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UPDATES: 2024 NCAA Regional XC Championships

  • Writer: Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
    Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
  • Nov 15, 2024
  • 6 min read

As The Stride Report puts together our Kolas projections, we wanted to provide some regional meet updates as they come in. The regions that are highlighted in blue hold links to the live results of each region meet.


This article will be updated throughout the day.


Please note that the dynamic nature of these results could lead to a variety of different Kolas national qualifying scenarios as they come in. The below analysis is meant to be a guide rather than a definitive statement of whether or not teams will advance to the national meet.

FINAL PROJECTIONS COMING SOON


Men's Teams

  1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (AQ)

  2. Wisconsin Badgers (AQ)

  3. Butler Bulldogs

  4. Michigan State Spartans

  5. Purdue Boilermakers

  6. Michigan Wolverines


Analysis: The Butler men are seemingly in a decent position to advance to this year's national meet. However, their potential to qualify for the NCAA XC Championships will come down to how many teams the West region sends to the national meet. The same goes for Michigan State, Purdue and Michigan, although those latter two teams are in a very uncomfortable qualifying position right now.


The at-large teams in the Great Lakes region only want to see two automatic national qualifiers come out of the West region -- and that's it. Butler isn't safe yet, but they do have a good shot. However, with Michigan moving back one spot and Purdue upsetting them for 5th place, the door now slightly opens up for Iona to push Cornell into the national meet.


Again, it will all come down to the West region and, to a slightly lesser extent, the Mountain region.


Women's Teams

  1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (AQ)

  2. Wisconsin Badgers (AQ)

  3. Toledo Rockets

  4. Michigan State Spartans


Analysis: The women's results were right on par with our expectations. Toledo's chances of making the national meet appear to be fairly solid so far given how few "push" scenarios there seem to be. The same could be said about Michigan State, but to a lesser extent. That, of course, could very easily change.



Men's Teams

  1. Villanova Wildcats (AQ)

  2. Princeton Tigers (AQ)

  3. Georgetown Hoyas

  4. Navy Midshipmen


Analysis: Wow, what a BRUTAL 3rd place finish for Georgetown! They actually tied with Princeton for the second automatic qualifying spot, but LOST the tie-breaker. Not only that, but Navy was just one point behind those two teams!


The Hoyas still have a fairly realistic shot of qualifying for the national meet, but their destiny lies in the hands of the Mountain region and the West region.


The final results in the Mid-Atlantic region match our initial projections. However, one or two points could have dramatically altered the national qualifying picture (especially if Navy finished in the top-two).


Women's Teams

  1. West Virginia Mountaineers (AQ)

  2. Georgetown Hoyas (AQ)

  3. Penn State Nittany Lions

  4. Princeton Tigers

  5. Villanova Wildcats


Analysis: Villanova falling back to 5th place has more or less taken them out of the national qualifying discussion. And while Princeton did put forth a good effort the results seen in other regions has led us to believe that they likely won't find an at-large bid in the Mid-Atlantic region this year.


Men's Teams

  1. Syracuse Orange (AQ)

  2. Harvard Crimson (AQ)

  3. Cornell Big Red

  4. Iona Gaels


Analysis: With Iona falling behind Cornell, their chances of qualifying for the national meet have dropped substantially. This, however, is good news for a Georgetown team that was on the fringe of advancing to this year's national meet assuming they place 3rd in their region.


If the West region sends only two teams to the national meet, then that is a huge development for Iona and Cornell. In that scenario, the Gaels could possibly push the Big Red men into the national meet.


Women's Teams

  1. Providence Friars (AQ)

  2. Syracuse Orange (AQ)

  3. Boston College Golden Eagles

  4. Harvard Crimson

  5. Connecticut Huskies


Analysis: While we did project Boston College securing the second automatic qualifying spot over Syracuse, that probably won't impact our original projections too much. There are still a number of favorable scenarios where the Golden Eagles can get into the national meet via an at-large bid.


Men's Teams

  1. Oklahoma State Cowgirls (AQ)

  2. Iowa State Cyclones (AQ)

  3. Tulsa Golden Hurricanes


Analysis: No surprises here. The men's race went exactly how we thought it would. Tulsa isn't totally out of the national qualifying conversation yet, but the scenario they need to advance requires A LOT to break in their favor via the Mountain region and West region results.


Women's Teams

  1. Oklahoma State Cowgirls (AQ)

  2. Minnesota Golden Gophers (AQ)

  3. Northwestern Wildcats

  4. Iowa State Cyclones


Analysis: As expected, both Oklahoma State and Minnesota secured the top-two spots in their region. It is highly unlikely that we see an at-large bid come out of this region in 2024.


Men's Teams

  1. Alabama Crimson Tide (AQ)

  2. Ole Miss Rebels (AQ)

  3. Tennessee Volunteers

  4. Florida State Seminoles


Analysis: No surprises here. Unless something completely and totally unexpected happens at other regional meets, it's unlikely that we'll see an at-large men's team come out of the South region this year.


Women's Teams

  1. Alabama Crimson Tide (AQ)

  2. Florida Gators (AQ)

  3. Florida State Seminoles

  4. Tennessee Volunteers

  5. Lipscomb Bison


Analysis: This is mostly what we expected to see out of the South region. All five of these teams are in a strong position to qualify for the national meet.


Men's Teams

  1. Arkansas Razorbacks (AQ)

  2. Tulane Green Wave (AQ)

  3. Texas Longhorns


Analysis: Seeing Tulane snag the second automatic qualifying spot was certainly a possibility, but some may argue that they were not favored to beat Texas. That result is important. The Green Wave advancing bolsters the at-large possibilities in the Great Lakes region, but also hurts Georgetown's chances in the Mid-Atlantic region assuming that they place 3rd.


Women's Teams

  1. Arkansas Razorbacks (AQ)

  2. Texas Longhorns (AQ)

  3. Tulane Green Wave


Analysis: If Texas had not secured an automatic qualifying spot, then they likely would have taken up one of the at-large bids. That, however, did not happen, which is great news for Toledo and Michigan State in the Great Lakes region.


Men's Teams

  1. Virginia Cavaliers (AQ)

  2. North Carolina Tar Heels (AQ)

  3. Eastern Kentucky Colonels

  4. Virginia Tech Hokies

  5. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

  6. Furman Paladins


Analysis: An absolutely SHOCKING performance from Virginia Tech has essentially made them locks to qualify for the national meet. Wake Forest will almost certainly push them, making the Hokies one of the more stunning national meet qualifiers in recent memory. Furman should also have enough points to still earn an at-large bid.


Women's Teams

  1. NC State Wolfpack (AQ)

  2. Virginia Cavaliers (AQ)

  3. North Carolina Tar Heels

  4. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

  5. Liberty Flames

  6. Clemson Tigers

  7. Louisville Cardinals

  8. Furman Paladins


Analysis: It was a brutal day for the Furman women who simply struggled. If they had placed 5th, then they still could have pushed another team into the national meet. However, by dropping all the way back to 8th place, it appears that UNC will be the only at-large bid to come out of the Southeast region. That is massive news for the likes of Toledo, Michigan State and Harvard as an at-large spot has unexpectedly opened up for them.


Men's Teams

  1. BYU Cougars (AQ)

  2. New Mexico Lobos (AQ)

  3. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

  4. Utah State Aggies

  5. Colorado Buffaloes

  6. Wyoming Cowboys

  7. Montana State Bobcats

  8. Texas Tech Red Raiders

  9. Colorado State Rams


Analysis: Texas Tech falling back as much as they did likely means that they will not qualify for the national meet. That, in theory, leaves one more at-large spot open. And with the West region projected to only send four teams instead of five (like we originally predicted), other fringe contenders like Georgetown, Butler and Tulsa could have snuck their way into the NCAA XC Championships...


Women's Teams

  1. BYU Cougars (AQ)

  2. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (AQ)

  3. New Mexico Lobos

  4. Utah Utes

  5. Utah Valley Wolverines


Analysis: The women's Mountain regional results were mostly chalk. Yes, we originally had Utah finishing ahead of New Mexico, but swapping those two teams shouldn't make much of a difference.


Men's Teams

  1. Washington Huskies (AQ)

  2. Oregon Ducks (AQ)

  3. Stanford Cardinal

  4. California Baptist Lancers

  5. Portland Pilots

  6. Gonzaga Bulldogs


Analysis: Oregon securing one of the two automatic qualifying spots in their region is huge as they don't need to worry about the Kolas math of an at-large bid. With Stanford and CBU finishing in 3rd and 4th place, we can pretty much confirm that those two teams will also be moving on.


However, the Portland men finished in 5th place. It is unlikely that they will advance, although we still have the analyze/calculate the results of the Mountain region before that is truly projected.


Women's Teams

  1. Oregon Ducks (AQ)

  2. Stanford Cardinal (AQ)

  3. Washington Huskies

  4. Gonzaga Bulldogs

  5. Portland Pilots


Analysis: The return of Amy Bunnage is huge for a Stanford team that has been good, but not necessarily amazing, this season. Having her take home the regional title was enough to give the Cardinal an automatic qualifying spot.


However, it largely didn't matter whether Stanford finished in 2nd place, 3rd place or 4th place. The Cardinal were almost certainly going to advance to the national meet as long as they finished in the top-four. And given how the rest of the results played out, there isn't much that will change in the national qualifying calculations.

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