Three Sentences Or Less: 2023 Nuttycombe Invitational Preview

Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Oct 12, 2023
18 min read

Updated: Sep 26, 2024

It all goes down tomorrow! The biggest cross country meet of the year, outside of the actual national meet, will take place as it always does in Madison, Wisconsin this Friday. And because this midwest race holds so many top-level programs, I'm implementing our "three sentences or less" rule that we use for our national meet previews.

And yes, the rule works exactly how it sounds.

I will list every men's and women's team at the 2023 Nuttycombe Invitational, but I'll only be able to offer a maximum of three sentences for each of those programs. In order to get this preview out at a reasonable time, this felt like the most effective method to utilize.

Oh, and don't forget to check out our predictions below via Gavin Struve!

Let's begin...

Click here for entries

Men's Preview

Air Force Falcons

A massive result at the Virginia Invitational proved to us that the Air Force men are still one of the top teams in the NCAA. However, Friday will be a good opportunity for us to truly gauge the ceiling of this still-developing group and also see how their backend comes together. Sean Maison and Luke Combs will also play key roles as low-sticks who can potentially give the Falcons a little bit of a scoring edge.

Boise State Broncos

This is a sneaky-solid team. I'm not saying that they're going to pull off any major upsets, but their thorough depth that they displayed at the Griak Invitational should be conducive to a decent effort in this field. However, it's clear that they have a major need for firepower.

Butler Bulldogs

The Butler men had a great outing at the Virginia Invitational and there were numerous avenues for them to improve. Florian Le Pallec is great, but the backbone of this lineup is made up of William Zegarski, Matthew Forrester and Will Minnette. If Jack McMahon improves and Jesse Hamlin has the fringe low-stick impact that we think he can, then I don't know how the Bulldogs have a poor race.

BYU Cougars

The BYU men will still be one of the top teams in this field. However, the ongoing absences of both Casey Clinger and Davin Thompson isn't ideal. Unless certain backend pieces like Garrett and Jacob Stanford, James Corrigan and Caleb Johnson step up in a dramatic way, it's hard to see how the Cougars will remain in the national title conversation later this fall.

California Baptist Lancers

The California Baptist men were undoubtedly impressive at the Griak Invitational which they won fairly easily. In fact, they could be even better if Giedrius Valincius runs like we think he can. That said, Friday will be a huge opportunity to prove that the Lancers' performance in Minnesota was not a fluke and that they are capable of taking down ranked teams (per TSR).

Colorado Buffaloes

An underwhelming performance at the Virginia Invitational left us wanting more. I think we'll certainly see a bit of a rebound from the Buffaloes and I like the stability of certain veterans like Austin Vancil in this field. Even then, Colorado needs to find way more scoring potency behind their lead talent if they are going to return to the top-10 of our rankings.

Colorado State Rams

The Rams are better than what they showed at the Griak Invitational, but...how much better? I really like Mason Brown, I think he's super underrated, but Colorado State can't have the same gaps that they had in Minnesota and expect to crack the top-30 (out of 36 listed teams in this field).

Eastern Kentucky Colonels

The Eastern Kentucky men were just flat-out solid at the Virginia Invitational, although they seemingly have a handful of highly-variable names in their lineup. Guys like Mohammed Jouhari and Abdelhakim Abouzouhir were solid a few weeks back, but they could be even better on Friday. Taha Er Raouy was also an excellent lead scorer for the Colonels, but how will his relative youth affect him in this overwhelmingly large and competitive field?

Florida State Seminoles

There was so much to love about the Florida State men and their effort at the Joe Piane Invitational. They had two true low-sticks and a fairly complete top-five. However, the 'Noles can't afford anyone having an "off" day given their very limited margin for error.

Furman Paladins

It was a tough day for the Furman men at the Joe Piane Invitational, but I can't imagine that this team doesn't improve on their last effort. Dylan Schubert has been recovering from mono and Cameron Ponder is still returning to full strength after managing injuries and a surgery over the last year-ish or so. The firepower on this team can be great (especially with Carson Williams at the helm), but their depth will need to improve a good bit.

Georgetown Hoyas

Admittedly, Georgetown's showing at the Virginia Invitational wasn't great...at all. The good news, however, is that they'll hopefully have Peter Herold and Jackson Barna on Friday, two men who either didn't finish or didn't race while in Charlottesville. The Hoyas will be better, but some of these former high school standouts will need to step up.

Gonzaga Bulldogs

The Gonzaga men were in a bit of a weird spot at the Griak Invitational as they were comfortably defeated by California Baptist, but pulled away from a top-heavy New Mexico squad. Wil Smith is an awesome low-stick and Kyle Radosevich was surprisingly great in his last effort. However, given the odd variety of competition that they faced in Minnesota, it's hard to set firm expectations for the Bulldogs going into Friday.

Harvard Crimson

We know how great Graham Blanks and Acer Iverson are, but the depth of this team continues to be a major focal point. If this team cracks the top-10, it's because Ferenc Kovacs delivered on the potential that he flashed during his prep days. That, or because Shane Brosnan will have had the breakout race that we all know that he's due for.

Iona Gaels

Seeing this team finish runner-up at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational was great, but the Nuttycombe Invitational is a completely different animal. The Gaels seemed to have a fairly solid and balanced lineup during their time in Chicago, but effectively translating that scoring to this race is going to be a whole new challenge.

Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State's success on Friday will be determined by how well Sanele Masondo and Ezekiel Rop perform. If they can join Said Mechaal at the front of their lineup, then the Cyclones will be a dangerous team. However, underwhelming efforts at the 2022 version of this meet and the Virginia Invite earlier this year leaves us cautious about this team's prospects.

Loyola (Ill.) Ramblers

This is a solid squad that showed promise at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational the other week. However, the Ramblers probably need another year of development (as long as they can find a replacement for low-stick Chris Devaney) before they can play a noticeable role in this field.

Michigan Wolverines

Their initial showing at the Virginia Invitational was far from exciting, but the Michigan men are seemingly going to field a much more complete lineup this time around. We know that Tom Brady and Nick Foster are great, but all of the uncertainty about how good the rest of this squad will be makes it difficult to gauge expectations for the Wolverines.

Michigan State Spartans

If Riley Hough and CarLee Stimpfel had been entered in this race, then I would have been very careful about sleeping on the potential of this team for Friday. However, neither of those men are listed in the entries. Luckily, Michigan State's depth should keep them relatively competitive (or at least lessen the possibility of a poor race) in Madison, Wisconsin.

NC State Wolfpack

After a not-so-great race at the Joe Piane Invitational, I would expect a bounce back effort from an NC State team that did exactly that last fall. Ian Harrison is going to be so much better, Hannes Burger should be fairly comfortable in a field like this and Dan McGoey was pretty solid in South Bend. All of that paired with Brett Gardner should set up the Wolfpack for a rebound performance.

New Mexico Lobos

How good will Jonathan Carmin be? And what kind of scoring potency can we expect from Evans Kiplagat and Lukas Kiprotich? We're super confident that Habtom Keleta is going to be one of the main headlines of this race, but it does seem fair to question where exactly the rest of this lineup will place during Friday's race.

North Carolina Tar Heels

The top-four of Wolfe, Phillip, Strand and Gebhardt seem to be a highly serviceable quartet of scorers as they showed us at the Virginia Invitational. However, if this team wants to truly contend for a podium spot in 2023, they need to find greater support at the fifth spot of their lineup and beyond. Friday will be a great opportunity to do exactly that.

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

Nico Young, Aaron Las Heras and Brodey Hasty are all returning to this lineup (as expected) for Friday's race, although Colin Sahlman is absent from the entries. As long as everyone runs fairly close to expectations, the Lumberjacks should be able to secure a fairly comfortable victory in Madison, Wisconsin.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

After a few head-scratching omissions from their top lineup at the Joe Piane Invitational (which may have been intentional), Vinny Mauri, Tom Seitzer and Rishabh Prakash are all expected to race for the Fighting Irish on Friday. And with Carter Solomon expected to be so much better this time around, it seems very possible that this team could battle for a top-five spot tomorrow.

Ole Miss Rebels

The trio Jack Meijer, Toby Gillen and Cole Bullock looked great at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational, but the Rebels' significant drop-off in depth after those three men was concerning. Aiden Britt is decent, although it's their final scoring role that will need to be addressed. Could the introduction of Cruz Gomez to this lineup mitigate those scoring deficiencies?

Penn State Nittany Lions

The men from Happy Valley aren't exactly viewed as cross country stalwarts, but between Evan Dorenkamp and Brian DiCola, the Penn State men should have a few guys who can be pretty effective scorers on Friday. In fact, Dorenkamp actually won the Paul Short Invite late last month.

Portland Pilots

Sure, we would try and look into their Griak Invitational results, but the Portland men were missing so many key members from their projected lineup for that race. Generally speaking, our expectations for the Pilots on Friday are largely no different than what they were during the preseason.

Princeton Tigers

The Virginia Invitational told us everything that we already knew about the Princeton men: They have good depth, but their firepower is limited. Which of those lineup aspects will prove to be more influential in a race like the Nuttycombe Invitational?

Providence Friars

A sneaky-solid top-three at the Virginia Invitational was ultimately limited by the bottom-two scorers of Providence's lineup. Luckily, Shane Coffey and Patrick Thygesen are both set to race on Friday, meaning that the Friars could theoretically have a more complete top-five and possibly surprise a few teams who aren't careful.

Stanford Cardinal

The Stanford men will surely be better at the Nuttycombe Invitational than they were at the Virginia Invitational...right? A lot of this team's success relies on Cole Sprout returning to his top form, although the ongoing absence of Thomas Boyden doesn't help the Cardinal's case for remaining as a podium contender.

Syracuse Orange

The Syracuse men were excellent at the Virginia Invitational, fielding a far more effective lineup than we were expecting, largely because Paul O'Donnell did return to the team this fall. The Orange are also bringing Nathan Lawler back into their lineup, although his 34th place finish at the Battle in Beantown was fairly odd for someone of his caliber.

Texas Longhorns

The combination of Devin Hart, Haftu Knight, Isaac Alonzo and Rodger Rivera should make the Longhorns a legitimate problem for most of the teams in this field. However, it's the backend of this lineup that still has some questions.

Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

If the Tulsa men had Shay McEvoy at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational like they are expected to have on Friday, then they would have potentially defeated Iona. Of course, for a team that is trying to return to the national stage despite being in a rebuilding year, the Tulsa men will need to run even better than that.

Utah State Aggies

They may have only placed 16th at the Virginia Invitational, but I (sorta) liked Utah State's lineup structure in that race. Sure, they need more firepower, but they put four men in the top-90 with their best scorer being 40th and their final scorer placing 108th. If Yonas Mogos can improve like we think he can, then the Aggies may have a pretty good shot at cracking the top-20 of this field.

Villanova Wildcats

The formula is simple: Lean heavily on the trio of Liam Murphy, Haftu Strintzos and Marco Langon and then hope that both Xian Shivley and Ryan Kredell can run well enough to get by. It worked out for the Wildcats at the Virginia Invitational, but they have very little margin for error outside of those five scorers.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Can Rocky Hansen replicate his incredible performance from the Virginia Invitational? And should we expect a full rebound effort from Luke Tewalt? Those two questions, paired with the volatility that comes with a roster as young as Wake Forest's, suggests that no other team has as many possible outcomes for Friday's race as the Demon Deacons do.

Washington Huskies

It was surprising to see the Washington men falter so far back in the Virginia Invitational results a few weeks ago, especially because Luke Houser and Tyrone Gorze ran so well. Luckily, the expected return of Joe Waskom, as well as the introduction of Ronan McMahon-Staggs, gives the Huskies far more lineup flexibility for Friday's race.

Wisconsin Badgers

We're pretty sure we know what we're getting from the Wisconsin men, but having guys like Matan Ivri and Adam Spencer gives the Badgers a few key x-factors who we should lightly monitor as they step onto their home course on Friday.

Women's Preview

Air Force Falcons

I'm fairly high on Halle Hamilton who was great at this meet last fall and Ally Peterson showed promise at the Virginia Invitational last month. However, not having India Jones (yet again) will put quite a bit of scoring pressure on the rest of this lineup.

Boise State Broncos

The Boise State women may have placed 5th at the Griak Invitational, but they were only two points off from Portland and Yasmin Marghini could have been so much better. I also loved what I saw from Kaiya Robertson who could be a top-50 name in this field on a good day. However, a significant scoring drop-off at their fifth spot earlier this season may create some challenges in a field that can accentuate those gaps.

Butler Bulldogs

Wiktoria Klebowska is fairly solid name, but this meet is going to be a significant challenge for a program that lost Mia Beckham and Angelina Ellis from last year's squad.

California Baptist Lancers

This is a significant opportunity for the California Baptist women to validate themselves. This team was great at the Griak Invitational, especially with Emilia Mikszuta joining Greta Karinauskaite and Yasna Petrova in the top-10. However, the expected introductions of Grace McLaughlin and Lamiae Mamouni (who both recorded DNFs in Minnesota) could play a key role in allowing the Lancers to be even more competitive than some people realize.

Colorado Buffaloes

The Colorado women should be plenty dangerous on Friday, but the Buffaloes are yet again not going to be at full strength. Neither Bailey Hertenstein, Natalie Cook, Marlee Starliper or Hannah Miniutti are listed in these entries. The Boulder-based women should still have a potent scoring group behind Emily Covert, Ella Baran, Samree Dishon and Karrie Baloga, but it does seem fair to question when this team will field a full lineup this fall -- or if they will at all.

Colorado State Rams

After recently learning that Annabel Stafford has graduated and that Lauren Neugeboren is *potentially* out of cross country eligibility (despite being listed on their roster), there doesn't appear to be as many potent scoring options for the Rams as we originally thought. That said, Sarah Carter is a great low-stick, Emily Chaston is sneaky-good and Yasmin Austridge is probably capable of a better performance than what we saw from her at the Griak Invitational. If the rest of this supporting cast comes together, then I could see a much better performance from Colorado State than what they showed us a few weeks ago.

Columbia Lions

The rise of Phoebe Anderson at the Virginia Invitational was incredible and Elia Ton-That was fairly solid as well. However, this group was very spread out a few weeks ago and that could be a significant challenge for the Lions on Friday. Luckily, we think Jordan Mathis can be better and seeing Nicole Vanasse in the entries is a very important development.

Duke Blue Devils

While they didn't necessarily blow anyone away at the Virginia Invitational, the Duke women did showcase a fairly balanced lineup. We know how good Amina Maatoug is, but seeing Emily Cole translate her steeplechase success to the grass has been encouraging and you have to like how Charlotte Tomkinson ran a few weeks back. I do wonder how close the latter-half of this lineup can stay to the top-half, but the Blue Devils are seemingly in a great position right now.

Elon Phoenix

Seeing the Elon women put three women between 48th place and 73rd place at the Virginia Invitational was a welcomed surprise. They had a major drop-off at their final scoring spot and the Phoenix would certainly benefit from more defined firepower. However, Maggie Springer recorded a DNF in Charlottesville a few weeks back, meaning that if she returns to this lineup at full strength, then Elon could be WAY better than some people are expecting them to be.

Florida Gators

The question is simple: How strong will Florida's fifth scorer be? We know how good Valby, Mazza-Downie, Asekol and Thorner are, but how close can women such as Allison Wilson or Lucinda Rourke stay to that elite quartet of scorers? We're going to find out soon...

Florida State Seminoles

Alyson Churchill could be a legitimate top-10 contender in this field and that should alleviate some scoring challenges for Florida State on Friday. However, with Elizabeth Funderburk and Agnes McTighe remaining absent, the 'Noles will have their work out for them.

Furman Paladins

It's hard to look at this Furman lineup and find a runner who I don't like. Each of these Paladins hold really solid value and I like to think that they have a pretty high ceiling. However, establishing more scoring potency at the top of this field should be a key objective for this group which will likely start with Bethany Graham.

Georgetown Hoyas

With Maggie Donahue set to come back, the Georgetown women may be a problem for their opponents on Friday. The firepower on this team is arguably just as potent as it was last year thanks to the rise of Chloe Scrimgeour and Melissa Riggins' incredible effort. If everyone on this team has their best days, then I think it's extremely reasonable to think that the Hoyas will be a top-10 team at the very least.

Harvard Crimson

Maia Ramsden will contend for a top-five finish, individually, and that should give this Harvard team a significant boost. Ella Gilson and Penelope Salmon are solid names, but it will take a really good day if the Crimson are going to crack the top-25 of this field.

Iowa State Cyclones

After seeing how impressive their scoring contingent and depth was at the Virginia Invitational, I can't envision the Iowa State women falling out of the top-15 tomorrow. Their downside seems fairly minimal as long as they replicate their effort from a few weeks ago.

Lipscomb Bison

To be honest, finishing 4th at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational only left me with more questions about this team. The Bison ran well a couple of weekends ago, but how will those performances translate to a much larger, more competitive and different lookng field? I don't know the answer to that question, but having Liza Corso (who was a DNF in her last race) should help the Lipscomb women on Friday.

Loyola (Ill.) Ramblers

The Ramblers are still developing and growing as a program. They'll likely use Friday as a key opportunity to gain experience for the future.

Michigan State Spartans

I would bet my life savings that the Michigan State women finish in the top-20 (out of 35 teams) tomorrow. Their depth was beyond incredible at the Virginia Invitational and because of that, I don't see how they have poor race. However, this will be a great opportunity for one of these Spartans to step up and offer more firepower next to Katie Osika.

NC State Wolfpack

Make no mistake, the NC State women are the clear favorites to win this race. However, not having Amaris Tyynismaa, Brooke Rauber (who is likely done for the season) or Abby Loveys does leave us slightly cautious. We know how good Tuohy and Chmiel are, but Sam Bush will need to rebound from her last race and Leah Stephens will need to replicate her incredible effort from the Joe Piane Invitational if the Wolfpack are going to win gold.

New Mexico Lobos

The introduction of Emma Heckel back into this lineup should allow the New Mexico women to be more competitive than what they showed us at the Griak Invitational. However, the Lobos will need to clean up some backend gaps after Nicola Jansen (who looks like a true low-stick) and Peyton Schieppe cross the line.

North Carolina Tar Heels

The North Carolina women didn't field a full lineup at the Virginia Invitational and dropped in the standings as a result. However, by adding Brynn Brown and Sasha Neglia back into this lineup, the Tar Heels are going to be WAY more dangerous than they previously showed, especially with Fatima Alanis and Eva Klingbeil running so well in their last outing. Yes, Kelsey Harrington will need to be better than she was in Charlottesville, but this group has all of the weapons to at least contend for a top-five finish.

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

The NC State women may be favored, but gosh, this Northern Arizona team looks like they are built to upset the Wolfpack tomorrow. We already saw how strong the Lumberjacks looked at the Virginia Invitational, but now they'll add in the rest of their top women (Maisie Grice, Ruby Smee and Ali Upshaw). I'm not saying that NAU is going to upset NC State, but I'm also not NOT saying that, ya know?

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

If Ericka VanderLende didn't record a DNF result at the Joe Piane Invitational, then the Fighting Irish probably defeat a (very limited) NC State lineup. This team has a great mix of firepower and scoring support, but it will be interesting to see how their younger talents fare in this kind of setting.

Ole Miss Rebels

Seeing the Ole Miss women place 2nd at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational was a pleasant surprise. Loral Winn and Ryan Helmers looked great while the rest of their lineup was somewhat evenly spread out. Truthfully, I don't think we're going to learn anything new about this team tomorrow, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Oregon State Beavers

Kaylee Mitchell and Grace Fetherstonhaugh are an elite 1-2 punch, but Oregon State's success is going to ultimately come down to how the rest of their lineup performs. Sage Brooks should be a fairly strong third scoring option, but the Beavers can't let the field widen gaps at the backend of their top-five.

Penn State Nittany Lions

A 4th place finish at the Paul Short Invitational didn't blow us away, but there was still some solid scoring value in the top-35 finishes that we saw from Sophia Toti, Madaline Ullom or Florence Caron. The Nittany Lions seemed to have a fairly complete top-seven, but the Nuttycome Invitational is going to be an entirely different beast.

Portland Pilots

This Portland team isn't going to set any records tomorrow, but Laura Pellicoro is a really solid low-stick and I think a few women from the backend of their scoring group at the Griak Invitational can run a bit better on Friday.

Providence Friars

There's good news and bad news when it comes to the Providence women. The good news is that Annabelle Eastman is set to make her season debut and Tessa Hunt could provide sneaky-strong value as well. The bad news, however, is that standout low-stick Jane Buckley is not expected to race (per the entries) leaving, the Friars with less firepower than we expected them to have.

Stanford Cardinal

This team is so deep and so talented across the board that I could see them finishing as high as 3rd place on Friday. We will be curious to see how Zofia Dudek fares in this race after a quiet start to her season, but that may not matter if the rest of this squad continues to improve. Also, the ongoing absence of rookie superstar Irene Riggs further strengthens the suspicion that she may not race this fall.

Syracuse Orange

Placing 10th at the Virginia Invitational was not a result that I expected to see from the Orange. They had, after all, lost so many critical scorers from last year's team. However, the Syracuse women seemingly have a gap-less top-five and they could still get greater scoring value out of Savannah Roark tomorrow.

Texas Longhorns

When it comes to Texas, this race will likely be a good gauge for how we should view Olivia Howell going into the championship portion of this season. The former Illinois runner was sitting on the fringes of our rankings last year and this year, so we should gain more clarity about her aerobic fitness on Friday.

Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

Admittedly, the Tulsa women had a fairly underwhelming day at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational a couple of weeks ago. That said, they were without a few women, many of whom are expected to race tomorrow.

Utah Utes

The Utah women stunned us at the Griak Invitational when they were only one point back from California Baptist despite fielding a new-look lineup. On Friday, we just want the Utes to validate their incredible season opener. Luckily, with Lindsey Peters listed in the entries (after initial speculation that she may not race this fall), the Utah women could end up having a complete top-five that is loaded with great scoring value.

Utah State Aggies

Without Anna Weaver, it's hard to see this team having a big day and surpassing expectations. Even so, the Aggies were only 30 points out from Air Force at the Virginia Invitational, a somewhat encouraging silver lining that Utah State can lean on going into Friday.

Washington Huskies

The Washington women were awesome at the Virginia Invitational. Sophie O'Sullivan was great as expected, but their sophomore scorers truly rose to the occasion. With All-American ace Tori Herman having an "off" day a few weeks ago, her potential to come back as a low-stick in this field could push the Huskies into the top-10 on Friday.

Wisconsin Badgers

We won't see Maya Rayle for the Wisconsin women tomorrow which is a slight disappointment, but the good news is that we will see Shea Ruhly! That, at the very least, should give the Badgers a boost after a decent 3rd place finish at Loyola the other week.