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PREDICTIONS: SEC, PAC-12, Ivy League, Mountain West & BIG East

  • Writer: Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
    Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
  • Oct 26, 2023
  • 4 min read

Updated: Oct 27, 2023


As many of our beloved TSR readers probably know, it takes quite a bit of time and research to craft in-depth previews for each conference meet in the span of just a few days. We already have our ACC and BIG 10 previews on the site for Friday's action and we even have a BIG 12 preview coming tomorrow as well!


However, in order to touch on all of the other major conferences, I have opted to give predictions for each of these meets (like we normally would) and add a few key notes about each race. That way, you'll be able consume our content reasonable early enough before all of the conference action begins tomorrow (and some on Saturday).


So with that, let's get to it...

Index

SEC XC Championships


Men's Predictions

What To Watch For

  • Arkansas was incredible at Pre-Nationals and so was Ben Shearer, the overall winner. But in a field that is just as top-heavy (maybe even more so), can Shearer replicate his dominance? After such a massive breakout race, it's hard to know for sure.


Teams

  1. Arkansas Razorbacks

  2. Tennessee Volunteers

  3. Alabama Crimson Tide

  4. Ole Miss Rebels

  5. Texas A&M Aggies


Individuals

  1. Victor Kiprop (Alabama)

  2. Hillary Cheruiyot (Alabama)

  3. Ben Shearer (Arkansas)

  4. Yaseen Abdalla (Tennessee)

  5. Kirami Yego (Arkansas)

  6. Ryan Kinnane (Auburn)

  7. Patrick Kiprop (Arkansas)

  8. Jack Meijer (Ole Miss)

  9. Jacob McLeod (Arkansas)

  10. Eric Casarez (Texas A&M)


Women's Predictions

What To Watch For

  • Florida should dominate this meet and Alabama will likely take runner-up if their backend talents perform like they did at Joe Piane. However, I really like how Ole Miss matches up against Arkansas. The Rebels' top names shouldn't be too far behind the Razorbacks' top low-sticks and I would say that Ole Miss has a slightly more complete lineup through five runners.


Teams

  1. Florida Gators

  2. Alabama Crimson Tide

  3. Ole Miss Rebels

  4. Arkansas Razorbacks

  5. Tennessee Volunteers


Individuals

  1. Parker Valby (Florida)

  2. Doris Lemngole (Alabama)

  3. Hilda Olemomoi (Alabama)

  4. Amelia Mazza-Downie (Florida)

  5. Flomena Asekol (Florida)

  6. Paityn Noe (Arkansas)

  7. Judy Kosgei (South Carolina)

  8. Sydney Thorvaldson (Arkansas)

  9. Elise Thorner (Florida)

  10. Ryann Helmers (Ole Miss)

PAC-12 XC Championships


Men's Predictions

What To Watch For

  • Without any entries, we're basically just spit-balling as to who Oregon will field for this race. Rumors have suggested that Connor Burns will be redshirted this fall, but that Archie Noakes and Simeon Birnbaum will race. That is not something that I have confirmed (again, just a rumor), but it hopefully explains my predictions.

  • UPDATE: Connor Burns, Noakes & Steury are listed in the entries. Birnbaum is not.

  • Truthfully, I'm only taking Oregon because the other options in this field admittedly feel underwhelming. Colorado, Stanford and Washington are having slight "down" years, although the Buffaloes did have a nice rebound race at Nuttycombe recently.


Teams

  1. Oregon Ducks

  2. Colorado Buffaloes

  3. Stanford Cardinal

  4. Washington Huskies

  5. California Golden Bears


Individuals

  1. Ky Robinson (Stanford)

  2. Luke Houser (Washington)

  3. Simeon Birnbaum (Oregon)

  4. Isaiah Givens (Colorado)

  5. Austin Vancil (Colorado)

  6. Quincy Norman (Oregon)

  7. Izaiah Steury (Oregon)

  8. Tyrone Gorze (Washington)

  9. Cole Sprout (Stanford)

  10. Archie Noakes (Oregon)


Women's Predictions

What To Watch For

  • We don't have entries for the women's PAC-12 XC Championships, but based on this recent press release, there isn't any mention of Bailey Hertenstein, Natalie Cook, Marlee Starliper and a few others as potential entrants for Colorado. And for that reason, I'm going to assume that they aren't racing tomorrow.

  • When it comes to Oregon, who have yet to see them field Victoria Patterson, Lily Cridge, Kate Peters, Harper McClain or Emilie Girard this fall -- and I have no idea if any of those women will be running on Friday. However, if Patterson, McClain and/or Girard do toe the line, then the Ducks could produce a runner-up finish.

  • And yes, I do feel bad about leaving Utah out of my top-five.


Teams

  1. Stanford Cardinal

  2. Colorado Buffaloes

  3. Oregon Ducks

  4. Oregon State Beavers

  5. Washington Huskies


Individuals

  1. Kaylee Mitchell (Oregon State)

  2. Amy Bunnage (Stanford)

  3. Emily Covert (Colorado)

  4. Grace Fetherstonhaugh (Oregon State)

  5. Maddy Elmore (Oregon)

  6. Lucy Jenks (Stanford)

  7. Izzy Thornton-Bott (Oregon)

  8. Ella Baran (Colorado)

  9. Annastasia Peters (Utah)

  10. Sophie O'Sullivan (Washington)

Mountain West XC Championships


Men's Predictions

What To Watch For

  • Summarizing this race is simple: What wins out? New's Mexico's firepower? Or the completeness of Air Force's top-five scorers? I'll go with the latter for Friday's race, but I wouldn't argue if someone said that they favored the Lobos.


Teams

  1. Air Force Falcons

  2. New Mexico Lobos

  3. Boise State Broncos

  4. Utah State Aggies

  5. Wyoming Cowboys


Individuals

  1. Habtom Samuel Keleta (New Mexico)

  2. Evans Kiplagat (New Mexico)

  3. Sean Maison (Air Force)

  4. Lukas Kiprop (New Mexico)

  5. Luke Combs (Air Force)

  6. Max Sannes (Air Force)

  7. Camren Todd (Utah State)

  8. Mason Brown (Colorado State)

  9. Eli Bennett (Air Force)

  10. Mason Norman (Wyoming)


Women's Predictions

What To Watch For

  • Saturday's battle between New Mexico and Colorado State should be incredibly tight and exciting. If Emma Heckel does run (she's listed in the entries) and is near top form, then the team title battle will be a coin flip between the Lobos and the Rams. In fact, you could say the same thing about the individual battle as well!


Teams

  1. New Mexico Lobos

  2. Colorado State Rams

  3. Boise State Broncos

  4. Air Force Falcons

  5. Utah State Aggies


Individuals

  1. Nicola Jansen (New Mexico)

  2. Sarah Carter (Colorado State)

  3. Emma Heckel (New Mexico)

  4. Peyton Schieppe (New Mexico)

  5. Kaiya Robertson (Boise State)

  6. Quinn McConnell (Colorado State)

  7. Emily Chaston (Colorado State)

  8. Yasmin Austridge (Colorado State)

  9. Autumn Ost (Boise State)

  10. Klara Dess (New Mexico)

BIG East XC Championships


Men's Predictions

What To Watch For

  • Villanova should win this race somewhat comfortably. I could see Butler, Georgetown and Providence in a variety of different orders after the Wildcats, but my below predictions feel fairly safe.

Teams

  1. Villanova Wildcats

  2. Butler Bulldogs

  3. Georgetown Hoyas

  4. Providence Friars

  5. Creighton Bluejays


Individuals

  1. Liam Murphy (Villanova)

  2. Florian Le Pallec (Butler)

  3. Haftu Strintzos (Villanova)

  4. Marco Langon (Villanova)

  5. Parker Stokes (Georgetown)

  6. Liam Back (Providence)

  7. Will Zegarski (Butler)

  8. Matthew Forrester (Butler)

  9. Matthew Rizzo (Georgetown)

  10. Ryan Kredell (Villanova)


Women's Predictions

What To Watch For

  • The Georgetown women should be favored to win this race, but it is very possible that Providence pulls off the upset. We haven't seen the Friars' top star, Jane Buckley, this season (and we don't have the entries), but if she returns for this race, then that may put more pressure on the Hoyas than was originally expected.


Teams

  1. Georgetown Hoyas

  2. Providence Friars

  3. Villanova Wildcats

  4. Connecticut Huskies

  5. Xavier Musketeers


Individuals

  1. Chloe Scrimgeour (Georgetown)

  2. Kimberly May (Providence)

  3. Melissa Riggins (Georgetown)

  4. Maggie Donahue (Georgetown)

  5. Sadie Sigfstead (Villanova)

  6. Shannon Flockhart (Providence)

  7. Chloe Gonzalez (Georgetown)

  8. Lily Tuck (Providence)

  9. Chloe Thomas (Connecticut)

  10. Kelsey Swenson (Georgetown)

Ivy League XC Championships


Men's Predictions

What To Watch For

  • What wins out? Harvard's firepower? Or Princeton's depth? I'll choose the former (and most others would too), but I would not at all be surprised if the Tigers took home gold.


Teams

  1. Harvard Crimson

  2. Princeton Tigers

  3. Yale Bulldogs

  4. Cornell Big Red

  5. Penn Quakers


Individuals

  1. Graham Blanks (Harvard)

  2. Acer Iverson (Harvard)

  3. Dylan Throop (Penn)

  4. Nicholas Bendtsen (Princeton)

  5. Connor Nisbet (Princeton)

  6. Ben Rosa (Harvard)

  7. Anthony Monte (Princeton)

  8. Rhys Hammond (Cornell)

  9. Daniel O'Brien (Princeton)

  10. Will Daley (Dartmouth)


Women's Predictions

What To Watch For

  • I'm excited to see a Maia Ramsden vs Phoebe Anderson battle for the individual title. Ramsden should be able to take home that win, but I'll be interested to see how Anderson approaches this 1-vs-1 matchup.

  • Harvard is the obvious favorite for the team title, but watch out for Columbia. My general feeling (which isn't substantiated by much) is that Penn is favored for runner-up, but I can't look past the firepower that the Lions would/could have in this field.


Teams

  1. Harvard Crimson

  2. Columbia Lions

  3. Penn Quakers

  4. Princeton Tigers

  5. Dartmouth Big Green


Individuals

  1. Maia Ramsden (Harvard)

  2. Phoebe Anderson (Columbia)

  3. Ella Gilson (Harvard)

  4. Maeve Stiles (Penn)

  5. Olivia Morganti (Penn)

  6. Penelope Salmon (Harvard)

  7. Elia Ton-That (Columbia)

  8. Nicole Vanasse (Columbia)

  9. Tsion Yared (Princeton)

  10. Madeleine Locher (Dartmouth)

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