First Thoughts: Kosgei's Impressive 5k, Lemngole Debuts, Fisher Defeats Heys & Is Rhem a Low-Stick?

Ladies and gentlemen, cross country is BACK.

We're only in mid-September, but a handful of small meet results have trickled in. And while we don't usually put much emphasis (or any emphasis) on these often-inconsequential rust-busters, there were still a few minor developments that I wanted to briefly highlight.

Admittedly, we won't be able to touch on every single result around the NCAA from the last day or two. Instead, I just wanted to chat about a few results that caught my interest...

Judy Kosgei Runs 15:52 (5k) at Gamecock Challenge

I will be the first to tell you that times largely don't matter when it comes to cross country. Courses can drastically differ from each other and the same can be said about the weather conditions all over the country. Plus, competition in many of these fields often varies, significantly.

In my mind, the only thing that I truly care about when it comes to racing on the grass is, a) who you beat and, b) where you placed...but I may make an exception for Judy Kosgei.

The newest South Carolina distance talent has entered the NCAA as a true rookie, although she is largely an unknown. If we have the correct World Athletics profile, then Kosgei is a middle distance runner with a 2:07 (800) PR.

That's why you can imagine our surprise when we saw that she ran 15:52 for 5000 meters in the middle of September on Friday. That's an incredibly fast time and I can't remember the last time I saw a woman run that fast on the grass (although I'm sure it's happened).

If that course is actually 5000 meters long (and the results from everyone else would suggest that it is), then this is a heck of an opening statement for Kosgei. I don't want to overreact, but keep an eye on her moving forward. She could be a new low-stick ace for the Gamecocks over the next few months.

Doris Lemngole Makes Collegiate Debut With Alabama

One of the international recruits who caught the most attention this past summer was Doris Lemngole (also known as Doris Cherop). Her incredible times of 9:35 (steeple) and 14:40 (5k road race) certainly caught our attention, although her lone cross country result from February was highly underwhelming.

Naturally, we had questions about how the newest Crimson Tide star was going to adjust to collegiate competition on the grass this fall.

We don't truly know just how good she'll be (yet), but Lemngole did make her season debut on Friday and looked great while doing so. The Alabama rookie took down a handful of respectable distance talents such as Purity Sanga and the entire Ole Miss team -- and she did it fairly comfortably.

Leah Stephens & Allison Wilson Show Promise in Debuts

Both Leah Stephens (NC State) and Allison Wilson (Florida) could end up playing highly important roles for their respective teams in the coming months. Both of those women are expected to contend for backend lineup spots on teams that are viewed as podium favorites.

Stephens, a true rookie who decommitted from Florida State and chose NC State after Coach Baylee Mires left the Seminoles for Louisville, ran unattached at the Adidas XC Challenge. There, she comfortably secured the win over a few of her teammates who were also running unattached.

We shouldn't look into this result too heavily. There's not even a guarantee that Stephens will make NC State's top lineup later this fall. However, if Coach Laurie Henes wants to, she could forgo a redshirt season for Stephens and have her contribute this fall given how strong she looked in her opener.

Meanwhile, Allison Wilson took home the win at the Mountain Dew Invitational. That shouldn't have come as much of a surprise, but having her fit and healthy is the first major step towards the Florida women putting together a complete top-five this fall.

Fisher Takes Down Heys at All-Ohio XC Championships

Findlay's Noah Fisher is viewed as one of the top D2 distance talents in the NCAA. The same thing could be said about Wilmington (OH)'s Simon Heys and the D3 scene. And in an early-season treat to distance running fans, we got to see these two battle.

In the end, Fisher took home a great win which should give him a lot of confidence going forward. He comfortably gapped Heys, a guy who is listed at TSR #6 in our D3 preseason individual top-20 rankings, by 13 seconds.

And after being snubbed from a D2 preseason ranking (and landing in our "Just Missed" section), Fisher is likely going to prove that we made an error in our summer lists if he continues racing like that.

As for Heys, you have to commend him for a solid debut. Fisher is not an easy name to take down and the D3 ace still defeated the rest of the field which included other respectable names such as Jordan Foster (Findlay) and Evan Leist (Cedarville).

Does Cedarville Have a True Low-Stick in Hannah Rhem?

Last fall, the Cedarville women proved to be a fantastic team that had great depth and pack-running. One of their better scorers, Hannah Rhem, put together a very strong season. She placed 11th at the UAH Festival Year Showcase and also placed 50th on the national stage.

But for as good as those efforts were, the Yellow Jackets needed more firepower. With no one on last year's team emerging as an All-American, the need for a low-stick talent on Cedarville's roster this fall was obvious.

And it seems like Hannah Rhem may have recognized that.

It's important to not put too much stock in a September-time race. However, Rhem just dominated the All-Ohio XC Championships, winning by 22 seconds. For perspective, Sydney Khosla, the runner-up finisher in the women's steeplechase at the 2023 D3 NCAA Outdoor Championships who ran 10:15, finished 5th in this race.

Rhem will surely face stronger competition in the future, but for a team that needed greater scoring potency in 2023, this was a highly encouraging result.

Ole Miss & Top Individuals Battle at Southern Showcase

Despite some fairly strong distance runners competing at the Southern Showcase, I'm not sure I have too much to analyze.

Yes, the Ole Miss men did field (what appeared to be) their top lineup, but their top-four bunched up to cross the line together. Meanwhile, Aiden Britt was within reasonable striking distance of his teammates.

That said, it did seem like this was intended to be a true all-out race for many of the better individuals at this meet. Auburn's Ryan Kinnane, who is so close to having a true breakout season, ran incredibly well to defeat Tulane ace, Bradley Makuvire. That latter name is not an easy guy to outrun, especially in a fast-paced battle like what we saw.

Does Middle Tennessee State have another nationally competitive distance duo on their roster? They might after seeing Brian Kiptoo and Habtamu Geta finish 3rd and 4th, respectively. Of course, we'll need to see them in a bigger field and against better competition before we can determine what their ceiling is this fall.

Jack Jennings, the former Villanova runner who transferred to Tulane, had a slight "off" day in 9th place, but we wouldn't put much emphasis into this result. He's better than what that performance suggests.

Also, nice race for the Lee (Tenn.) men. They had Matthew Fowler (12th) and Aaron Himes (16th) put together some solid performances and remain fairly competitive. If they continue to improve, then they could end up being the low-sticks that this team needed last fall.

Michigan State & GVSU Impress at MSU Spartan Invite

The MSU Spartan Invitational is one of the very few early-season meets that I take more seriously compared to a few others. No, I don't think someone's fall campaign is defined by how well they perform in East Lansing, but this meet often has some fairly respectable distance runners.

For the most part, the women's race left me with very few surprises and very little to specifically analyze. Yes, there were a few of women who I expected would place a bit higher, but generally speaking, this race was chalk.

The men's race, however, was a little different.

Andrew Nolan, an unattached runner for Michigan State, won this meet over a strong talent in Baidy Ba, a Kent State athlete who owns a personal best of 3:59 in the mile. Look for Coach Aaron Simoneau to put Nolan in a Spartan singlet for their next race with hopes of being a scorer. He did the same thing for Aden Smith when he won this race (unattached) last year.

Ba, meanwhile, should be proud of this result. He has been quietly improving over the last few seasons and just took down everyone from a podium-caliber D2 team (Grand Valley State).

Speaking of the Lakers, they also ran very well, although their collective effort came as no surprise. However, what did come as a surprise was seeing Elias Bergman finish 6th place overall in this field! Where did he come from?

Bergman was a great 1500 meter runner and miler this past year, running times of 3:49 and 4:05 for those distances, respectively. However, he didn't show much prowess in the longer races which is why I'm surprised.

Time and time again, Coach Jerry Baltes has proven that he can develop the entirety of his roster as he always has someone step up for a breakout season. We're only a few weeks in, but it seems like Bergman is going to be a major x-factor for this team moving forward.

Also, how about Connor Riss (North Central) placing 8th? That is an incredible performance, even for one of the better distance runners in Division Three. If he can build on that result over the next few months, then he is going to be more of a problem for his competitors than he already is.