2024 Pre-Nationals First Thoughts: Arkansas Men Showcase Elite Firepower While BYU Women Secure Huge Win

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen! Pre-Nationals, to no one's surprise, was plenty entertaining with numerous results looking a bit more different than we initially expected.

Below, we offered insight and analysis into each team that finished in the top-half of the team standings on Saturday morning in Madison, Wisconsin. Let's figure out what we learned from 2024's biggest regular season showdown...

Men's Analysis

1. Arkansas Razorbacks (89 points)

I will fully admit, the Iowa State men were my pick to secure gold on Saturday and I even thought that they would do so convincingly. But instead, the opposite was true. The Arkansas men were flat-out incredible in Madison, Wisconsin as they showcased some of the best low-stick talent in the NCAA.

Seeing Patrick Kiprop (4th) and Kirami Yego (7th) have major success wasn't necessarily shocking, but it was impressive. Yaseen Abdalla (8th) also had a brilliant performance. In fact, you could argue that it was the best cross country result of his career. With Ben Shearer (18th) remaining as a very legitimate All-American threat, it was hard to see how any team was going to match the Razorbacks.

Now, admittedly, there was a bigger drop-off to their fifth runner than we thought there would as Timothy Chesondin took 52nd place while Elias Schreml settled for 70th place. That is truthfully not ideal for a team that may have ambitions of taking down Oklahoma State on the national stage.

Even so, there are far too many weapons on this roster for that aspect to be a major concern, at least not right now. For the most part, Saturday was a great outing and Arkansas should be pleased with their result.

2. Iowa State Cyclones (128 points)

The Iowa State men didn't necessarily run poorly at Pre-Nationals, but I did think that there were multiple areas where they could have been better.

Robin Kwemo Bera (5th) continues to be a star low-stick, but Sanele Masondo (24th) wasn't quite as potent as we thought he could be. Said Mechaal (19th) further emerged as a reliable All-American-caliber talent, but Silas Winders (124th) struggled after coming within striking distance of Mechaal at the Nuttycombe Invite.

Devan Kipyego (30th) ran well while Gable Sieperda (50th) and Timothy Sindt (57th) held their own. But with Joash Ruto still not racing and Rodgers Kiplimo competing in the "Open" section (which he narrowly won), there was only so much that the Cyclones could do to match Arkansas.

When Iowa State has their full lineup and everyone is racing at 100%, they can realistically contend with Arkansas (or at least more than they did on Saturday). Of course, that also requires a lot of different things breaking in their favor.

3. Stanford Cardinal (142 points)

Gosh, what a run from the Stanford men! This is essentially the same team as last year, except they are without their top scorer, Ky Robinson (who has since turned pro).

And yet, the Cardinal are (somehow) very clearly better than they were last year.

Cole Sprout (9th) looks like he's finally returning to his superstar ways while Lex Young (20th) is beginning to deliver on his elite pedigree from his prep days. Thomas Boyden (22nd) is not only healthy, but near his best-ever form while Leo Young (43rd) has also made noticeable improvements!

With Paul Bergeron (48th), Robert DiDonato (53rd) and Patrick Koon (69th) offering surprisingly great depth, the Stanford men look far more complete than they did this time last year!

There were a ton of questions surrounding this team as we entered this season. And in order for the Cardinal to produce this kind of result, multiple things needed to go right for them.

Well, on Saturday, everything seemingly did.

4. New Mexico Lobos (166 points)

New Mexico may not have five All-American-caliber men like we once thought they did, but they did salvage a strong, nationally competitive result at Pre-Nationals. Habtom Samuel secured the individual title, but that was hardly a surprise. Vincent Chirchir (11th) also came through with a big-time low-stick result of his own. Not only that, but you could argue that Collins Kiprotich (26th) also posted a fringe low-stick performance!

Evans Kiplagat (63rd) didn't look like the All-American that he was last fall, but he still kept the team scoring in check. Rikus Van Niekerk (65th), meanwhile, continues to be one of the more underrated backend scorers in the NCAA this fall.

After those five, there was a fairly significant drop-off. That will need to be addressed in the postseason as the Lobos can't afford any "off" days if they want to be in contention for a podium spot.

Even so, this was a fairly encouraging result that we think has the potential to be even better moving forward.

5. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (178 points)

All things considered, I really liked this performance from Northern Arizona. David Mullarkey, Colin Sahlman, Santiago Prosser and Corey Gorgas collectively formed an impressive group of fringe low-sticks, going 21-23-25-36, respectively.

While we thought we would see a little bit more from Mullarkey, it largely didn't matter. That quartet each offered a high-impact result that keep NAU ahead of the same Notre Dame team that took them down a couple of weeks ago.

Of course, the difference this time was that Santiago Prosser crossed the line. And while Manny Perez (73rd) was a bit further back, he still closed out the Lumberjacks' top-five relatively quickly.

I still don't think the Northern Arizona men are favored to make the podium, but I feel much better now about their chances of cracking the top-four at this year's national meet than I did over the last couple of weeks.

6. Wisconsin Badgers (199 points)

I can't say that I'm too surprised about Wisconsin's performance. After all, this is exactly where I predicted them to finish.

Bob Liking (6th) was unsurprisingly awesome while Rowen Ellenberg (44th) continues to be one of the more underrated middle-lineup scorers in the country. However, it was Liam Newhart (39th) who put together an excellent result, offering great value for a team that didn't have Adam Spencer (180th) running at his best.

Matan Ivri (54th) and Micah Wilson (56th) were fairly impressive, ensuring that the Badgers' time-spread stayed tight. Those two men are likely the reasons why Wisconsin found themselves so high up in the team standings despite only having one runner inside the top-35 spots.

For the most part, the structure of this lineup roughly aligns with what we expected it to look like -- and they can still get better when Spencer is racing at his best.

7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (200 points)

Upon review of the results, I'm admittedly surprised that Notre Dame "only" finished in 7th place at Pre-Nationals. On paper, it feels like the Fighting Irish should have been closer to 4th place or 5th place.

Carter Solomon (12th) is finally returning to his 2022 form where he looked like a superstar ace. Behind him, Ethan Coleman (27th) offered a fringe low-stick result while the same could be said about Izaiah Steury (28th). Redshirt freshman Kevin Sanchez (59th) had a great race to keep the team scoring in check and the same could be said about Daelen Ackley (74th).

The depth of this team continues to be excellent and there are still avenues for Notre Dame to be even better in the postseason (looking at you, Josh Methner). Stanford may be a tough challenge, but I think the Irish have a very good chance at taking down the Cardinal at the ACC XC Championships.

8. Syracuse Orange (258 points)

Sure, they weren't the flashiest team in this field, but I loved how the Syracuse men performed at Pre-Nationals. They didn't have a standout low-stick, but they had almost zero gaps and some of the best backend scoring in the field.

For the most part, each of the Orange's scorers -- Sam Lawler (34th), Assaf Harari (42nd), Connor Ackley (55th), Alex Comerford (60th) and Benne Anderson (67th) -- produced results that were on the better end of expectations.

No, there wasn't a lone performance that truly stunned us, but seeing each of those five men all run well on the same together was really impressive.

9. California Baptist Lancers (213 points)

After earning a 6th place finish at the Joe Piane Invite, Zouhair Redouane was someone who we certainly had on our radar. However, to then see him produce a massive 10th place result at Pre-Nationals was completely unexpected!

That massive surge in scoring potency was further complemented by Valentin Soca snagging a 16th place result.

The Lancers have, unexpectedly, produced one of the better 1-2 scoring punches in the NCAA this fall. With guys like Daniel Abdala (68th) and Adam Trefecanty (71st) keeping scoring behind them fairly steady, the California Baptist men are seemingly balanced enough to be a competitive team (despite their fifth man fading to 150th place).

Sure, CBU isn't a perfect team, but they don't need to be. They have an excellent low-stick duo who can keep the Lancers competitive as long as the middle-lineup scorers on this team remain stable.

10. Harvard Crimson (327 points)

Credit where credit is due, there were a couple of guys on this team who stepped up more than I thought they would.

Sure, we all know how great Graham Blanks (2nd) is, but it was Shane Brosnan (47th) who, just like last year, had his best race on the nation's biggest regular season stage. It's also nice to see Ferenc Kovacs (67th) translate his pedigree to a fairly strong result.

Yes, I'll admit, I thought Ben Rosa (105th) and Charlie Ortmans (109th) could have been a bit better, especially the former. Even so, those two men offered a complete enough scoring five to allow the Crimson to crack the top-10.

There isn't much room for error on this team, but it also feels like there are a few areas where Harvard would be better. Generally speaking, I thought they ran fairly well.

11. Utah State Aggies (407 points)

Well this was a pleasant surprise!

After taking an early-season loss to Wingate and a Graham Blanks-less Harvard squad at the Paul Short Run, the Utah State men bounced back incredibly well at Pre-Nationals.

Camren Todd (17th) looks like a true star, further validating his individual victory at Paul Short from a couple of weeks ago. Behind him, the supporting cast of Spencer Nelson, LJ Floyd and Joshua McKee -- a trio that went 46-87-97, respectively -- felt like the main reasons why the Aggies were able to take down a handful of top teams.

Admittedly, there was a fairly large drop-off after those four men as USU's final scorer settled for 163rd place. But with a complete top-four that had great balance and a top low-stick result, it's hard to really critique a team that simply wasn't on our radar going into this season.

We'll be interested to see how they fare at the Mountain West XC Championships in a couple of weeks, but this was a huge step in the right direction.

12. Wyoming Cowboys (407 points)

Our message to the Wyoming men going into Pre-Nationals was simply, "Run your own race." And for the most part, the Cowboys did exactly that!

Wyoming's top-three of Jacob White (38th), Mason Norman (51st) and Ryker Holtzen (79th) did their jobs, each producing impactful scoring results. Gus McIntyre (106th) had a decent enough outing while Dylan Van Der Hock (136th) ensured that there wasn't going to be a major collapse at any point in this lineup.

The Cowboys ran their own race and as a result, they were rewarded with a 12th place finish that will likely yield them enough Kolas points to qualify for the national meet. Kudos to Wyoming on a job well done.

13. Furman Paladins (410 points)

Last year, the Furman men struggled greatly in their season opener, but then rebounded beautifully at the Nuttycombe Invite (which is essentially the same meet as Pre-Nationals in 2024). And funny enough, we just saw the Paladins follow a similar trend on Saturday.

Furman had a tough outing at the Nuttycombe Invite earlier this season, but just posted a very solid 13th place finish at Pre-Nationals. That result, in theory, should give them enough points to qualify for the NCAA XC Championships. Of course, in order for that to happen, they'll need to produce a better result at the Southeast regional meet this year than they did last year.

We expected Dylan Schubert (40th) to be the focal low-stick of this team, but it was instead Carson Williams (13th) who now looks like a very legitimate All-American threat. That 1-2 punch was complemented by a surprising great race from freshman Christopher Knight (80th).

The Paladins' final two scorers faded to 132nd place and 151st place. And while the limited depth isn't great, it was enough for Furman to earn a decent result. That's all they needed in order to remain in the national qualifying conversation.

14. Colorado Buffaloes (418 points)

Dean Casey (29th) is slowly inching towards a low-stick role while Kole Mathison (77th) and Simon Kelati (78th) gave the Buffaloes great scoring value as well. However, no other Colorado runner crossed the line inside of the top-110 spots.

Isaiah Givens (114th) will need to be more consistent moving forward, but at least we know that he is capable of producing a stronger result. The same can be said about Anthony Monte who had a flat-out tough day.

Their Nuttycombe Invite performance was clearly better than what they showed at Pre-Nationals, but it's not like Colorado's stock fell dramatically, either.

15. Eastern Kentucky Colonels (431 points)

We'll admit, this was a bit of a surprising result.

We figured that the Eastern Kentucky men would be even better at Pre-Nationals than they were at the Nuttycombe Invite. Many of their newer names had gained valuable experience, Kristian Imroth was a proven steeplechaser who could be much better and Taha Er Rouay's return would give EKU a scoring boost.

However, outside of Justine Kipkoech (3rd) having a monster outing, it's hard to find too many positives for this team after Saturday. Tomas Vega (62nd) did have a nice day while Mario Priego (95th) and German Vega (117th) were decent enough. However, the Colonels' fifth scorer dropped to 157th place.

Imroth struggled once again while both Er Rouay and Mohammed Jouhari remained absent from competition. That may be a good thing in terms of EKU still having some untapped upside, but compared to their last race, we didn't see much improvement.

16. Butler Bulldogs (438 points)

This result roughly aligns with the relatively unexciting 3rd place effort that the Butler men produced at the Loyola Lakefront Invite a couple weeks back.

Will Zegarski (14th) has taken over the lead scoring role for the Bulldogs, emerging as a very legitimate All-American threat. His low-stick presence is huge considering that Florian Le Pallec (92nd), the team's usual lead scorer, has struggled as of late.

Austin Gabay (61st) had a fairly nice race, but the Bulldogs' next two scorers settled for finishes of 130th and 144th. Both Jesse Hamlin and Matthew Forrester remain absent, leaving Butler with limited options as they try to patch together an effective top-seven.

Women's Analysis

1. BYU Cougars (105 points)

Well how about that?

Coming into this race, we figured that the Northern Arizona women were the heavy favorites to take home the win. They did, after all, enter the season as our top-ranked team and somewhat soundly defeated BYU two weeks ago at the Joe Piane Invite without a few key names.

Based on the Lumberjacks' initial entries, we thought it would be even more challenging for the Cougars to get the win. But in a field that was deeper and larger than what they saw at the Joe Piane Invite, it was the impressive firepower of BYU that gave them a comfortable victory.

Lexy Halladay-Lowry (9th) didn't have her best day, but she still provided highly valuable scoring potency while Carmen Alder (14th) had one of the better races of her career. With Jenna Hutchins (20th) holding her own, the Cougars' 1-2-3 punch ultimately proved too much for every other team in the field.

However, you could argue that the performances of Riley Chamberlain (27th) and Nelah Roberts (35th) were the most important results of the day for BYU. We knew that the Provo-based women had great firepower, but there was much more high-quality scoring support this time around compared to their last outing. Chamberlain had one of the better races of her cross country career and Roberts was shockingly good despite her inexperience.

In fairness to NAU, they didn't race a decent number of their top women. But even if they did, the final results still would have been fairly close.

2. Washington Huskies (157 points)

Washington's 2nd place result on Saturday wasn't quite as exciting as when they secured their win at the Nuttycombe Invite. Even so, the Huskies still put together an excellent race with great balance and essentially zero gaps.

Chloe Foerster (16th) was a great low-stick who the team could rally around while Maeve Stiles (30th) had a decent enough race even if her Nuttycome Invite result was far better. However, India Weir (28th) was the one who really gave Washington an extra scoring spark. She has been quietly underrated this season.

With Julia David-Smith (41st) and Sophie O'Sullivan (42nd) closing out the scoring fairly quickly, and Amina Maatoug (51st) offering excellent insurance, it was hard to point to a single flaw in the Huskies' top-six.

Sure, we would have liked it if this team had showcased a bit more firepower, but that's not necessarily anything that we're worried about moving forward.

3. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (166 points)

At first glance, this result may seem a bit concerning for the Northern Arizona women. They had already defeated BYU by a decent enough margin at the Joe Piane Invite earlier this season and this time around, they had Ali Upshaw who was their top scorer on Saturday (placing 19th).

However, it should also be noted that the Lumberjacks were without low-stick star Elise Stearns and they also didn't have Karrie Baloga, their top scorer from the Joe Piane Invite.

Yes, we'll admit, the ongoing absence of Stearns is pretty concerning, but Baloga likely would have had a major impact on the results (although BYU probably still gets the win regardless of whether or not she runs).

There isn't any need to hit the panic button on NAU's title chances...yet. Alex Carlson (26th) continues to be quietly great on the grass, Keira Moore (31st) is slowly returning to top form, Maggi Congdon (33rd) has been consistent enough and Nikita Moore (57th) did a decent job of closing out her team's scoring five.

With Alyson Churchill still capable of being a scorer (despite not being one yet this season), we still feel like NAU is very much in the national title mix.

4. West Virginia Mountaineers (207 points)

Wow! Welcome to the podium conversation, West Virginia! We knew that the Mountaineers had a superstar scorer in Ceili McCabe and we figured that their two newest additions, Joy Naukot and Tecla Lokrale, would be high-impact names. However, even if those three women were running at their best, we still didn't expect WVU to be top-seven team in this field, much less top-five!

McCabe (4th) was unsurprisingly excellent while Naukot (10th) proved that she is, in fact, a national-caliber low-stick. However, the catch is that Lokrale actually recorded a DNF result. Instead, it was Emily Bryce (50th), Madison Trippett (61st) and Sarah Tait (82nd) who each had better-than-expected performances.

The scoring stability of those latter three women was excellent. In fact, they were shockingly good! If Lokrale can be a high-impact scorer like we think she can be, then this team could get even better. That's a scary thought for other programs aiming to get onto the podium this fall.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (216 points)

Yes, they may have faded slightly to 5th place, but we were actually very encouraged by the team performance of Notre Dame on Saturday morning.

Siona Chisholm (12th) and Emily Covert (15th) have continued their slow ascent as a lethal 1-2 scoring punch. That firepower has been a welcomed development for a lineup that has quietly built up some great depth.

Three freshmen -- Arianne Olson (redshirt), Isabel Allori and Mary Bonner Dalton -- closed out the scoring by going 55-66-68, respectively. That is surprisingly great scoring stability for a group as young and inexperienced as those three women. Not only that, but sophomores Gretchen Farley and Caroline Lehman (redshirt) finished in 73rd and 101st place as well!

The Fighting Irish did not have Erin Strzelecki or Sophie Novak on Saturday, making Notre Dame's team performance that much more impressive. For the most part, we can only find positives in this team result.

6. New Mexico Lobos (236 points)

Pamela Kosgei securing the individual title certainly helped New Mexico quite a bit, but the scoring value provided by Natalie Bitetti (37th) and Mercy Kirarei (38th) is what truly gave the Lobos such a great team result.

Klara Dess (62nd) offered a strong and stable effort while Sophia McDonnell (100th) did enough for New Mexico to take down a handful of top-ranked teams.

On paper, this squad doesn't necessarily have any weaknesses. Sure, there are a few gaps scattered throughout their top-five, but each of their scorers still held their own in a massive field.

Admittedly, New Mexico had a fairly substantial drop-off after McDonnell, but as long as this team continues to run like they did on Saturday, then they'll have a shot at a top-10 result in November.

7. NC State Wolfpack (293 points)

It seems fair to say that, without low-stick Leah Stephens, the NC State women are not going to be viewed as podium favorites this fall. That's not to say that they can't get on the podium this season, but the odds are seemingly stacked against them.

Grace Hartman (6th) continues to emerge as an elite low-stick while Hannah Gapes (8th) is having a huge breakout season. Her rise has given the Wolfpack some much-needed firepower. Angelina Napoleon (81st) and Fiona Smith (89th) were decent, although we did think that they were capable of being 20 spots higher. Rookie Ellie Shea (111th) closed out the scoring with veteran Brooke Rauber (118th) not too far behind.

There isn't necessarily a glaring flaw in this lineup, but there does need to be more support behind Hartman and Gapes. Yes, NC State still has time to fill that gap, but it's likely going to require someone having a breakout streak of races in the postseason.

8. Wisconsin Badgers (348 points)

When you look at the structure of Wisconsin's lineup on Saturday, it's hard to be too surprised. The Badgers showcased excellent pack-running at the Nuttycombe Invite and they did so yet again at Pre-Nationals.

The quintet of Shea Ruhly, Leane Willemse, Annika Cutforth, Lindsay Cunningham and Bella Jacobsen didn't exhibit much firepower or scoring potency. However, they did go 52-60-72-77-87, respectively. Their backend scoring was among the best in the field and their collective pack finished high up enough to counter more top-heavy lineups.

Yes, the Badgers will need more firepower if they want to be a top-10 team at the national meet. But given the pedigree of Ruhly, Willemse and Cunningham, we wouldn't completely rule out a low-stick or two emerging from this crowd.

9. Florida State Seminoles (364 points)

I'll admit, I wasn't too high on the Florida State women going into this weekend. The Seminoles had "only" finished in 16th place at the Nuttycombe Invite a few weeks ago and even then I thought that was going to be one of their better performances of the season.

That, of course, was certainly not true.

Bieke Schipperen (24th) validated her low-stick result from a weeks back while Agnes McTighe (29th) made a welcomed return to racing with a fringe low-stick result of her own. With Elizabeth Barlow (65th) and Brooke Mullins (83rd) offering sneaky-good value, the 'Noles were able to get by teams with vulnerabilities that were exposed in the larger field.

Now, admittedly, FSU wasn't without their shortcomings. That's because their fifth scorer crossed the line in 165th place.

That kind of drop-off will certainly limit what the Florida State women can do in the postseason. However, the scoring prowess of their first four women and the newfound low-stick potential of both Schipperen and McTighe has been a very pleasant surprise.

10. Florida Gators (368 points)

The return of Hilda Olemomoi (2nd) didn't yield too many surprises -- we knew that she was an elite distance talent. It was also great to see Tia Wilson (43rd) finding further success despite her inexperience in the NCAA.

However, we did think that Allison Wilson (83rd) was going to be a more potent scorer. And while neither Caroline Wells (109th) nor Bethan Morley (132nd) ran poorly, we still thought that they would finish a bit higher up after seeing how they fared at the Gans Creek Classic.

This was a fine result for the Gators, but they're likely capable of more.

11. Stanford Cardinal (374 points)

There's good news and bad news when it comes to the Stanford women.

The good news is that Sophia Kennedy (13th) is truly a star-caliber low-stick and Zofia Dudek (23rd) is inching closer to her prior All-American form (in fact, she may already be at that level).

The bad news, however, is that the Cardinal are still without star ace Amy Bunnage and no other woman in this lineup cracked the top-100 spots at Pre-Nationals. No, there weren't any major collapses -- the next four Stanford women all stayed inside the top-125 spots -- but the scoring punch after Kennedy and Dudek was lacking.

A return from Bunnage and a stronger race from Riley Stewart are all realistic scenarios for Stanford as we look towards the postseason. However, if the Cardinal want to realistically compete for the ACC title this fall, then those two scenarios need to play out in their favor.

12. Oklahoma State Cowgirls (412 points)

We can only shrug our shoulders and say, "Yeah, this seems about right." Sivan Auerbach (39th) had a quietly great day. And while there wasn't a ton of scoring potency behind her, that didn't really seem to matter. The trio of Josphine Mwaura, Victoria Lagat and Colleen Stegmann went 75-88-91, respectively, to offer some level of stability. Yes, Jinane Mahi (121st) was a bit further back, but for what this team was trying to do, that was hardly a poor result.

The Cowgirls are a decent team this year, but the ongoing absence of Billah Jepkirui leaves them without the low-stick scoring that they very clearly need. Of course, given that this is a rebuilding year, that's not necessarily a long-term concern.

13. Minnesota Golden Gophers (417 points)

The Minnesota women have continued to prove this season that they are a nationally competitive team. The rise of Ali Weimer (11th) as an All-American favorite has been a very pleasant surprise, Emma Atkinson (76th) continues to be a sneaky-good secondary scorer and Izzy Roemer (92nd) has quietly offered solid value as well.

Isabelle Schmitz (107th) and Erin Reidy (135th) closed out the scoring for their team at Pre-Nationals. And while the Golden Gophers would likely prefer to have more upfront scoring, it's hard to really critique this squad given the expectations that we held for them in the preseason.

Minnesota continues to reset the bar of what we think they're capable of this season. Weimer is developing into a true stud and as long as her supporting cast continues to be reliable, then it's hard to see their momentum easing up any time soon.

14. Furman Paladins (420 points)

We'll admit, we were expecting a bit more out of the Furman women who didn't have the same compact scoring five, or the same low-stick presence, that they did at the Nuttycombe Invite.

Carly Wilkes (22nd) has ensured that she will stay in the All-American conversation, but Kaylie Armitage (67th), while still strong, was likely capable of more. Jenna Mulhern (78th) had a nice outing, but the Paladins' final two scorers faded to 116th place and 141st place.

Low-stick veteran Bethany Graham is seemingly still sidelined. Her (healthy) return would change the complexion of this lineup in a dramatic way. Or at the very least, it would limit the variability that we have seen from this team in their two major races this fall.

Even so, a 14th place finish at Pre-Nationals is hardly poor and it's still a respectable result when you consider that they're missing their two-time All-American.

15. Syracuse Orange (457 points)

I actually liked this performance a good bit for Syracuse.

Savannah Roark (25th) has reentered the All-American conversation and Emma Eastman (54th) offered sneaky-good scoring value. Rylie Lusk (103rd) didn't have her best day, but if the Orange were still able to crack the top-15 without her running to her full potential, then I think that's a good thing.

Seeing their final two scorers drop to 128th place and 153rd place wasn't too surprising. All the Orange needed was to avoid their fourth and fifth runners from completely collapsing. And while they weren't perfect, they did enough to salvage a good result.

16. Lipscomb Bison (480 points)

From a lineup structure perspective, Lipscomb's result on Saturday closely mimicked the result that they produced at the Nuttycombe Invite.

Colbi Borland, Mackenzie Barnett and Harley Kletz led the way with decent efforts (58-69-99, respectively), but they didn't provide the Bison with the low-stick scoring that they very clearly needed.

Ellie Brewer (127th) and Linda Perez (133rd) didn't necessarily have poor races, but Lipscomb was originally ranked in the top-10 portion of our preseason rankings. Not having All-American Lydia Miller has limited this team and some of their younger/newer names haven't been quite as impactful as we thought they would/could be.

Make no mistake, this is still a nationally competitive team, but probably not to the same extent that we saw last year.