gold on Friday? Yes, it was, but I would have taken the field to produce the individual champion rather than have chosen Hartman.

The Clemson women, for the most part, had really strong days. Silvia Jelego (2nd) and Judy Kosgei (4th) offered a highly potent 1-2 punch. However, more importantly, they both validated themselves as very legitimate top-half All-American threats this fall.

Gladys Chepngetich (12th) had a fine outing, but for someone who was 24th at the NCAA XC Championships last fall, we've been wanting the slightest bit more from her this fall.

BIG 10 XC Championships (Men)

1. Wisconsin Badgers (46 points)

It wasn't much of a surprise to see Bob Liking earn the individual title on Friday. It was, after all, the fourth BIG 10 individual cross country title of his career.

The rest of Wisconsin's lineup was exactly what you would've expected to see out of the gritty, aerobic-centric Badgers. The quartet of Christian de Vaal, Matan Ivri, Johnny Livingstone and Rowen Ellenberg went 7-10-13-15, respectively, while Adam Spencer (22nd) and Micah Wilson (25th) offered decent enough insurance.

Truthfully, the Badgers aren't the most exciting team in the country. Other teams have noticeably greater firepower and other conference meets from this past weekend proved to be much more top-heavy in terms of competition.

And yet, I don't see too many flaws on Wisconsin's team. Both Ivri and de Vaal are progressing beautifully. The depth on this team is also extensive and I don't see too many gaps forming at any point in their top-seven. Let's also not forget that Liam Newhart had a flat-out bad day. When he's at his best, he is undoubtedly emerging as a scorer for this team.

I don't know what their ceiling is, but I do know that the Badgers have one of the highest floors in the NCAA this fall.

2. Washington Huskies (58 points)

I like to think that, despite barely fending off Oregon on the tie-breaker, that the Washington men found more positives on Friday than they did negatives.

Nathan Green (3rd) delivered a strong low-stick result that the Huskies needed. Evan Jenkins (6th) also offered a very respectable scoring effort. Jamar Distel (14th) had a quietly great day. He is likely the reason why Washington was able to take home a runner-up result. Tyronze Gorze (16th) and Leo Daschbach (19th) did a good enough job of closing out the scoring.

Washington finished runner-up at the BIG 10 XC Championships behind a top-10 team nationally and they did so with all five runners cracking the top-20. They also had Distel emerge as an impactful scorer.

They still need more firepower and it feels like they have yet to have everyone in their lineup run at their best on the same day. Even so, there is still further room for growth -- and that's a good thing.

3. Oregon Ducks (58 points)

When I saw this result, I couldn't help but think, "Finally!"

The Oregon men were simply not good last fall. In fact, they were flat-out bad. And truthfully, after seeing how they fared at the Bill Dellinger Invite (albeit, without a couple of key names), it was hard to be too excited about their postseason hopes.

But on Friday, it felt like the Ducks had a complete lineup that was truly effective for the first time in the Jerry Schumacher era.

Simeon Birnbaum (4th) is beginning to approach "low-stick" status as just a sophomore. Meanwhile, veteran Elliott Cook (5th) offered great firepower as well. His experience will be valuable in the coming weeks.

However, what really impressed me was seeing Aiden Smith place 9th. He had shown promise in prior races, but that was a truly great result. And with his effort, Oregon had an upfront scoring presence that wasn't too far off from what Wisconsin had.

Yes, gaps did open up after that, but Tayson Echohawk (17th) had a really strong result despite his youth and he offered solid stability. Meanwhile, Evan Dorenkamp (23rd) did enough to ensure that the Ducks' upfront scoring would retain its value.

This was a tremendous step in the right direction for Oregon. Sure, they're far from perfect and their youth theoretically makes them super volatile. Even so, for a team that was clearly lacking momentum, the Ducks have to be feeling good right now.

4. Michigan State Spartans (125 points)

They may not know it now, but this result may have been enough to put Michigan State onto the national stage in a few weeks.

Defeating both Michigan and Indiana likely gives the Spartans a handful of favorable Kolas scenarios once the regional meets unfold. And in terms of the actual race from Friday, I thought this Michigan State teams showed solid growth.

Andrew Nolan (8th) was as potent of a low-stick as he ever has been while Riley Hough (18th) offered decent scoring value as well. With freshman Lezawe Osterink (24th) having a surprisingly good day, the Spartans seemed to have a fairly respectable core of scorers to rally around.

The final two Michigan State scorers did falter to 35th and 40th place, but all things considered, that wasn't too bad. Defeating Wisconsin and Washington would have been a big ask as would have defeating the version of Oregon that we saw on Friday. At the very least, the Spartans can use this result as a momentum booster for the rest of the postseason.

5. Michigan Wolverines (158 points)

I'll admit, I'm pretty confused.

I'm not sure how Michigan, a team that finished 6th at the Nuttycombe Invite, went on to place 22nd at Pre-Nationals and now 5th place at the BIG 10 XC Championships. Sure, it would have been understandable if they took 4th place in this field, but faltering 33 points behind a Michigan State team that they should have beaten is perplexing.

The trio of Nathan Lopez, Caleb Jarema and Jack Spamer went 26-27-28, respectively, on Friday and were separated by three seconds. Was that a conservative tempo effort? If so, why? If not, then why have Lopez and Jarema not looked nearly as good as they did five weeks ago?

It would be one thing if this team simply wasn't talented -- but that's not the case. The Wolverines didn't just place 6th at the Nuttycombe Invite by accident. But whatever magic they used to get that result, we haven't seen it since.

Notable Individual Results (not already mentioned)

Bob Liking's victory was great, but it was very predictable. Instead, the bigger story of this individual race was UCLA's Michael Mireles earning a runner-up finish! He has been quietly excellent throughout these fall months, but this was a big performance which has seemingly put him in the All-American conversation.

BIG 10 XC Championships (Women)

1. Oregon Ducks (33 points)

Going into this race, we felt that the Washington women were favored to secure the win. They did, after all, win the Nuttycombe Invite and later earn a runner-up finish at Pre-Nationals, taking down Northern Arizona in the process.

But the Oregon women didn't really care about the accomplishments of their PAC-12-turned-BIG 10 rival. That's because the Ducks finally introduced Silan Ayyildiz into their cross country lineup for the first time ever. That move gave this team an insane amount of firepower as Ayyildiz, Maddy Elmore and Mia Barnett went 1-2-7, respectively, to overwhelm Friday's field.

That raw amount of firepower simply wasn't going to be matched by Washington. However, what really impressed us was Oregon's depth! Klaudia Kazimierska (11th) and Anika Thompson (12th) had the best cross country races of their careers, offering phenomenal backend scoring value.

With a dominant and convincing victory over a podium favorite now under their belt, we have to begin questioning where in the podium conversation this Oregon team belongs...

2. Washington Huskies (60 points)

There wasn't a whole lot that Washington could do to secure the win against an Oregon team that simply looked incredible.

The trio of Chloe Foerster, Julia David-Smith and India Weir each had really nice races, going 6-9-10 in the overall results.

Yes, the contingent of Maeve Stiles (17th), Sophie O'Sullivan (18th) and Amina Maatoug (20th) were a bit further back than we expected, but it wasn't by a massive margin. And frankly, it would have taken a monster day from those latter three women to push back Oregon and give Washington the win.

We still view Washington as legitimate threats for the podium. In fact, they may still be podium favorites, especially in a larger field. They may not have won, but this result says more about Oregon than it does the Dawgs.

3. Wisconsin Badgers (133 points)

The good news? The Wisconsin women had all five of their scorers inside of the top-35 of the results. The bad news? The Wisconsin women had only one woman crack the top-25 (Leane Willemse) and her finish was "only" 15th place.

There have never been many concerns about the depth or sturdiness of Wisconsin's lineup this fall. And although they didn't seem to have a true low-stick star, lead scorers of Leane Willemse, Shea Ruhly and Lindsay Cunningham have been seemingly good enough to get by.

However, on Friday, the firepower was significantly lacking and the entirety of Wisconsin's pack was simply too far back. Thankfully, the Badgers still beat the teams that they were supposed to take down...well, only barely.

In a larger field, expect Wisconsin's lineup structure to be more effective.

4. Penn State Nittany Lions (134 points)

She may not have won, but Florence Caron (5th) was still a great low-stick who allowed Penn State to stay in the mix. Hayley Kitching (22nd) also had a fairly respectable day. She has been a better cross country scorer this season than some people may realize.

Despite finishing further back, the backend scoring trio of Madaline Ullom (30th), Sophi Toti (36th) and Claire Daniels (41st) were still roughly on par with our expectations. The challenge, however, is that Penn State has neither overwhelming firepower like Oregon and Washington and they don't have high-end depth like Wisconsin.

They're solid across the board, but they'll need another spark beyond Caron in order for them to truly stand out in the postseason.

5. Minnesota Golden Gophers (146 points)

This was roughly what we expected to see from Minnesota. The Golden Gophers are having a great year, comfortably breaking our expectations for them and consistently finding success.

However, from a pure talent and resume standpoint, we simply felt that the four teams that finished above them were better -- and on Friday, they were.

Ali Weimer (3rd) is really, really good. She continues to gain momentum and emerge as a legitimate national-caliber star. Emma Atkinson (24th) also had a decent outing, although we thought she would be inside of the top-20.

The final three scorers on this team went 37-40-42 to close out Minnesota's top-five. And while those gaps aren't ideal, the overall layout of this meet wasn't going to benefit the Golden Gophers' lineup structure as effectively as a larger field has. Expect this to be the "worst" race of Minnesota's season this fall.

Notable Individual Results (not already mentioned)

There was never a question about Silan Ayyildiz's talent. We just weren't sure if we would see her race this fall. And if we did, then we didn't know which version of her we would get. Thankfully for Oregon, they got an elite low-stick on Friday who was able to narrowly get the overall win over Maddy Elmore.

Trying to find an appropriate spot in our rankings for Ayyildiz is a challenge. She only has one race of her resume this season (the BIG 10 Championships), but it was a highly impressive win. And after seeing her struggle a bit in the postseason during the spring months, consistency is going to be a major point of emphasis.

BIG 12 XC Championships (Men)

1. BYU Cougars (41 points)

Gosh...where do we even begin?

Make no mistake, we knew that BYU had an elite cross country team. We also said during the preseason that the Cougars were the only team with a realistic shot to take down Oklahoma State this fall.

However, we also thought that a "realistic shot" of beating the Cowboys was probably equal to 5% or lower. Simply put, the men from Stillwater, Oklahoma were just way better...or so we thought.

On Friday, BYU made a massive statement as Casey Clinger (3rd), James Corrigan (7th), Joey Nokes (8th), Creed Thompson (11th) and Lucas Bons (12th) all had monster races en route to a team score of 41 points. Oh, and even if the Cougars didn't have Bons, then Davin Thompson (who placed 15th) would have still given them the win.

Now, truthfully, the Cowboys simply didn't run well...at all. We would expect Fouad Messaoudi and Laban Kipkemboi to be better in the future, especially the former. Even so, BYU has proven that they can win NCAA gold this fall and this was a massive confidence booster.

2. Oklahoma State Cowboys (52 points)

Does losing the BIG 12 title to BYU hurt? Yeah, probably.

But is it the end of the world? No, most likely not.

Oklahoma State was excellent through three runners on Friday. Brian Musau earned a huge statement win over Texas Tech's Solomon Kipchoge. That victory, paired with strong runs from Denis Kipngetich (6th) and Victor Shitsama (9th), gave the Cowboys a slight edge over BYU through three runners.

But then Ryan Schoppe (17th), Laban Kipkemboi (19th) and Alex Stitt (20th) allowed a gap to form in front of them which the depth-heavy Cougars took full advantage of. And with Fouad Messaoudi (32nd) flat-out struggling, there simply wasn't enough scoring reinforcements for Oklahoma State to stay in contention for the win.

The Cowboys will undoubtedly be better in the future. Messaoudi always peaks for the postseason and it's hard to think that neither Schoppe nor Kipkemboi would be a top-35 All-American in Madison, Wisconsin.

Even so, Friday's race did prove that the national title race is much closer than we initially expected.

3. Iowa State Cyclones (62 points)

I would love to offer some analysis on Iowa State's team performance, but...there really isn't much to say.

Robin Kwemoi Bera, Said Mechaal, Joash Ruto and Sanele Masondo all had great days, going 4-10-13-14, respectively. With a slew of Cyclone men going 21-22-23-24, the overall structure of this lineup perfectly matched what we thought we would see from the men of Ames, Iowa.

4. Texas Tech Red Raiders (101 points)

The 1-2 punch of Solomon Kipchoge (2nd) and Ernest Cheruiyot (5th) was exceptionally potent on Friday. They have an argument of being the best 1-2 punch in the NCAA right now.

However, what really allowed Texas Tech to stand out and move ahead of Colorado was Vincent Koech's 17th place finish. That result offered great scoring value as he was able to bridge the two ends of the Red Raiders' top-five.

While the team's final two scorers settled for less exciting 47th and 51st place finishes, the firepower of this lineup was enough to sneak by a Colorado team that put NINE men in front of the Red Raiders' fourth and fifth runners.

That backend scoring gap could be an issue on the national stage. However, if Koech continues to run like he has, then Texas Tech has a shot of being a top-20 team in the country (if they're not already there).

5. Colorado Buffaloes (122 points)

We knew coming into this race that the Colorado men had a balanced lineup with a lot of potential and great depth. However, we also knew that their firepower paled in comparison to BYU, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Texas Tech.

Dean Casey (16th) is quietly getting better and better with each passing race this season. However, the rest of his teammates were simply too far back to fend off Texas Tech for 4th place. But what was truly crazy was that eight other men for Colorado all cracked the top-41 spots while all five of the Buffaloes' scorers were able finish inside of the top-31 spots.

In theory, the lineup structure of this team will fare better in a larger field. That was, after all, proven at the Nuttycombe Invite where they placed 8th.

Notable Individual Results (not already mentioned)

If you weren't willing to call Brian Musau a true national title contender before Friday, then you don't really have too many arguments against him after his BIG 12 title victory. The real question, however, is whether or not Texas Tech's Solomon Kipchoge belongs in that conversation following his silver medal performance.

BIG 12 XC Championships (Women)

1. BYU Cougars (41 points)

This was clearly not a good race by BYU's standards...and yet, it didn't really matter.

Lexy Halladay-Lowry (5th) wasn't the individual title contender that we thought she would be. Jenna Hutchins (36th) flat-out struggled in her first true "off" day of the season. Nelah Roberts (28th), after placing 35th at Pre-Nationals, didn't even emerge as a top-eight runner for her team on Friday.

Of course, when you have scoring reinforcements such as Riley Chamberlain (6th), Taylor Rohatinsky (7th), Carmen Alder (10th) and Destiny Everett (13th), you don't really need everyone running well on the same day.

The Cougars' depth is unbelievably impressive. While the BIG 12 men's field was likely stronger than the women's field (relatively speaking), seeing Chamberlain, Rohatinsky and Everett run as well as they did was a surprise. If the reinforcements on this team are going to run like that on the national stage, then I would be very comfortable calling BYU a legitimate lock for the podium.

2. West Virginia Mountaineers (60 points)

We didn't necessarily learn anything new about West Virginia, although they did validate their monster Pre-Nationals performance with a nearly identical lineup.

Ceili McCabe (1st) and Joy Naukot (3rd) were a brilliant 1-2 punch, offering elite firepower for the Mountaineers. Behind them, the scoring group of Sarah Tait (12th), Maddison Trippett (20th) and Emily Bryce (25th) continued to hold their own. Tait, in particular, was quietly impressive.

Unfortunately for WVU, Tecla Lokrale struggled yet again, this time fading to 59th place. Despite the credentials that she entered the NCAA with, it seems like it will take time for her to refine her talent for the collegiate circuit.

3. Utah Utes (86 points)

Going into this meet, we thought that West Virginia would have better firepower than Utah -- and they did. However, we also thought that the Utes would have a more complete lineup and greater depth in comparison to the Mountaineers.

But nope. West Virginia was better in that area, too.

None of this is to say that Utah ran poorly on Friday. They actually ran quite well with Erin Vringer (8th) and Mckaylie Caesar (11th) continuing to look like strong All-American candidates this fall.

However, Annastasia Peters (18th), Katarzyna Nowakowska (22nd) and Morgan Jensen (29th) each fell behind the respective third, fourth and fifth scorers for WVU. That was not something that we expected.

Like we mentioned with the Colorado men, we're convinced that Utah will be better in larger fields. Jensen can probably be more effective and we know that Peters has All-American upside (even if she hasn't shown it this season).

4. Oklahoma State Cowgirls (103 points)

The trio of Josphine Mwaura, Sivan Auerbach and Victoria Lagat had quietly great days for Oklahoma State at the BIG 12 XC Championships, going 14-15-16, respectively. Those weren't low-stick results, but they were more than just respectable scoring efforts.

Colleen Stegmann (27th) and Jinane Mahi (34th) didn't necessarily blow us away, but they didn't have to. For a team that is in a clear rebuilding year and doesn't have their superstar low-stick, I thought the Cowgirls held their own and put together a fairly cohesive scoring group to place 4th.

Notable Individual Results (not already mentioned)

Ceili McCabe looks crazy good so far this season. She has faced three fields this fall in which have featured multiple top-30 runners in our rankings. And in each race, she has run exceptionally well, including on Friday when she won the individual BIG 12 title.

Juliet Cherubet (2nd) continues to be awesome, Joy Naukot (3rd) has an argument to be a top-20 runner in the country and Judy Chepkoech (4th) has largely validated her earlier success from this fall. The amount of raw talent in the BIG 12 is borderline overwhelming...

SEC XC Championships (Men)

1. Arkansas Razorbacks (38 points)

The Arkansas men were favored to take home the win over Alabama by virtue of having a more complete lineup. And sure enough, that was exactly what happened.

Patrick Kiprop's dominant win is making him look more and more like a possible outside national title contender. Meanwhile, Kirami Yego (3rd) and Yaseen Abdalla (5th) continue to be standout low-stick stars.

Reuben Reina (13th) had a quietly great day, offering nice value at the fourth scoring spot of this lineup. Behind him, All-American candidate Ben Shearer (16th) had a slight "off" day. With three others in the top-22, the Razorbacks had done enough to fend off an Alabama squad that, structurally, had a very similar lineup.

The rise of Reina as a capable backend scorer is a really nice development for an Arkansas team that is trying to fill out the fifth spot in their scoring group. Watch out for him on the national stage.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide (52 points)

The three-headed low-stick monster of Victor Kiprop, Dismus Lokira and Dennis Kipruto went 2-4-6, respectively, at the SEC XC Championships. That trio was three points behind Arkansas' top-three, but they mostly did their jobs in terms of matching their firepower.

The challenge, however, is that Hillary Cheruiyot, the team's other projected low-stick, faded hard, settling for 19th place overall. Sure, that was Cheruiyot's first race of the season, but if Alabama wants to be a podium squad, then he needs to be in All-American form.

Hayden Hurst (21st) did an admirable job when it came to closing out Alabama's top-five. He provided more backend stability than we expected. If he can replicate that kind of effort on the national stage, then a top-10 finish for the Crimson Tide seems highly probable.

Notable Individual Results (not already mentioned)

Personally, I hate talking about times in cross country. I think they're almost always irrelevant. But seeing Patrick Kiprop win the SEC title with a mark of 21:57 for 8000 meters is absolutely insane.

I would argue that he has just as much raw talent as (almost) any of our national title favorites, although I'm not quite willing to put him in that group just yet. The accolades of that group are simply too much.

SEC XC Championships (Women)

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (72 points)

As expected, the Alabama women cruised to the win with Doris Lemngole winning the individual title and looking plenty dominant. Not only that, but Brenda Tuwei (4th) validated our suspicions that she could be a true national-caliber star.

However, the drop-off after Tuwei was admittedly a bit surprising. Pheline Cheruto (15th) wasn't quite as strong as we thought she would be and we have yet to see Joy Gill this season. Yes, freshman Addison Dorenkamp (19th) did have a very solid outing, but the Crimson Tide's final scorer faded to 33rd place on Friday.

At a meet like the SEC XC Championships, that series of results isn't going to be a huge deal. However, in a larger field, that backend scoring could inflate quite a bit. And without Joy Gill, the idea of this team being on the podium seems like a slightly bigger ask.

2. Tennessee Volunteers (103 points)

After a rough regular season, it was really encouraging to see Tennessee find success at the SEC XC Championships.

Ashley Jones (6th) looked as good as she has all season, but it was the contingent of Jillian Candelino, Rachel Sutliff and Caroline Lyerly who offered really great value by going 18-20-21, respectively.

Yes, we'll admit, seeing their fifth runner fade back to 38th place isn't ideal. For a team that seemed fairly deep last year, we're not getting that same impression in 2024. Even so, Friday showed us that this team is at their best in the postseason. And from a confidence perspective, this runner-up result has to spark some level of momentum for the remainder of Tennessee's postseason.

3. Florida Gators (122 points)

I'll admit, I have no idea how to analyze this result.

Hilda Olemomoi (2nd) was unsurprisingly elite, but the drop-off from her to the rest of her teammates was glaring. The Gator quartet of Bethan Morley, Tia Wilson, Allison Wilson and Gabrielle Schmidt all finished within three seconds of each other, going 28-29-31-32, respectively.

Were those latter four women tempoing the SEC XC Championships? Was it just a coincidence that they were as close to each other as they were? What does this mean for the future? Should we analyze this result at all?

Funny enough, I have more questions about Florida than I did before we reached Friday.

4. Arkansas Razorbacks (132 points)

The Arkansas women can take a big sigh of relief knowing that low-stick ace Sydney Thorvaldson has returned to racing. She's clearly not in the same form as last year, but a 10th place finish on Friday is a really nice result after not racing all season long.

Meanwhile, Paityn Noe (3rd) is inching closer to superstar status while teammate Mia Cochran (10th), for the most part, validated her recent effort at Pre-Nationals.

Even so, the Razorbacks' problems with depth remain. In fact, the depth for this team was exceptionally poor on Friday as their final two scorers dropped back to 51st and 60th place.

Having Thorvaldson back in this lineup will ensure that Arkansas doesn't fall back nearly as hard as they did in their previous races. Even so, they're not totally in the clear yet when it comes to national qualifying.

Notable Individual Results (not already mentioned)

Auburn's Brenda Jepchirchir (5th) had a really nice day and validated the success that she was having earlier this fall. However, it was a little surprising to see Oklahoma's Leah Jeruto fade back to 9th place. She has proven that she'll be an All-American favorite in Madison, Wisconsin, but that was her first "off" day of the season.