2024 Loyola Lakefront Invitational First Thoughts: Alabama Takes Down Top-Ranked NC State While Wisconsin Fends Off Crimson Tide's Big Three

The Loyola Lakefront Invitational has quietly grown into one of the more nationally competitive cross country meets in the nation.

While the Chicago-based invitational didn't have the top-heaviness of the Joe Piane Invite or the depth of the Nuttycombe Invite, it did feature men's and women's fields that will almost certainly send multiple (maybe numerous?) teams to this year's NCAA XC Championships.

Below, we listed the top-seven teams in each of the "championship" races and attempted to see what insights (if any) we could draw from those results. Here's what we found...

Men's Analysis

Individual Race

Seeing Alabama's Dismus Lokira secure the individual win validates what we thought his ceiling could be for this fall. Teammate Victor Kiprop (2nd) delivered on expectations and Dennis Kipruto (3rd) probably had the best race of his collegiate career so far.

Louisville's Ian Kibiwot (4th) is extending the success that he had on the track to the grass while Tulane's Bernard Cheruiyot is an actual national-caliber low-stick. That latter result is important as the Green Wave men are eyeing an automatic national qualifying spot in the South Central region this fall.

1. Wisconsin Badgers (69 points)

Bob Liking (7th) was, unsurprisingly, the Badgers' lead scorer on Friday, although he wasn't quite the top-20 talent (nationally) that we expected him to be. Of course, Wisconsin showed us last year that they place partial emphasis on this meet, something that may have been reflected in Liking's performance.

That would also explain the Wisconsin quartet of Johnny Livingstone, Liam Newhart, Micah Wilson and Christian de Vaal crossing the line together and going 14-15-16-17, respectively. That complete scoring group was enough to fend off the top-heavy Crimson Tide. And let's not forget, the Badgers didn't field Adam Spencer, Rowen Ellenberg or Archie Noakes.

So while Wisconsin didn't necessarily look like their best, they didn't need to be. Yes, Alabama still has another low-stick that they could have unveiled, but the Badgers had a few scoring weapons of their own who we didn't see on Friday.

For the most part, I think the men of Madison, Wisconsin are in a very solid spot.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide (73 points)

Well that was impressive.

If there were any questions about whether or not Dismus Lokira was as good as his converted times suggested, then those doubts were erased on Friday. The Alabama rookie secured a monster individual win, but more importantly, was closely followed by teammates Victor Kiprop and Dennis Kipruto who took 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

Yes, you read that right: Alabama took the top-three spots at this meet.

Of course, the classic issue of limited depth once again plagued the Crimson Tide as their final two scorers placed 28th and 39th, respectively. That is ultimately what allowed Wisconsin to secure the win.

The good news, however, is that Alabama looked like a major threat to the Badgers without Hillary Cheruiyot, someone who was listed in the top-30 portion of our preseason individual rankings (which will be updated soon). We expect the Alabama ace to return to this lineup later this season. And if he was racing on Friday, then the Crimson Tide almost certainly beat Wisconsin.

Keep that in mind as the rest of this fall campaign unfolds.

3. Butler Bulldogs (126 points)

Seeing the Butler men, a team that I was VERY high on coming into this season, fade over 50 points back from Wisconsin and Alabama was far from encouraging.

William Zegarski (10th) looks like he's made solid progress while Austin Gabay (21st) mostly delivered on expectations. The challenge, however, is that Florian Le Pallec (24th) struggled despite being a projected top-10 finisher. David Slapak (31st) had a fine outing, but we also thought he would place a touch higher. Sean Byrnes (40th) closed out the scoring with Luke Henseler (41st) a stride behind.

As unexciting as this performance may seem, there are still positives for the Bulldogs. The first positive is that neither Jesse Hamlin nor Matthew Forrester ran (although it's not clear if the latter will return this fall). Those two men are expected to be crucial scoring pieces for this team in 2024, especially the former who has low-stick potential. The other positive is that Le Pallec, as long as he's healthy, should be a much more potent lead scorer in the future.

Friday certainly didn't raise Butler's stock, but it wasn't all bad, either.

4. Cal Poly Mustangs (165 points)

For the first weekend of October, I thought this was an encouraging early-season effort from the Cal Poly men. Davis Bove (6th) continues to be an underrated low-stick while Chris Caudillo (29th) had a respectable outing.

Aidan McCarthy (34th), Rory Catsimanes (43rd) and Colton Swinth (53rd) didn't necessarily set the course on fire, but they were a steady enough backend group. Each of those men stepped up and did their jobs, limiting excessive scoring at each of their spots.

The Mustangs will need to make further improvements if they want to strengthen their chances of qualifying for the national meet. But for now, this was a solid start.

5. Loyola (IL) Ramblers (165 points)

Once again, the Loyola men put together a sneaky-good outing at their home meet which was slightly better than expectations.

Jason Clayton (20th) was a very solid lead scorer, but it was the combination of Miles Clisham (32nd), James Lawrence (35th), Miguel Abaitua (36th) and Gabe Smit (42nd) that left us encouraged. That was a tightly-packed and stable group of scorers who were fairly efficient.

The Ramblers may have lost the tie-breaker to Cal Poly, but their scoring structure should, in theory, be a bit more effective in larger fields.

6. Indiana Hoosiers (169 points)

This may not seem like an important result, but for an Indiana distance program that has largely been an afterthought in the BIG 10 for the last few years, Friday was a good step in the right direction.

The Hoosiers were led by veteran Skylar Stidham who is quietly evolving into a great low-stick that this program can rally around. Martin Segurola (27th) has made solid progress while Abe Eckman (33rd) continues to show flashes of promise.

The final two Indiana scorers faded back to 50th and 51st place, creating a gap that effectively pushed the Hoosiers outside of the top-five. Even so, the (very slow) rebuild that Coach Eric Heins is implementing seems to be gaining the slightest bit of momentum.

7. NC State Wolfpack (175 points)

There's no way to dance around it: This was a flat-out bad result for the NC State men.

Brett Gardner (11th) and Toby Gualter (13th) were a great pair of lead scorers, offering excellent value at the front of this lineup. It was also nice to see freshman Noah Valyo (37th) show some early promise. However, with no other runners cracking the top-55, the Wolfpack men simply didn't have the depth to keep up with the rest of the field.

It should be noted that veterans Jake Toomey and Kevin Antczak recorded DNF results on Friday. We also didn't see Ian Harrison race, although he's been absent from the results since February.

The Wolfpack had a similar issue last year where they struggled for most of the season, but then suddenly put it altogether once they reached the 10k racing distance. That could certainly happen once more in 2024, but Friday was a tough result to justify.

Women's Analysis

Individual Race

Alabama's Doris Lemngole won the individual title...with ease. A 16-second win for this year's national title favorite is hardly surprising, but it is nice to see that she's in top form.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (57 points)

It's one thing to defeat our TSR #3 team, NC State, by 14 points. However, it's another thing to defeat a podium favorite without the help of Joy Gill, a crucial middle-lineup scorer.

Lemngole (1st) was unsurprisingly elite, Brenda Tuwei (3rd) looks like the All-American threat that we suspected she could be and Pheline Cheruto (5th) produced a result that was on the highest end of our expectations for her.

The Crimson Tide women now have a lethal top-three with the potential to add a fourth possible low-stick (in a best case scenario) to their equation when/if Gill returns. With Addison Dorenkamp (23rd) and Franziska Drexler (25th) closing out the scoring relatively quickly, it's hard not to be high on the Alabama women this fall.

Of course, now we have to ask...does this mean that the Alabama women are favorites for the podium? I don't know if we're there yet, but that is becoming an increasingly realistic scenario.

2. NC State Wolfpack (71 points)

Truthfully, I'm not sure how we should feel about this result.

When a team like NC State's loses as much firepower as they did from last year's team, it's understandable that they may take a step back the following season. Even so, we were fairly high on the scoring reinforcements of this group and thought that they would have a complete enough lineup to fend off an Alabama group that didn't have Joy Gill.

Grace Hartman (4th) was very strong and, for the most part, matched our expectations. Hannah Gapes (6th), meanwhile, was a pleasant surprise. She offered great low-stick scoring value in a way that we had not seen from her before.

Fiona Smith (14th) had a decent outing, although we did think that she would be just inside the top-10. She was followed by Angelina Napoleon (19th) who had a respectable day. Freshman Ellie Shea (28th) closed out the team's scoring.

It's important to note that NC State did not have Leah Stephens on Friday, someone who is a true low-stick star when she is firing on all cylinders. That absence is likely the difference between the Wolfpack winning and placing runner-up. Let's also not forget that NC State was without Gionna Quarzo, Jolena Quarzo, Brooke Rauber and Jenna Schulz.

In other words, there are still avenues for this team to make improvements and return to the podium conversation. The rise of Gapes as a potential low-stick is huge and if Coach Laurie Henes can field a full lineup in November, then Friday's performance has the chance to be NC State's "worst" team effort of the season.

3. Minnesota Golden Gophers (116 points)

Well how about that...I guess they are the real deal, huh?

When the Minnesota women secured the title at the Roy Griak Invitational, I felt encouraged by their performance. They defeated a nationally ranked Utah Valley squad (that admittedly didn't have their top runner) and flexed great firepower in the process.

However, that was just one early-season race in September. The field beyond Utah Valley was truthfully not amazing and we still had a few questions about whether or not their last effort could be replicated.

Well, sure enough, the Golden Gophers came through on Friday as Ali Weimer (9th) proved that she is a true low-stick talent. Emma Atkinson (15th), meanwhile, provided excellent scoring value at the second spot in this lineup. With Erin Reidy, Nadia Phillips and Izzy Roemer staying fairly compact with finishes of 26-31-35, respectively, it was hard to point to a legitimate flaw on this team.

The likelihood of Minnesota advancing to this year's national meet has seemingly jumped ten-fold. The Golden Gophers almost certainly grabbed at least one Kolas point on Friday and they likely grabbed a second Kolas point as well. Pair that with a third Kolas point that they likely earned from Utah Valley and this team should be in Madison, Wisconsin come November.

4. Louisville Cardinals (121 points)

The rebuild of Louisville's distance program is coming along nicely for Coach Joe Franklin who has capitalized on transfer portal and international recruiting opportunities. That, of course, is the same method that he used to make New Mexico a national power.

The Cardinals' firepower on Friday was outstanding as Nancy Chepleting (10th), Layla Roebke (11th) and Rylee Penn (13th) each posted performances that could be argued as low-stick results. That mass amount of scoring potency effectively negated the gap that opened up after those three women. Louisville's final two scorers placed 36th and 51st.

A 1-2-3 punch like that can do some damage in a larger field. Yes, the backend portion of this lineup will need to improve, but if that three-headed low-stick contingent can replicate that kind of effort later in the season, then Louisville has a chance to put themselves on the national stage.

5. Toledo Rockets (131 points)

It has admittedly been a rocky last year of racing for the Toledo women who were quietly excellent in 2022, but had a few challenges in 2023.

The Rockets truthfully don't look like a national qualifying program in 2024, although they did just beat two South Central region teams that will both have a (somewhat) realistic shot at earning an automatic birth to the NCAA XC Championships.

Mercy Kinyanjui (7th) is a fantastic low-stick to have, giving her team the necessary firepower that we weren't confident that they were going to have. Meanwhile, Lou Trois (22nd) and Laura Nicholson (24th) had sneaky-good days while Lianna Surtz (33rd) had a respectable outing. Melody Jebiwot (45th) closed out the team's scoring.

This is a nice starting point for what Toledo is ultimately trying to do later this fall. Women like Emily Vining and Faith Linga weren't even scorers for the Rockets on Friday and can be much better moving forward.

6. Texas Longhorns (169 points)

The lead scoring presence of Eva Jess (12th) and Olivia Howell (16th) was an encouraging, but not necessarily surprising, pair of results for the Texas women. However, the tightly-packed group that we saw upset Arkansas at the Chile Pepper XC Festival was not present in Chicago on Friday.

The Longhorns' final three scorers took finishes of 40th place, 46th place and 56th place. That chasm-like gap between the two halves of this scoring group admittedly left us scratching our heads. Texas' last two races have produced results that are very different from each other, leaving us struggling to gauge where this group sits in the NCAA hierarchy of cross country teams.

7. Tulane Green Wave (177 points)

The Tulane women flexed a ton of firepower on Friday as Caroline Jeptanui (2nd) proved to be an upper-tier star while teammate Blezzin Kimutai (8th) turned out to be a low-stick-caliber runner in her own right.

Paula Vaquera (34th) had a decent showing, but the Green Wave's final two scorer settled for finishes of 57th place and 78th place. In a field where nearly all of the top teams also had one or two great low-sticks, depth was ultimately going to be the deciding factor in how Tulane fared on Friday.

There is still hope that the Green Wave women can advance to the national meet this year. The South Central region looks as wide-open as it ever has been and the scoring potency at the top of Tulane's lineup could give them an edge.