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First Thoughts: 2024 NCAA D2 XC Regional Weekend
- Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
- Nov 10, 2024
- 5 min read
Well friends, the weekend is over.
There were essentially zero D1 cross country results to speak of and the same could be said for the D3 scene. Both divisions are, after all, preparing for their respective regional meets which are taking place next weekend.
We did, however, get to see all of Division Two's regional meets take place this past Saturday. And while we now know which automatic qualifiers will be heading to the NCAA XC Championships this year, we're still waiting to find out who the at-large bids will be given to.
Thankfully, that news will be coming tomorrow afternoon.
Despite having to wait, I still wanted to put out just a few quick thoughts about a handful of key developments/results that I saw from this past weekend. Here were a few of my major takeaways...
NOTE: Any speculation regarding the potential at-large qualifiers for the NCAA D2 XC Championships is just that -- speculation. Unlike D1, The Stride Report does not have a qualification calculator for the D2 level.
Mississippi College Men Overtake Florida Southern for Third Automatic Qualifying Spot in South Region
Before all of the D2 action from this past weekend kicked-off, I noted in our predictions article that the Mississippi College men had a chance to shake things up in the South region.
And sure enough, they did just that.
The Choctaws had a balanced scoring group on Saturday, holding very few gaps among their top-six runners. Christian Balcer's 6th place finish is a result that may end up being overlooked and the same could be said about the scoring stability of Cooper Parmer (11th) and Braedon Methvin (12th).
Florida Southern, meanwhile, was 10 points back in 4th place. And while we're still waiting to see who will be advancing to the national meet via at-large bids, the math/qualification steps don't look promising for the Moccasins at a quick glance.
Alaska Fairbanks Women Settle for 4th Place in West Region, Likely Heading to NCAA XC Championships
Coming into this weekend, the USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll seemed to be very down on the Alaska Fairbanks women -- and I thought that was odd. While they did struggle a bit at the GNAC XC Championships a couple of weeks ago, their performance from the Lewis XC Crossover was still highly impressive.
Admittedly, my prediction that the Nanooks would place 3rd at the West regional meet didn't come to fruition. Instead, they settled for 4th place. But unless there is something that I am blatantly missing, the Alaska Fairbanks women should be able to comfortably advance to the national meet via an at-large bid.
The biggest question, however, comes after the Nanooks.
The Stanislaus State women finished 5th in their region on Saturday. And while they had a few nice races this season, I can't see a ton of math that would benefit them when it comes to national qualification. The "results chain" method of qualification that the NCAA D2 criteria utilizes seems to yield limited promise for the Warriors.
Even so, it's very possible that I'm missing something. In fact, I'm almost certain that I did! Stay on the lookout for the final qualifiers tomorrow to see if the Stanislaus State women are extending their season or not.
Biola Men Snag Final Automatic Qualifying Spot in West Region, Leaves Cal Poly Pomona & Azusa Pacific in Need of At-Large Bids
The West region was one of the more interesting meets that I was monitoring from this past weekend. The top-two spots in the men's race seemed to be fairly locked down, but the third spot did hold some potential variability.
In the end, Biola still came away with bronze. Melt Von Molendorff (13th) posted a very solid leading scoring effort for the Eagles, but it was their supporting cast going 26-31-33-34-38 which offered tremendous stability.
Both Azusa Pacific and Cal Poly Pomona weren't far behind. In fact, they had somewhat similar lineups. The difference however, is that their scoring groups had a slightly stronger upfront presence and a slightly weaker backend.
Based on my limited understanding of the D2 national qualifying system, I would imagine that both Cal Poly Pomona and Azusa Pacific could advance to the NCAA XC Championships via at-large bids -- but that's just speculation.
Shippensburg Women Drop to 5th Place in Atlantic Region, East Stroudsburg Earns Third Auto Qualifying Spot
Going into this weekend, we felt pretty good about the women of Davis & Elkins and Slippery Rock taking the top-two spots in the Atlantic region. And sure enough, they did just that.
However, we also felt pretty good about the third automatic qualifying spot being a bit of a toss-up between a handful of teams. In our predictions, we had Shippensburg taking bronze. But instead, East Stroudsburg took that position, just 14 points behind Slippery Rock.
The Warriors were able to snag that final automatic qualifying spot largely because Daniella Napoli (8th) and Payton Falkenstein (11th) offered subtly great firepower. Not only that, but their scoring reinforcements were all fairly solid, keeping excessive scoring to a minimum.
It seems unlikely that schools such as Charleston (WV) and now Shippensburg will have a shot at an at-large bid to the national meet our of the Atlantic region. And if that's actually the case, then the Raiders' season was essentially ended by the same team whom they beat by three points just two weeks ago.
Augustana (SD) Men Falter in Central Region, Leaves Major Uncertainty for At-Large Bids
It wasn't necessarily surprising that the Augustana (SD) men faded outside of the top-three automatic national qualifying spots in the Central region. We did, after all, predict them to finish in 4th place.
However, what WAS surprising was seeing the Vikings drop all the way down to 7th place in that field. That, in turn, has left 4th place Washburn in a strong position to advance to the national meet. That's especially true when you look back at the value that their 8th place finish from the Lewis XC Crossover holds.
But does that development also help the Nebraska-Kearney men given that they beat Washburn at the MIAA XC Championships? In theory, I think it should given the unique transitive method that the NCAA D2 qualification system uses...
Romain Legendre Defeats William Amponsah on Snowy, Uneven Terrain at South Central Regional XC Championships -- What Does That Mean Moving Forward?
The men's and women's races in the South Central region produced team results that were, truthfully, very predictable.
The only uncertainty that we have is whether or not the Fort Lewis men will have any shot of advancing. And if I had to guess by looking at their results from this season, primary and secondary, I would say no. On the women's side, there *should be* a path for both Colorado Christian and Fort Lewis to advance, mainly due to their success at the Lewis XC Crossover.
But how should we interpret these individual results, specifically on the men's side?
Adams State star Romain Legendre threw down a convincing win over West Texas A&M's William Amponsah. In fact, the Buffalo star almost dropped to 3rd place!
Even so, it's hard to put emphasis on the results of a race where the main goal was to simply advance to the NCAA XC Championships. It also doesn't help that the terrain at the South Central Regional XC Championships was bad -- like, BAD bad.
Do I think that Amponsah will still be the individual national title favorite two weekends from now? Yes, I believe so. However, it does feel like Legendre validated the idea that he is the only guy who could take down the West Texas A&M star in Sacramento.
