2024 NCAA D2 XC Championships Preview: Can Anyone Upset the Wingate Men? Is There a Women's D2 National Title Favorite? Amponsah or Legendre?

Written by Marissa Kuik, Ethan Wampler & Gavin Struve

Questions, edits and additional commentary via Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin

Buckle up, ladies and gentlemen. The NCAA D2 XC Championships are taking place this weekend! The Stride Report will be on site in Sacramento, California this Saturday to snag some shots and provide updates on the D2 season finale.

Below, our Division Two crew sat down and typed out a number of answers regarding the upcoming national meet. Let's figure out where our TSR writers' heads are at as we prepare for the "Big Dance."

Romain Legendre handed defending national champion William Amponsah his first collegiate cross country loss at the South Central Regional XC Championships earlier this month. Which of those two men is your individual title pick (or do you see someone else crashing the party)? 

Ethan: Give me Romain Legendre. As tempting as it is to side with the 28:00 (10k) PR of William Amponsah on what should be a fast Sacramento course, I believe that the Frenchman will best Amponsah again. Legendre has been much more consistent than last year and has run very well in competitive races, like when he placed 7th at the Joe Piane Invitational and won the RMAC title.

Those efforts, combined with a dominant win over Amponsah at the South Central regional meet, make me think that Legendre has the aerobic chops to hang with Amponsah and then out-kick him at the end with his 3:41 (1500) speed.

Marissa: Amponsah's track record (on the grass) is too good to bet against him. I think the racing conditions of the South Central regional meet favored Legendre with it being at altitude and quite cold and snowy.

I still can't get the image out of my head of Amponsah breaking away from the field so early on at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships. He's so strong when it comes to the longer distances, and I think the altitude got to him at the regional meet.

Now, make no mistake, this race is going to be incredibly close and Legendre should be with him every step of the way (as could a few other names like Hamza Chahid and Ryan Hartman). Although Amponsah will not have the lead he had last year, I still believe he will win out in the end. 

Gavin: Legendre’s victory certainly opens my eyes to the idea that someone other than William Amponsah could preside over the D2 men’s cross country scene this year. However, The Stride Report has long put less emphasis on regional results than other postseason or regular season meets. That is because teams and individuals are putting forth varying levels of effort.

If anything, perhaps this opened Amponsah’s eyes to the idea that he could be beaten even after going undefeated and winning NCAA gold in his debut season. While I’d hardly fault him for running for the win, Legendre may have played his hand too early. 

If anyone has the chops to unseat the defending champion, it’s probably Legendre. For now, I’ll ride with the defending champ and his (almost) unblemished resume. 

While Adams State is expected to cruise to the women’s team title, the Division Two women’s individual title race feels as wide-open as any, among teams or individuals, across divisions. How many different women could realistically win the individual national title on Saturday?

Ethan: I think as many as eight women could walk away with the individual title on Saturday. The Alaska Fairbanks duo of Rosie Fordham and Kendall Kramer will certainly be in contention, as will the Adams State duo of Tristian Spence and Ava O’Connor.

Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge from Colorado Mines, Alyssa Becker from U-Mary, Lauren Kiley from Grand Valley State and Anna Fauske from UCCS all also have solid shots winning it all. The former was victorious at the Lewis XC Crossover where she defeated that aforementioned Nanook duo.

Fordham, Fauske and Kiley are all relative long shots, but have proven so far that they can run with anyone. It’s hard to bet against Ava O’Connor, but keep an eye on her teammate, Tristian Spence, as a “dark horse” title contender.

Marissa: I think eight women could feasibly win the title this season. O’Connor has already defeated almost all of the names in the RMAC, but so has Spence after winning the South Central regional meet. Either one of those Grizzlies could win individual gold based on the competition they have already beaten.

Then there is Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge, who has not won any major postseason races, but won two very competitive meets this year, including the Lewis Crossover.

Alaska Fairbanks' duo of Fordham and Kramer know how to win, splitting their conference and regional titles this season. Kiley has also been on a hot streak, easily winning her conference and regional meets. She has one of the best career track records when it comes to the cross country national meet.

Alyssa Becker has also been winning meet after meet and could throw her hand into the mix as well. Finally, Anna Fauske could also make a run for the title. She may not have any wins of the caliber that the women listed ahead of her do, but she is a smart racer who knows how to move up through a field.

All I know is that this race is going to be incredibly exciting. 

Gavin: I’ll say seven different women (O’Connor, Ramsey-Rutledge, Becker, Kramer, Spence, Kiley and Fauske) could win the individual title on Saturday. Although, not necessarily in that order, as I think the slices of the probability pie are all relatively even. 

Fordham has blended firepower, consistency and steady progression throughout her career. She could certainly beat a few from that group, but I’m not sure if I see her defeating her teammate, Kramer, when both are firing on all cylinders. In fact, I think it could be more likely that they run together somewhere in the top-10 (especially since they’re contributing to a team score this year) rather than one of them gunning for the title. 

Wingate has been our TSR #1 men’s team for the entire season. What would need to happen for another program to snag the team title over the Bulldogs and who has the best shot?

Ethan: I would argue that not as much needs to happen as you might think in order for Wingate to be toppled. Colorado Mines has been quietly stringing together great performances this season and has yet to field a fully loaded squad.

If the veteran trio of Loic Scomparin, Paul Knight and Logan Bocovich can match the front-end firepower of the Bulldogs, all it would take is an “off” day from one or two Wingate runners for Colorado Mines’ Jeremiah Vaille and Ethan Grolnic to close the scoring and knock off this impressive Wingate team. 

Marissa: The interesting issue for Wingate will actually be deciding who is going to be in their top seven. The Bulldogs have so much depth, and they could pick an impressive lineup with any combination of names. In our top-25 individual rankings, we have a total of eight Bulldogs either ranked or in the "Just Missed" or "Honorable Mentions" sections.

While their depth is a blessing, it could also be a curse for Coach Pol Domenech. If Wingate lands on the wrong combination of stars, some of whom have raced sparingly this year, they may leave the door open for a similarly constructed Colorado Mines contingent to capitalize and sneak away with the title. 

Gavin: In tallying the points from my individual predictions, a roadmap becomes somewhat clear for Wingate to be upset. I was surprised by how relatively close I had Wingate’s team score compared to the Orediggers’ with 15 points of separation (before removing runners who are competing individually and don’t contribute to team scores). I have all five scorers from both teams projected as All-Americans. 

That suggests that there’s a realistic, albeit small, chance of the Bulldogs being upset.

Mind you, Wingate won the national title by a relatively slim margin of nine points last year. Colorado Mines is the only team I foresee having the firepower to pull this off. However, they’ll need core stars Loic Scomparin, Logan Bocovich and Paul Knight close to the top-10 and Lewis Crossover breakouts Ethan Grolnic and Jeremiah Vaille near top-half All-American status as well. 

That being said, I have the entirety of Wingate’s varsity lineup pegged as All-Americans entering this weekend. Having greater depth than the Orediggers and everyone else gives them a larger margin for error. It's possible that recency bias is swaying my opinion in thinking this will be closer than it should given that several of Wingate’s varsity runners have sat out a few races.

The most likely outcome is a (somewhat) convincing Wingate win. 

The top three women’s teams appear somewhat clear (Adams State, Colorado Mines and GVSU), but we could see an all-out brawl for the last podium spot. Who are you giving the edge to for 4th place and why? 

Marissa: CSU-Pueblo is all about the aggressive start, and the cross country national meet course in Sacramento will favor teams who can get out hard. While the course may be pretty wet, considering how much rain Sacramento is expected to get this week, it will still be pretty fast.

Let me take you back to the 2022 NCAA XC Championships in Seattle, Washington. An underrated ThunderWolves team was actually in 1st place at the 600-meter mark and then dropped down to 4th at the two-mile mark.

While they ended up placing 6th overall, that was a team that was hardly ranked in the top-10 all season before putting themselves in position for a podium finish. The ThunderWolves are much more talented this year and know how to start aggressively, which is why I think they will take the 4th-place position. 

Gavin: While they’ll have to stave off a troika of RMAC powers to grasp the last podium spot, I’m giving the edge to the West Texas A&M women.

Western Colorado has a shot at finishing 4th for a second year in a row, but the Mountaineers lost to UC-Colorado Springs at both the RMAC and South Central meets in recent weeks. They were also well behind RMAC runner-up CSU-Pueblo at their conference meet before beating them on the regional stage. 

West Texas A&M has more All-American candidates (Sarah Koomson, Naomi Addo and Kalkidan Vincendeau) than UCCS does and they finished ahead of CSU-Pueblo at the South Central regional meet without Koomson.

Koomson’s presence at the national meet will be key, but even a back-half All-American result from the 6th-place finisher at last year’s national meet should pay dividends for the Buffaloes. 

Ethan: West Texas A&M will be a tough team for UC-Colorado Springs and CSU-Pueblo to top at the cross country national meet. The Buffaloes were likely hindered by the altitude and snow of the South Central Regional XC Championships course. However, the NCAA XC Championships course should be much more suited to this squad.

Having Sarah Koomson race up to her potential will be key for West Texas A&M to secure a podium spot, and she certainly has the talent to score a big result for her team. UC-Colorado Springs and CSU-Pueblo both have very talented lineups, but I think the national meet will play heavily in the favor of West Texas A&M, and I believe the 'Buffs will take full advantage.

Who’s one breakout regional performer (individual or team) who you’re keeping a closer eye on entering the national meet? 

Ethan: Hudson Majeski of Colorado Christian caught my eye after a 17th-place finish at the South Central Regional XC Championships. Majeski has been mostly a non-factor so far this season, but he seems to be rounding into form at the right time.

With a 4:01 mile PR to his name, it will be interesting to see if Majeski can replicate his regional performance to bolster the top-10 team hopes of Colorado Christian.

Marissa: I am keeping my eye on Adrian Legarreta of West Texas A&M because he will play a crucial role in the Buffaloes' return to the podium. He placed 11th overall at the South Central regional meet, ensuring his team had room to spare in the team standings despite an "off" day from Dennis Cheruiyot. This Buffaloes backend scorer has been solid all year and showed he's his team's x-factor in the postseason.

On the women’s side, I am going to go with the UC-Colorado Springs team. They really pulled together an impressive performance at the South Central regional meet, finishing 3rd overall and beating two teams that they lost to earlier in the season and who have received a top-five ranking.

Although the course conditions were difficult, especially compared to what they will face at the national meet, a performance like that can give a team so much confidence. As we mentioned before, the last podium spot is really up in the air, so the Mountain Lions could take it if the cards fall just right.

Gavin: While she was on our radar before the regional weekend, I believe Sophia Taarud qualifies for this question given that she was one of only two women to enter our rankings in our last update. She also produced arguably the best result of her season and career at the Central Regional XC Championships.

In finishing runner-up behind a national title contender, Taarud defeated All-American candidates that she lost to earlier this season (but also beat at the NSIC XC Championships) in addition to Sophia Strange and competitive names from the MIAA. 

Taarud cemented her All-American candidacy with a 9th-place effort at the Lewis Crossover and runner-up result at the NSIC XC Championships, but posited herself as a top-half All-American threat in her latest outing. That effort was further proof that Winona State has found a capable leading woman in the Warriors’ first season without focal stars Lindsay Cunningham and Kaylee Beyer. 

Complete the sentence: It would not surprise me if ________ happened at the NCAA D2 XC Championships.

Marissa: It would not surprise me if Hamza Chahid won the men's individual title. His six-week absence from racing means he hasn't taken up much air space recently despite being one of Division Two's most accomplished runners.

Now, there's a small chance that we'll find out he hasn’t been racing because he was injured, sick, etc., but Wingate always conducts their season in this way, and Chahid followed the same trend last fall.

In 2023, he did not race until the regional meet and then finished 4th overall at the NCAA XC Championships. The 3k and 5k national champion certainly has the ability to upset Legendre and Amponsah for gold. 

Gavin: It would not surprise me if Josphat Meli makes a push for the lead and picks off one of the clear top-three runners (Amponsah, Legendre or Chahid) after an underwhelming effort at the Central Regional XC Championships.

Meli has raced without fear in his debut NCAA cross country season, only finishing behind another Division Two man when he placed 4th at a regional meet that he was expected to be in the mix to win. 

While that could be viewed as concerning entering his first cross country national meet, one could argue that the Central regional meet was Meli’s least important race this season given how comfortably he still qualified for the NCAA XC Championships.

We already know that he can thrive over 10,000 meters in a championship setting, given that he earned silver over that distance at the 2024 outdoor national meet. Meli has made an almost seamless transition to championship racing at the collegiate level, and I expect he may outperform his ranking (TSR #5) by even more than I predicted by projecting him to place 4th this Saturday.

Ethan: It would not surprise me if Chico State got onto the podium as a men's team. This race will be close to home turf for the Wildcats, and they have the talent to beat out West Texas A&M and Grand Valley State for the last podium spot (I'm assuming Adams State places 3rd).

The Wildcats are a team with considerable experience and depth, and the emergence of Mario Giannini as a lead scorer -- as well as the return of veterans Dylan White and Brayden McLaughlin -- gives them a chance to put together a really strong result.

White in particular will be key for the Wildcats as he finished 164th at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships, a far cry from what we know he can achieve at his best. If he can give the Wildcats another All-American, that will provide Chico State a potent top three alongside Giannini and McLaughlin. I, for one, would not be shocked to see the Wildcats hoisting a trophy on Saturday.