The BIG 10 Championships are set to be one of the most interesting conference meets of the weekend - and not just because they are the only one that takes place on Sunday. The competition features 11 TSR-ranked teams (four men, seven women) and a handful of ranked individuals across the board. Let’s take a look at the men’s race first... Men's Preview There aren’t a lot of folks out there who would have pegged Purdue as the BIG 10 favorites before the season began. If you exclude those located in Indiana, that number is even less. However, the Boilermakers are having one of their best seasons in recent memory thanks to strong front-running by the trio of Jaret Carpenter, Brody Smith, and Curt Eckstein. Although none of these men were All-Americans last year, that may be a different story in 2019. Carpenter won the Great Lakes regional meet last fall while Smith was 27th in that race. However, both men finished over 100th at Nationals. This year, the Carpenter-Smith duo have looked fantastic, finishing within four places of one another at every race (and near the front as well). Along with this pair, Curt Eckstein has been right on the heels of Smith and gives the Boilermakers the best 1-2-3 in the conference. Eckstein has not finished more than four places behind Smith this fall and should be aiming for a top 10 finish this weekend. With this trio leading the way, Purdue men will be the team to beat heading into Sunday. Right on the heels of Purdue have been the Hoosiers of Indiana. IU finished directly behind Purdue at both the John McNichols Invitational and the Nuttycombe Invitational, and were two spots behind at Joe Piane. Led by returning track All-American Kyle Mau and rising star Ben Veatch, the Hoosiers will be looking to take down their in-state rivals this weekend. Mau has been one of the best runners in the country this fall, finishing in the top 10 in all three of his races. He should have a chance to contend with Oliver Hoare and Jaret Carpenter for the individual win this weekend which would be huge for Indiana as team. Not far behind, Veatch has been finishing just outside the top 10 in a few of his races, most recently placing 17th in a loaded Nuttycombe field. He was 4th at this conference meet last fall and should have a similar finish on Sunday. The biggest issue for the Hoosiers this season has been their bottom two scorers. Nuttycombe was the first meet where the #4 Hoosier was ahead of the #5 Boilermaker this season. In a smaller BIG 10 meet, head-to-head battles will decide who takes home the team title and right now, that stat favors Purdue. One team you can never count out is Wisconsin. Oliver Hoare is the individual favorite and will provide a key low-stick for the Badgers. After him, the next four Badgers will need some big improvements to beat Indiana or Purdue. All three teams recently faced off at Nuttycombe, with Wisconsin narrowly losing out to Indiana. The Badgers actually had all five men in before Indiana, but thanks to the minimal gaps between their top two, Indiana was able to finish ahead. When we look at this BIG 10 field, it’s unlikely that we will see a gap like that from Wisconsin this weekend which is a huge plus for Mick Byrne's group. Olin Hacker was their #2 runner at Nuttycombe, and although he hasn’t looked as strong as he did in 2018, he was 19th at this meet a year ago and should be in the top 20 yet again on Sunday. Unless the Boilermakers really fall apart, Wisconsin should be aiming for a runner-up finish. As always, the men of Michigan will make their presence known this weekend as they come in as the TSR #14 ranked team in the country. The Wolverines are the deepest group of the four squads that we have mentioned and have put five runners in before either Purdue or Indiana both times that these three teams have raced each other (Joe Piane and Nuttycombe). The issue for Michigan is they have no standout talents up front. At Nuttycombe, the first Wolverine across the line was Devin Meyrer in 36th place. The top runners for Wisconsin, Indiana, and Purdue? Oliver Hoare (2nd), Kyle Mau (10th) and Jaret Carpenter (22nd). Even with a deep team, Michigan will struggle to finish ahead of the others unless Meyrer (or someone else) can make a big jump. The one thing going for Michigan is that a smaller BIG 10 meet (relative to Nuttycombe) could make their incredible depth even more valuable in a condensed field. After those four teams, the race for the 5th position is really up for grabs. Minnesota seems to be on the rise after strong performances from Alec Basten and Jack Manderscheid at Pre-Nationals. However, we should note that the Gophers finished behind fellow BIG 10 foe Iowa due to Owen Hoeft placing 112th and Evan Ferlic finishing 116th. Hoeft is definitely capable of a top 60 finish at that meet and Ferlic should have been somewhere between 70th and 90th. Based on that, Minnesota should have the best odds to finish 5th behind the four aforementioned ranked squads. As far as the individual race goes, we can't forget about Michigan State's Morgan Beadlescomb. The standout Spartan ace recently finished 7th at Nuttycombe and could very easily be in the title conversation. He's been a consistent top talent in the BIG 10 for a few years how and should be able to mix it up with the best names in this field. Most of the individuals with a chance of winning it all have already been mentioned - with the exception of Nebraska sophomore George Kusche. The South Africa native was 5th in a strong Pre-Nationals field and has a great shot at taking down Oliver Hoare and Kyle Mau on Sunday. Kusche is predominantly a miler on the track, but has shown his ability in cross country to handle the longer distances. While it’s hard to bet against Hoare, my bold take is that Kusche will win it all this weekend. Men's Predictions Teams 1. Purdue 2. Wisconsin 3. Michigan 4. Indiana 5. Minnesota Individuals 1. George Kusche (Nebraska) 2. Oliver Hoare (Wisconsin) 3. Morgan Beadlescomb (Michigan State) 4. Jaret Carpenter (Purdue) 5. Kyle Mau (Indiana) 6. Ben Veatch (Indiana) 7. Brody Smith (Purdue) 8. Alec Basten (Minnesota) 9. Curt Eckstein (Purdue) 10. Devin Meyrer (Michigan) Women's Preview The women’s race this weekend may be the most competitive conference championship in the country. There are 14 teams in the field and seven of them are ranked in our the XC Top 25. No other conference has this depth, which includes the TSR #1 ranked runner in the country in Wisconsin’s Alicia Monson. If you were forced to only watch one conference meet this weekend, the BIG 10 would be it. On the team side, the ladies of Michigan State come in ranked at TSR #7 in the country and the top school in the conference...but just barely. Right behind the Spartans are the Badgers of Wisconsin (TSR #8) and the Wolverines of Michigan (TSR #9). All three teams have had great seasons thus far and Sunday’s race should be an exciting showcase of who has the edge going into the Great Lakes regional meet. The Spartans were narrowly edged by Wisconsin during the Nuttycombe Invitational, but the gap of only two points was largely a result of Alicia Monson winning the race. In a smaller field, the gap between Monson and Annie Fuller (the top Michigan State Spartan) is much smaller than 12 places and MSU would likely come out on top. Fuller has looked great this season and comes in ranked at TSR #24 in the country. Behind her, both India Johnson and Jeralyn Poe were able to crack the top 50 at Nuttycombe, with Jenna Magness close behind in 53rd. Despite narrowly losing to Wisconsin, the Spartans were able to place both their #5 and #6 runners ahead of the #5 Badger. With this advantage in overall depth, Michigan State will be the team to beat in a smaller BIG 10 field where Monson's elite scoring has less of an impact. The Badgers come into Sunday led by the top-ranked runner in the country (Alicia Monson). Unless something incredibly unexpected happens, Monson should have no problem claiming the individual title. Fellow senior Amy Davis is also nationally ranked at TSR #31 and should be vying for a top 10 spot after finishing 13th at this meet a year ago. Davis finished right on the heels of Fuller at Nuttycombe and will likely need to edge the Spartan ace on Sunday if Wisconsin hopes to come away with the win. Both Lucinda Crouch and Alissa Niggeman have been having solid seasons so and should provide solid depth through four runners. The real issue for Wisconsin all season has been their final scorer. In their two big races at Joe Piane and Nuttycombe, the Badgers have been relatively even with other top teams through four runners, but lose substantial ground when it comes to their #5. At Joe Piane, the fifth Badger was over 30 places back from the #5 runners on the five teams ahead of them. At Nuttycombe, seven teams had their #5 across the line before Wisconsin. In bigger meets, the Badgers can mask this problem thanks to Monson finishing at the top of the results, but at the BIG 10 Championships, the field has less depth up front which will limit her scoring impact. If Wisconsin hopes to win this weekend, they will need a big performance from someone who can close the gap between their #4 and #5. If not, the Badgers will have a tough time beating the Spartans and maybe even the Wolverines. Speaking of the Wolverines, they will be looking to defend their team title despite losing quite a few of their top women from last year. Michigan is led by the top freshman in the country in TSR #17 Ericka VanderLende. The true freshman has finished in the top five in two of the country’s biggest meets - finishing 4th at John McNichols and 5th at Pre-Nationals. Behind VanderLende, junior Kathryn House has been having a stellar season as Michigan’s #2 runner. House finished 12th at McNichols, only seconds behind TSR #20 Carina Viljoen of Arkansas. At Pre-Nationals, she had another respectable showing, notching a 32nd place to barely edge Rebecca Craddock of Illinois. The problem for Michigan is that while House has been having a great year, the team still needs more scoring potency. At Pre-Nationals, the 4th place Wolverines had all five of their runners in before runner-up BYU and 3rd place Colorado. However, both of those teams scored a combined four and 11 points through two runners whereas Michigan had a total of 35. The upside for Michigan is that the gap should not be as big on Sunday. The rest of the Wolverines have been very solid this season and offer excellent depth behind VanderLende and House. Of that group, Camile Davre and Anna West are the most intriguing. West may have only been their #6 runner at Pre-Nationals, but as a former All-American, she has plenty of potential. Davre, however, hasn’t been nearly as good as last fall, but she did start 2018 slow as well, so there’s a chance she will have a big breakthrough in the coming weeks. One other important note for the Wolverines was the absence of Alice Hill at Pre-Nationals. The sophomore was Michigan’s #4 runner at John McNichols, but she toed the line in the “B” race in Terre Haute where she finished runner-up to teammate Emma Sloan. Both could be back in the lineup for the Wolverines this weekend. The amazing thing about the BIG 10 women is how much depth the conference has. Some order of Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Michigan should make up the first three spots in the team standings, but there are still four more ranked teams in the conference. The biggest surprise from the BIG 10 has been either TSR #17 Illinois or TSR #22 Ohio State. Heading into 2019, neither team really seemed like possible candidates to be ranked, but both have shown solid improvements throughout this season. Illinois is led by junior Rebecca Craddock who comes into this meet having just missed our XC Top 50 rankings in our latest update. Craddock has had some strong showings this year, notching an 11th place finish at John McNichols and a 3rd place finish at the Buckeye Preview. Her race at Pre-Nationals was a bit of an underperformance, but BIG 10's should give her a great opportunity to bounce back. Craddock has never finished better than 43rd at this meet, but she should easily blow that result out of the water on Sunday. As for the Buckeyes, huge jumps by Lainey Studebaker and Abby Nichols have propelled the team to success. At the Buckeye Preview, the duo finished 2nd and 5th. Nichols had another very strong run at Nuttycombe where she placed 28th overall with Studebaker crossed the line in 57th. For perspective on how much they have improved, the last time they ran at a Pre-Nationals meet, Studebaker was 98th and Nichols was 139th. When Ohio State last raced Illinois, they were narrowly edged out by 13 points. The two teams should be close once again this weekend. Another team that could be in the mix with Illinois and Ohio State is TSR #20 Penn State. The Nittany Lions appear to be relatively strong this year, but have yet to face much competition. In their only real competitive scenario, PSU finished behind both Illinois and Ohio State at the Buckeye Preview. Since then, the team has rolled past TSR #25 Georgia Tech at the Penn State National Open with a convincing 32 point margin of victory. The biggest surprise for the Nittany Lions this year has been Kathryn Munks, not Julia Paternain, leading the way this fall. Paternain was the star freshman in 2018, but has been somewhere between #2 and #4 spots for PSU this fall. She closed the gap on Munks at the Penn State National Open which is a good sign for the Nittany Lions as the postseason approaches. As for Munks, it’s a bit hard to tell where she’s at. She easily won the Penn State National Open, but was 4th at the Buckeye Preview, finishing a substantial distance behind the top three of that race. The BIG 10 Championships will be the first time Penn State faces a deep field of top talent. The end result should give us a better idea on just how strong they are. The final ranked team in the BIG 10 is Minnesota at TSR #24. The Gophers are likely not good enough to top any of the other ranked teams this weekend given that their dynamic duo of Bethany and Megan Hasz are both redshirting this fall. Still, the Gophers should be a lock for 7th place. As far as the individual race, Monson should run away with it on Sunday. VanderLende, Fuller, and Davis will all give chase, as will Indiana’s Bailey Hertenstein. Women's Predictions Teams 1. Michigan 2. Michigan State 3. Wisconsin 4. Illinois 5. Ohio State 6. Penn State 7. Minnesota 8. Indiana Individuals 1. Alicia Monson (Wisconsin) 2. Ericka VanderLende (Michigan) 3. Annie Fuller (Michigan State) 4. Bailey Hertenstein (Indiana) 5. Kathryn Munks (Penn State) 6. Amy Davis (Wisconsin) 7. Rebecca Craddock (Illinois) 8. Abby Nichols (Ohio State) 9. Kathryn House (Michigan) 10. Jeralyn Poe (Michigan State)

It's 6:30 pm on a Friday and in theory, I should be holding a beer, preparing myself to watch the Houston Rockets play the Brooklyn Nets. But duty calls. I won't make this preview as extensive as some of the other articles that you've seen on the site for the past few days, but I like to think that there is plenty to talk about within the Patriot League. So with that, let's dive in. Men's Preview The men's race is going to be an exciting battle between the academies of Navy and Army. So far this season, these two squads have faced off three separate times. Army got the better of the Midshipmen back in September at Beantown (where Army finished 2nd only to Syracuse), but the men from Annapolis, Maryland have bounced back since then. At Paul Short, Navy edged out the Black Knights by 30 points in a crowded race that theoretically should have favored the depth of the Army men. That, however, was not the case as the 1-2 scoring punch from Brophy (2nd) and Murray (4th) was enough to outweigh their far-off #5 runner who finished 165th overall. In that same race, Army lacked the necessary scoring potency to stay competitive. Even though their top five didn't have a scoring outlier like Navy, the Black Knights just didn't have anyone step up to give their team an edge. Ben Petrella finished 30th overall, but their final four scorers didn't do enough to cover the firepower from the Midshipmen, placing 42-47-86-95 in the team scoring. Fast forward to their next meet, and we got to see an entirely matchup between Army and Navy in what was essentially a duel meet. After struggling in such a large invite, one would think that the Black Knights could pull out the win in what was essentially a one vs one battle. However, Navy proved that they were simply the better squad, finishing 1-2-5-8-11 to narrowly edge Army by two points, 27 to 29. It's clear that the Navy men have Army's number this season, but the Patriot League Championships may be an excellent opportunity for redemption. The field, in terms of relative talent, is arguably more similar to what we saw at Beantown where Army had their best race of the season. Navy has bettered Army in both larger and smaller fields. Will a medium sized raced make any difference? Let's talk about a few other teams. On paper, Boston U. is the third best team in this conference, but they have severely underwhelmed in a handful of meets this year. Luevano has been super inconsistent, Foster Malleck hasn't been the star freshman we thought he could be (at least not in his first year), and the rest of their lineup hasn't offered much support. However, the same can be said for the Bucknell Bison who haven't been able to find a spark despite returning numerous men from last year's 3rd place Patriot League lineup. There isn't necessarily one runner in particular who has caused issues, so this might simply be a matter of peaking at the right time - something that Bucknell has been able to do at the conference meet over the past few years. Even so, it will be tough to look at their regular season results in a positive light. Then we have Lehigh who, much like Boston U., has a ton of respectable talent on paper. Seth Slavin and Bradford DeMassa have been really solid front-runners for this team, but the backend hasn't quite found their groove. Kirshenbaum hasn't been the low-stick they need him to be and freshman Connor Melko hasn't had the immediate impact we expected him to have. There are a few respectable talents scattered throughout this roster, but whether or not that all comes together this weekend is the big question. Due to personal bias, I'll refrain from making predictions. Women's Preview On paper, the favorite for the women's race should be the Terriers of Boston U. When you look at their Beantown performance, that statement may seem a bit odd considering that they lost to both Navy and Army, finishing 16th overall. However, since then, the BU women have rallied to close a few gaps...except one. Their top four at Paul Short finished 44-45-74-85 (in the team scoring), but their #5 runner scored a total of 224 points. Clearly, that was a major area of emphasis for the Terriers and a big reason why they didn't finish any higher. However, by the time they got to the Princeton Cross Country Invitational, their scoring woes had been remedied (well, not entirely, but by a good amount). The Terriers ended up taking the overall win and scored only 53 points with finishes of 3-5-9-10-26. In other words, the Boston U. women are gaining momentum and doing so at the right time. Although there is reasonable concern surrounding their #5 scorer, the size of this field should make them the ideal title contenders for the conference title on Saturday. Battling behind the Boston U. women will likely be the Bucknell Bison who enter the Patriot League Championships with a unique lineup dynamic. The women from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania are still trying to find an identity after losing four All-League runners from last year's championship lineup. This season, they have had a few different #1 runners lead their team in major invitationals (albeit, with some lineups being stronger than others) between Nora Bennett, Ashlyn Ramos, and Emily Deschler. Those three, along with Ashley Blair and Olivia Dyer, could put together a formidable varsity group. It's hard to get a gauge of just how good this team is, but we can expect to see all of the pieces of their lineup come together this weekend. The Bison have a ton of scoring options, but we don't entirely know what they will look like when everyone is running to their full potential. We'll wrap up this preview by talking about the Lehigh and Army women. Both teams have similar lineups with no singular standout scorer, but instead, a handful of respectable talents capable of giving their team a thorough and complete scoring five. This was evident at Paul Short as neither team had a top 100 finisher, but Army had six runners in the top 150 while Lehigh had five runners inside the top 180. We saw a similar string of results from the Mountainhawks at the Penn State National Open a few weeks later where they earned finishes of 43-45-46-62-65 to finish 12 points behind conference rival Bucknell. Neither Army nor Lehigh are that far off from the Bison women. Neither of those teams have much scoring potency, but they are steady and consistent. That may not be a flashy or exciting racing style, but it may still be enough to snag runner-up honors this weekend. Due to personal bias, I'll refrain from making predictions.

The Summit League is a relatively small conference comprised of schools across the Midwest, ranging from Nebraska to Indiana. While the conference may not boast the big name teams of other leagues, the championship meet on Saturday should feature quite a bit of talent that could make names for themselves at the regional meets in two weeks time. Men's Preview On the men’s side, the South Dakota State (SDSU) Jackrabbits come in as the usual favorites after winning the meet for the past three years. Last fall, SDSU placed seven men inside the top 10 at the Summit League Championships. Of those seven, only one has graduated. The other six all return and given that none are redshirting, they will likely be back in action on Saturday. This fall, Joe Minor-Williams and Micah Mather have stepped up big for SDSU to fill the top two spots. With Kyle Burdick graduating and Chase Cayo returning from injury, Minor-Williams and Mather have led SDSU to some strong showings, most recently finishing 21st at Pre-Nationals. Both should be in contention for the individual title this weekend and should finish in the top five on Saturday. Behind these two, SDSU has incredible depth within the conference. Lukas Nelson, Gabe Peters, and Tom Breuckman finished 6th, 7th, and 9th at this meet last fall. Breuckman has made big strides in 2019 and has found himself in numerous positions (including the lead spot) of SDSU's lineup this fall. Similarly, both Peters and Nelson have shuffled around within the scoring group for the Jackrabbits this season. All three have strong potential to be in the top 10 once again this weekend, giving SDSU the potential to put five (or more) runners in the top 10. One Jackrabbit to keep an eye on this weekend will be redshirt senior Chase Cayo - a former Summit League champion in both cross country and track. During the spring of 2019, Cayo came down with a nagging bone injury and has spent much of his build up for cross country in the pool and on the bike. He has now raced twice this season (Briar Cliff and Pre-Nationals) and although he is not quite back to the same level, he seems to be getting stronger with each week. Cayo is one who will surely be in contention for a top five finish after placing as the #4 SDSU runner at Pre-Nationals. If he is able to relocate his previous fitness, then he could easily put himself in a position to win the whole meet. Beating South Dakota State is going to be a big challenge for any team given that the Jacks could take up the majority of the top 10. However, there are a handful of individuals who have a good chance to break up any shot at a perfect score. The University of South Dakota (USD) Coyotes have two men who have looked particularly strong this season - sophomore Merga Gemeda and true freshman Clayton Whitehead. In his first season, Gemeda was a bit of a wildcard who showed flashes of brilliance which were marred by inconsistency. After the graduation of distance standout Eldon Warner, Gemeda has stepped up big in his sophomore campaign and has led the Yotes at all but one meet this season. He has put together a string of strong runs, most recently placing 13th in a strong field at the Bradley Classic. A year ago, Gemeda was 10th at this meet. This time around he should have his sights set on the individual win. Whitehead was not at this meet in 2018, but he’s on pace to make a splash in his conference meet debut. He has been finishing right around Gemeda at every meet this season and was only seven seconds back at Bradley, dipping under the 25 minute barrier in the process. The most remarkable part of Whitehead’s season has been his consistency from meet to meet. While many freshmen struggle in their first year, Whitehead has looked solid each time he steps up to the line. Given how close to Gemeda he has been, a top five finish is a very reasonable goal for the young Yote. From the other Dakota, the Bison of North Dakota State (NDSU) bring another couple guys who could be vying for the win on Saturday. Junior duo Alex Bartholomay and Tim Heikkila have been leading the Bison in 2019 and should be in the mix up front at the Summit League Championships. In 2018, both of these runners just missed out on top 10 finishes with Bartholomay placing 16th and Heikkila coming in at 20th. In 2019, they hope to rewrite that narrative and have looked poised to do so thus far. Earlier this fall, Heikkila took down all of the Jackrabbits at the SDSU XC Classic. A few weeks later, the roles were reversed, with three Jacks finishing ahead of Heikkila at the Roy Griak Invitational. The NDSU junior has had a bit of a polarizing season compared to his fall of 2018, but this is largely influenced by matters outside of training. Heikkila is in the nursing program at NDSU and has been participating in clinicals this fall which have stressed his balance between training and other things. He’s coming off of a good run at the Ron Pynn Classic, finishing 4th overall. He should be someone to watch on Saturday. Alex Bartholomay also looks ready to roll for this weekend, coming off of an individual win at Ron Pynn. The NDSU junior has been the top runner for the Bison at two of their competitions this season and looks to be putting things together just in time for the conference meet. Bartholomay had an underwhelming performance at this meet a year ago, but he is definitely a top 10 talent in the Summit League this season. Having finished just behind the trio of Jacks at the Roy Griak Invitational, Bartholomay should find himself in the mix early on and could be a dark horse to win the meet. One other guy to watch in the individual race on Saturday is Luke Labatte of the University of North Dakota. The true freshman finished right on the heels of Bartholomay at Ron Pynn and has looked strong over the past few months. While he likely will have to wait a couple years to be a contender for the overall title, Labatte figures to be a top 10 talent this year. While both NDSU and USD have good squads, neither has the depth to match SDSU on Saturday. The Bison look like a safe bet for the runner-up spot, with a strong, young group that could be dangerous in the coming years. Unless SDSU completely falls apart, they should make it four-for-four on Saturday. Author’s Note: As an alum of SDSU, I am going to refrain from making any predictions about any of the teams or individuals running on Saturday. My only prediction is that they all run much faster than I ever did. Women's Preview On the women’s side, the team race figures to be much closer and could come down to the wire. Last year, only 10 points separated team champion South Dakota (USD) and 3rd place South Dakota State (SDSU). With four of the top five individuals graduated, this meet figures to see a lot of new faces up front - and maybe even a new team atop the podium. The women of South Dakota (USD) have been dominant in the Summit League. How dominant? Well, I was in high school the last time they didn’t win it all. The Yotes will be aiming for their sixth consecutive Summit League title on Saturday and come in as the only Summit League school in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional rankings (12th). The lead Yote, and one of the favorites for the individual title, is junior Abby Ripperda. This season has been a big jump for Ripperda after she missed out on the conference meet in 2018, presumably due to injury (she had been racing prior). Ripperda has finished 1st or 2nd at all but one meet this season - the Chile Pepper XC Festival, where she was 8th. For perspective, six of the seven women ahead of her are currently ranked in the top 35 of the TSR XC Individual rankings. There is no question that Ripperda comes in as a favorite to win the meet which would be huge for USD’s title hopes. Behind Ripperda, a handful of Yotes return from 2018 with eyes on top 10 finishes. The group of Jonna Bart, Kianna Stewart, Kelsi Kearney and Laura Nelson all finished between 10th and 20th at this meet a year ago. With USD graduating two women from the top 10, some of these individuals will need to step up on Saturday to keep the streak alive. Coming into this weekend, senior Kianna Stewart looks to have the best shot at a top 10 finish. She was the second Yote at the Bradley Pink Classic (behind Ripperda) and finished 14th overall. This fall she has been the #2 USD runner at every competition and should easily finish higher than her 2018 run of 14th place. With five of the women ahead of her from last year now gone, a top five finish for Stewart would be just the result USD needs to win the title. Not far behind Stewart has been Jonna Bart. The junior was less than 10 seconds back at Bradley and is the highest returner of the group from 2018 (she was 10th). Along with Bart, both Laura Nelson and Kelsi Kearney should provide USD with a solid scoring group that should all finish near the top 10. The biggest concern for the Yotes this season is that they lack the dominance up front of years past. Typically, they have been able to place multiple women in the top 10, but that has dropped off a bit in recent years. This was most notable in 2018 when their top two women finished 4th and 7th and the team barely beat out NDSU (by one point) for the title. Ripperda looks like almost a shoe-in for a top two finish, but the other Yotes will need to show up on Saturday for USD to win. While the squad is undoubtedly the favorite, they don’t seem like as safe of a bet as they have been in previous years. After losing out by one point in 2018, North Dakota State (NDSU) will be looking to dethrone USD this time around. The Bison are led by potentially the best runner in the Summit League in junior Kelby Anderson. Last fall, Anderson finished runner-up at this meet and has been on quite the run this season. She won the SDSU XC Classic and finished 5th overall at the Roy Griak Invitational, only seconds behind the Hasz twins of Minnesota. She was runner-up at Ron Pynn to U-Mary’s Ida Narbuvoll (TSR D2 #5) and comes in as the other favorite (along with Ripperda) to take home the W. Anderson and Ripperda have yet to race one another this season, but expect to see these two square off in an exciting battle. Behind Anderson, senior Jen Dufner and junior Brynnan Covington look ready to make a run at top 10 finishes this weekend. Dufner finished 8th in 2018 and Covington was 12th. Both have been having fairly consistent seasons and look like realistic candidates to finish in the top 10 or so. Along with those two, senior Melina Kuerschner, freshman Kaleesa Houston, and sophomore Mikayla Koenig are all coming off big races at Ron Pynn. Given that the meet had minimal depth, it’s hard to gauge just what those performances mean for this weekend, but all three should finish in the top 20 on Saturday. The other team chasing South Dakota is their in-state rival, South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits had one of their best runs in recent years in 2018, narrowly missing out on the team title. After losing a handful of seniors to graduation, a young core has stepped up in 2019 to try and lift the Jackrabbits back into contention once again. Leading SDSU is junior Anna Donnay. In her third season as a Jackrabbit, Donnay has made a huge jump this fall and could be a dark horse to win the individual title. At the Roy Griak Invitational, she finished 10th overall and was 32 seconds behind Anderson of NDSU. She was also runner-up to Anderson earlier in the year, finishing 21 seconds back at the SDSU XC Classic. Donnay is coming off of her best race of the season where she finished 6th in the Pre-Nationals "B" race, only seconds behind Winny Koech of UTEP and Egle Morenaite of Iona. Given that her head-to-head record against Anderson is 0-2, Donnay is definitely a long shot to win the individual title. That said, she has a great chance to finish 3rd and always has the potential to surprise. The next three Jackrabbits will likely be some combination of sophomores Ellie Friesen and Cailee Peterson as well as freshman Leah Hansen. Friesen finished as the second SDSU runner at both Roy Griak and the SDSU Classic, but is coming off of a rough Pre-Nationals race where she was the team's #5 scorer. While she was only 18th in the Summit League last fall, she looks on pace to shoot for a top 10 mark come Saturday. Similarly, Peterson has potential to mix it up near the front after sitting out in 2018 due to an injury. She has displayed great consistency this season and had a strong showing to finish 50th at Pre-Nationals ("B" race). Hansen is a bit of a wild card as a true freshman, but she will likely finish right around Peterson. Hansen has been within 10 seconds of Peterson in each of the past two competitions and doing so again this weekend could mean big points for SDSU. Rounding out the scoring group will likely be one of either Kendra Dykstra, Emma Nelson, or Jessica Christoffer. These three have rotated in and out of the scoring spots throughout this season, but Dykstra is the most likely candidate to be that runner after placing 22nd in the Summit League in 2018. All three will be fighting key head-to-head battles with USD and NDSU runners that could provide the point swing needed to win it all. No one outside of these three teams is likely to mix things up as a team. The University of North Dakota appears to be a safe bet for 4th as they have two strong individuals in Hannah Oscarson and Madison Overby. Both should be competing for top 10 finishes on Saturday. As with the men, I will not be doing any predictions for the same reason.

The 2019 WAC Cross Country Championships are this Saturday, November 2nd at Swope Park in Kansas City, Mo. The men's 8k race begins at 10 a.m. (CT), followed by the women's 6k at 11 a.m. (CT). Expect relatively fast times as the weather looks clear on Saturday with a low of 35 and a high of 48 degrees. Men’s Preview Teams Led by 2018 winner Kevin Lynch, Utah Valley arrives at the WAC XC Championships as the returning champs and the favorites to win yet another title. Utah Valley returns their entire top seven from last year and looks primed to win their fifth title in the past seven years. The Wolverines have held their own this season, winning the team race in the Gold section at Joe Piane. Their depth was tested as they had four runners in the top 15, but their #5 runner was a freshman who finished 52nd. In their most recent race, they closed that gap slightly, but it will surely be tested come Saturday. Expect Kevin Lynch to once again lead the team as the low-stick. Utah Valley’s success will come down to their final scorer and whether or not he can close the gap on the rest of the top four. Trying to play spoiler to Utah Valley is California Baptist. There could be an argument that CBU should be favored in this race due to an early-season victory over Utah Valley back on September 14th. In that race, they showed very strong depth as they had five runners finish before Utah Valley’s #4. The real test for CBU is to replicate their early-season performance which will require figuring out who their low-sticks are going to be in this race. Utah Valley’s two front-runners give the Wolverines a significant advantage as they will test CBU’s frontend. Meanwhile, the Lancers will rely on McMarshall Hartzenberg to lead the team to their first WAC title. Another group trying to win their first WAC team title is UT Rio Grande Valley who placed 2nd last year at this conference meet. They are led by individual favorite Abraham Chirchir. The key for this team will be how their 3-4-5 perform relative to their WAC rivals. So far this season, their top two have preformed well, but they have lacked the necessary depth to signify that the Vaqueros could win the team title. One thing to note is that Omer Almog has been pretty off this season after he placed 2nd last year in this race. If he can replicate that performance, UT Rio Grande will have a strong chance to win this meet. It will be interesting to see if their lack of depth gets exposed or if that pack can minimize any gaps in a smaller field. Individuals On the individual side, Kevin Lynch is arriving as the favorite to win this meet once again. Winner of the WAC outdoor 5k and placing 3rd in the 10k, Lynch has proven that he competes at a high level and this cross country season has been no different. A win won’t come easy though as Abraham Chirchir is looking to claim the individual title and score the least amount of points for his team. After not running outdoors despite a terrific indoor campaign, Chirchir has proven this season that he is a force to be reckoned with. Last but not least, watch out for McMarshall Hartzenberg. He has quietly put together a respectable XC season so far and will be looking to be that major low-stick for CBU. Men’s Predictions Team 1. Utah Valley 2. California Baptist 3. UT Rio Grande Valley 4. NM State 5. Seattle U 6. Grand Canyon 7. Kansas City 8. Chicago State Individuals 1. Abraham Chirchir (UT Rio Grande) 2. Kevin Lynch (Utah Valley) 3. McMarshall Hartzenberg (California Baptist) 4. Geofrey Kemboi (Utah Valley) 5. Hawk Call (Utah Valley) 6. Timothy Legemet (California Baptist) 7. Britain Reynolds (Utah Valley) 8. Jacob Lewis (Grand Canyon) 9. Michael Kirwa (New Mexico St.) 10. Max Selbach (Kansas City) Women’s Preview Teams Returning their entire top five (and then some) from a 2018 WAC title, California Baptist (TSR #19) enters this meet as the heavy favorite to win back-to-back titles. This team is deep, and when I say deep, I mean absolutely loaded. Their #1 runner seems to rotate in almost every new meet and that says a lot considering they return the individual champion from last year's conference championship. Going into this weekend, the California Baptist women won the Arturo Barrios Invite, beating a respectable Florida squad. What was impressive about this victory was the fact that CBU put all seven of their runners across the line before Florida’s #3 scorer. However, prior to that, the Lancers won the Roy Griak Invite by putting their entire top five in the top 20 of the race, beating out Columbia and Minnesota in the process. Unfortunately, this team is not yet eligible for NCAA postseason competition since they are still going through the transition process of going from Division Two to Division One. That should give them even more incentive to end their season on a high note. Trying to pull the upset in Kansas City is Utah Valley who will be led by senior Savannah Neuberger. This team is hungry for the championship crown after placing 2nd last year. The Wolverines return their top two and four of their top five from last year. However, the biggest test for this experienced team will be trying to run with CBU up front. The Lancers are poised to place all five of their scorers in the top 10 of this race, so it will be interesting to see how Utah Valley approaches this race from a strategic standpoint. One notable point to be made is that Hannah Branch has yet to race this fall after winning the 5k and 10k at the WAC Championships in the spring. Another team that is looking for a strong showing on Saturday is Grand Canyon. Throughout this cross country season, they have shown that they have a formidable top three who can mix it up with the best in the WAC. Their vulnerabilities, however, begin at their final two scorer positions and the Lopes have yet to show that they can close that gap. Two weeks ago, Grand Canyon and Utah Valley faced off in an early preview of the WAC Championships at the Santa Clara Bronco Invite where GCU put three runners across the line before Utah Valley’s #2 runner. However, the race quickly swung in Utah Valley's favor as they eventually put six runners in before GCU’s #4 scorer. In a smaller race, GCU’s lack of depth shouldn’t be exposed as much, but it will still have an effect on this race as a whole. Individuals Individually, there should be a battle between CBU’s own top four to see who can take the individual title. Returning champ Anett Somogyi will enter the meet as the opening line favorite, but after a shaky race at the Arturo Barrios Invite where she was CBU’s #5 runner, anything can happen. Look for Emilie Renaud to help dictate the race up front and battle down the finish for the individual title. As mentioned earlier, Hannah Branch (WAC 5k and 10k champ) would be in consideration for the individual title if she posted a result this fall, but we have unfortunately not yet seen one from her. Overall, look for a pack of white jerseys up front. Women’s Predictions Teams 1. CBU 2. Utah Valley 3. Grand Canyon 4. NM State 5. Kansas City 6. UT Rio Grande Valley 7. Seattle U 8. CSU Bakersfield 9. Chicago State Individuals 1. Anett Somogyi (CBU) 2. Emilie Renaud (CBU) 3. Fruzsina Ladanyi (CBU) 4. Dorcas Koech (UT Rio Grande Valley) 5. Anna Mate (CBU) 6. Elizabeth Balsan (Grand Canyon) 7. Savannah Neuberger (Utah Valley) 8. Andrea Kolbeinsdottir (CBU) 9. Paige Hildebradt (Grand Canyon) 10. Jessica Dominguez (New Mexico St.)

Women's Preview Teams Heading into the season, this title was expected to be much more up for grabs between Northern Arizona and Southern Utah, but the Lumberjacks have shown that they are a step above the rest throughout the regular season. The TSR #11 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks jumped to a 6th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational after a 5th place at the John McNichols Invitational. Led by Villanova transfer Taryn O’Neill and Mikayla Malaspina, the Lumberjacks have jumped into our NCAA Top 10 conversation. O’Neill (TSR#40) finished 20th at the Nuttycombe Invitational and is the clear individual favorite in this race. Malaspina and Miranda Myers are also in the conversation for a top five finish and have done a terrific job supporting the middle portion of the scoring pack. Pipi Eitel and Hannah Behunin have been the final two scorers in both major meets this season. It’s tough to overpraise this team after such wonderful performances. If there is a weakness overall, it’s the gap between their #3 and #4 runners which we saw develop at Nuttycombe. Even then, this team should be able to relax and cruise to a victory this weekend. Southern Utah was expected to challenge NAU for the women’s title earlier in the season, but that has not been the case. The Thunderbirds were 4th at Roy Griak behind three strong teams in CBU, Columbia, and Minnesota. They then fell back to 28th at Nuttycombe. Leading the charge individually is Alison Pray who was 42nd during her race in Wisconsin, right in line with Malaspina and Myers of Northern Arizona. Maddy Kauffman is the other big name for SUU after finishing 14th at Griak and performing well over the last few seasons. Kauffman was a DNF at Nuttycombe and if she could have stayed closer to Pray, then Southern Utah would have leaped up the team standings. Madison Fruchey, who stepped up to #2 scoring role at Nuttycombe, should also not be ignored. Individuals Camilia Noe of Montana State finished 24th at the Pre-Nats Invitational to be the top BIG Sky competitor at the meet. Noe beat TSR ranked Jessica Drop and many other major names in that race. June Eastwood of Montana is competing in her final season, but doing so after publicly coming out as the first NCAA DI transgender woman to compete in women’s cross country. In this race, Eastwood will become the first transgender woman to compete in a woman’s cross country conference championship meet. Eastwood has been very competitive, finishing 2nd at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational and winning the University of Montana XC Invitational. Abby Lawrence and Lexie Thompson of Weber State finished 35th and 39th at the Pre-National Invitational and should also contend within the top 10. Women's Predictions Teams 1. Northern Arizona 2. Southern Utah 3. Weber State Individuals 1. Taryn O’Neil (Northern Arizona) 2. Mikayla Malaspina (Northern Arizona) 3. Camille Noe (Montana State) 4. Alison Pray (Southern Utah) 5. June Eastwood (Montana) 6. Maddy Kauffman (Southern Utah) 7. Miranda Myers (Northern Arizona) 8. Abby Lawrence (Weber State) 9. Pipi Eitel (Northern Arizona) 10. Madison Fruchey (Southern Utah) Men's Preview Teams Anyone heard of Northern Arizona? I think they might be pretty good. And by “pretty good” I mean possibly the greatest NCAA XC dynasty of all-time after their last four seasons. The TSR #1 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks are absolutely loaded with talent and can probably take down any team in the NCAA even while resting a top five athlete (or two). Sure enough, that is exactly what will happen this weekend. According to entries, the Northern Arizona men will not field top scorers Luis Grijalva (TSR #8), Blaise Ferro (TSR #43), or Abdi Nur (TSR #17) at the BIG Sky Championships. Instead, it will be Geordie Beamish (TSR #15) leading a squad that is looking to gain race experience and easily secure a conference title. As difficult as it may be to believe, there are other teams in the BIG Sky. This includes TSR #24 Southern Utah. The Thunderbirds finished 13th at Nuttycombe in their most recent race, finishing ahead of both Notre Dame and Utah State. They also finished 2nd to Duke at Roy Griak earlier in the season. Individually, Christian Ricketts is leading the way for Southern Utah after placing runner-up at Roy Griak and then 27th at Nuttycombe. Those results left Ricketts in the “Just Missed” section of our rankings. Ricketts is supported by Josh Collins who was 43rd in Wisconsin and 5th in Minnesota. Both results clearly leave him as a strong #2 guy who can challenge for a top spot this weekend. The Wildcats of Weber State are also going to contend for the 2nd place spot this weekend. Weber State placed 9th at Pre-Nationals a few weeks ago, finishing just behind Villanova. They also finished 15th at Notre Dame behind Gonzaga. Weber State seemingly lacks the firepower to challenge the likes of Southern Utah, but they still have great leaders in Taylor Dillon and Christian Allen. Jordan Cross should also play a key scoring role for the Wildcats on Saturday. Individuals Collin Buck of Montana State will enter into the top 10 conversation at this meet. Buck placed 25th at Pre-Nats, just eclipsing the 24 minute barrier. He also finished 7th in the Paul Short Gold race. Men's Predictions Team 1. Northern Arizona 2. Southern Utah 3. Weber State Individuals 1. Geordie Beamish (Northern Arizona) 2. Brodey Hasty (Northern Arizona) 3. Theo Quax (Northern Arizona) 4. Christian Ricketts (Southern Utah) 5. Drew Bosley (Northern Arizona) 6. Ryan Raff (Northern Arizona) 7. Collin Buck (Montana State) 8. Josh Collins (Southern Utah) 9. Cade Burks (Northern Arizona) 10. Sean Newcomb (Southern Utah)

For both the men and women of the BIG East, three teams will compete for the top spot. Those three teams are of course, Butler, Georgetown, and Villanova. Let’s start with the women... Women's Preview Teams The ladies of Georgetown have had the most impressive single performance of any team in the BIG East this season when they took home the victory at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational. There, the Hoyas defeated current TSR #20 Penn State rather handily, 25 to 41 with only five teams in the meet. Madeline Perez has been leading this group throughout the season, taking 2nd at the Spiked Shoe meet and then 11th at Paul Short. However, the challenge facing Georgetown is that they have not performed up to the level they once were when they upset Penn State. Georgetown placed 19th at the Nuttycombe Invitational and 5th in the Paul Short Gold race, losing to a number of unranked teams including Tennessee, Penn, and Tulsa. The support for Perez, although consistent, hasn't always been reliable which has led to a lack of clarity as to what we should expect to see from this team in the postseason. Another challenge for the Hoyas will be deciding their championship lineup. Luckily, the BIG East allows for a greater number of competitors than most meets, but there has been a wide range of finishing orders behind Perez. Some of their more consistent runners have been Sami Corman and Alyssa Aldridge, while Meg Mathison, Margie Cullen, Katherine Modrall, and Baylee Jones have slid up and down the team standings throughout the season. If this entire group can come together and race well, then the Hoyas can be considered as the title favorites. The Butler women, however, may disagree. The Bulldogs have one of the best shots of overcoming the Hoyas this weekend. Butler has finished 13th and 8th in the team standings at Notre Dame and Pre-Nats, respectively so far this season. Their 8th place finish at Pre-Nats showed us significant improvement as they overtook Boston College and defeated both Ole Miss and Oklahoma State in the process. Admittedly, the Butler women haven't had much scoring consistency from their top runners outside of Emily Royston who led this group at Pre-Nats. Royston placed 18th at Terre Haute a few weeks ago, beating the likes of established NCAA powers Lilli Burdon and Jessica Drop. However, that wasn't the case at Joe Piane as Royston finished two seconds back of Bulldog leaders Angelina Ellis and Maddie McLain. Josephine Thestrup is another important runner for this group as she found herself in the #2 scoring position at Pre-Nats, just ahead of teammates Ellis and McLain after being 50 places back from them at Notre Dame. All four of these women will need to perform at their best in order to win the meet this weekend as depth is lacking in the latter portion of their lineup. Villanova is struggling this year after having to rebuild due to graduation and transfer departures. Still, the Wildcats have managed to stay somewhat competitive, placing 22nd at the Nuttycombe Invitational, only 50 points behind Georgetown. Freshman Maggie Smith is the star for the Wildcats after taking 35th in Wisconsin. Otherwise, it’s been many of the same supporting faces from previous years holding together the pack with Lydia Olivere and Ann Campbell now settling in at #2 and #3 scoring positions instead of the 5-6-7 spots like in previous years. All three of the women mentioned above defeated Perez of Georgetown at Nuttycombe. Despite the respectable trio up front, the troubles for this team lie in the gap between their #3 and #4 runners. Freshmen Nikki Merrill and Brynne Sumner placed 198th and 204th at Nuttycombe and both have been thrown into unexpected scoring roles due to the recent departures. Villanova’s depth has been so weak this year that they could only muster four finishers at Paul Short. If they can find some support in those final two scoring spots, then look for the Wildcats to mix it up with Butler and Georgetown. The other team that could surprise on the women’s side is Providence. They placed four spots and 70 points behind Villanova at Nuttycombe and are struggling with many of the same issues as the Wildcats. Abbey Wheeler is an outstanding front-runner and Maria Coffin is a strong #2 option. Lily Tuck was 3rd at Nuttycombe and should in the conversation to be the best #3 scorer in this field. However, the backend of this lineup simply has simply underwhelmed for the Friars. The four other members of their team at Nuttycombe finished in the final 30 spots with their 5-6-7 runners all within the last 10 place. This is going to be especially troublesome at a smaller meet since the differences between Wheeler and low-sticks from other teams will be minimal at best. Much like Villanova, the Providence women can appear as a surprise contender if they find some supporting at their final two scoring spots. Individuals The only individual contender not mentioned above is Anna Kostarellis of Xavier, who won the Louisville Classic over two strong Middle Tennessee State athletes before finishing 16th at Pre-Nats to be the best finisher in the conference. It is possible that we could see Kostarellis take home the BIG East title this weekend. Women's Predictions Teams 1. Butler 2. Georgetown 3. Villanova 4. Providence 5. Xavier Individuals 1. Anna Kostarellis (Xavier) 2. Abbey Wheeler (Providence) 3. Maggie Smith (Villanova) 4. Emily Royston (Butler) 5. Lydia Olivere (Villanova) 6. Madeline Perez (Georgetown) 7. Maria Coffin (Providence) 8. Ann Campbell (Villanova) 9. Maddie McLean (Butler) 10. Josephine Thestrup (Butler) Men's Predictions Teams For the sake of consistency, let’s begin with Georgetown again. The Hoyas placed 20th at the Nuttycombe Invitational a few weeks back, leaving themselves in a precarious spot. Although they were not far behind ranked squads such as Notre Dame or Utah State, their group was more concretely in the tier of programs who underperformed such as EKU, Wyoming, and Syracuse (who just won the ACC title as we're editing this). Likewise, the Hoyas only finished 11th at Joe Piane, further jeopardizing any major postseason plans from a Kolas perspective. There is no clear leader for the Georgetown men this fall which can be both a strength and a weakness. Nicholas Wareham, Jack Van Scooter, and Spencer Brown have each crossed the line as the team leader for Georgetown this season and all have the experience to pull together a very strong race in the postseason. Rusty Kujdych and Price Owens have also been very respectable options at the backend of their pack. The goal for Georgetown here is going to be making sure that their pack moves far enough up the leaderboard. They don't have the same scoring potency as some other teams, so it will be interesting to see how that impacts their race this Saturday. The Butler men are not quite as strong as their female counterparts, but they can still present a challenge if all goes right for them. Euan Makepeace is in his final year of eligibility after consistently contending for the top spot in the BIG East throughout his career. He most recently finished 24th at Pre-Nats, establishing himself as a potential favorite for the conference title. Next for Butler is Simon Bedard who was 66th in that same Pre-Nats race. That's a decent finish, but a large gap between their #4 and #5 runners is what will ultimately hold this team back from challenging the top programs in this field. This is still a conference podium team, but they are likely not going to hang with the top two unless something major changes. The Villanova men are one of the more difficult teams to predict here since Casey Comber has not quite come to the same form that we've seen from him last winter and spring. Instead, Andrew Martson is the most likely #1 scorer for the Wildcats after a 22nd place finish at Bill Dellinger while veteran Nathan Rodriguez is right behind him. An entirely separate group competed at Paul Short the following weekend where Haftu Strintzos finished 14th in the Gold race. Josh Philips has also been a lead scorer for this team, finishing 28th at Pre-Nats which helped the Wildcats earn an 8th place team finish (without Comber and Marston). With such a wide variety of individual talent, it will be interesting to see what tactics are used to challenge a similarly strong Georgetown team. Individuals The Marquette duo of Daniel Pederson and Ryan Burd both ran exceptionally good races at the Louisville Classic, finishing 11th and 19th, respectively. Both men ran times around the 24:00 mark on an insanely fast course with Pederson slipping under that barrier. Men's Predictions Teams 1. Villanova 2. Georgetown 3. Butler 4. Marquette 5. Providence Individuals 1. Euan Makepeace (Butler) 2. Nathan Rodriguez (Villanova) 3. Josh Philips (Villanova) 4. Andrew Martson (Villanova) 5. Nicholas Wareham (Georgetown) 6. Haftu Strintzos (Villanova) 7. Daniel Pederson (Marquette) 8. Jack van Scoter (Georgetown) 9. Spencer Brown (Georgetown) 10. Ryan Burd (Marquette)

Men's Preview Teams Iowa State, Texas, and Oklahoma State all have solid runners who can score low points, but what really is going to determine the winner in the BIG 12 is how well their 3-4-5 runners pack together and finish. Iowa State is led by individual favorite Edwin Kurgat who should only add one point to the Cyclone's team score. The Iowa State men have a very solid supporting cast behind Kurgat in Addison Dehaven, David Too, and Mitchell Day. At Nuttycombe, these three finished between 33rd and 42nd, were separated by only seven seconds, and helped carry the team to a 4th place finish in a deep field. Iowa State will need to rely on their #5 and #6 guys to close out the scoring relatively quickly if they want to make this an easy win. Then we have Texas who hasn’t run their top seven since the Chile Pepper Festival, a meet they won by 22 points over D2 powerhouse Colorado Mines and 51 points over BIG 12 rival Oklahoma State. Like Iowa State, the Longhorns have a man up front and then a strong 2-3-4 pack behind him. Sam Worley is the man to watch for Texas as he should be a top 10 finisher this weekend. Behind him, veteran John Rice and two freshmen - Cruz Gomez and Haftu Knight - elevate the Longhorns. Those two mentioned true freshmen have been pivotal to the success of the Texas men this year, but it will be interesting to see how their youth translates to a championship meet such as this. Finally, we have Oklahoma State who finished a respectable 11th at Pre-Nationals just a few weeks ago. In that race, Isai Rodriguez made his season debut for the Pokes after not competing since late February and just like many of us expected, he made a statement with his 3rd place finish. Rodriguez’s low points will be useful for the Cowboys in this meet, but it may be a moot point if Smeeton and/or Hatte don't run (which we believe they will). The real test for this team will be seeing how their #4 and #5 perform when they need them the most. As long as Hatte is not injured and Ryan Smeeton is added back to the roster, things should only be getting better for Oklahoma State Individuals Kurgat of Iowa State will lead the field this weekend as he the very heavy favorite to take home the win. He has been on a roll this season, taking down elite competition at the John McNichols Invite and Nuttycombe. At John McNichols, Kurgat was four seconds ahead of 2nd place before he extended that difference at Nuttycombe where he crossed the line 10 seconds ahead. Kurgat is the defending champion from last year’s conference championship and is expected to repeat that performance. Another Iowa State Cyclone who could make some noise is Addison Dehaven who has the ability to finish in the top five come Saturday. Dehaven, an All-American transfer from Boise State, has slid right into the #2 position for the Cyclones as expected and he has not disappointed. So far this season, Dehaven has finished 11th at John McNichols and 33rd at Nuttycombe. If he puts the pieces together on the right day, he will not only help add key low points for Iowa State, but he will also gain some confidence before the regional meet and NCAA's. Oklahoma State’s Rodriguez will be going after his first conference title this weekend in Waco, Texas. He hadn’t competed since the BIG 12 Indoor Championships in late February, but he returned to the grass in a big way at Pre-Nationals. Rodriguez placed 3rd against some stiff competition and was only three seconds off from 1st place Conner Mantz. He has a set of wheels and could challenge Kurgat down the homestretch. Hatte, another Oklahoma State runner, will be another potential top three finisher. He was the bronze medalist last year at this meet and it is very possible that he replicates that performance. The only point of concern for Hatte was that he did not finish his race at Pre-Nationals, so long as he is not injured, Hatte could redeem himself prior to the Midwest Regional Championships. Worley of Texas has had two top 10 finishes at the Big 12 XC Championships and this year should be no different. As a freshman in 2017, Worley placed 3rd and then last year, he was 8th. The Longhorn ace has put together two solid performances this fall, finishing 11th at Bill Dellinger and 7th at Chile Pepper, leading us to believe that he could have a big showing in Waco this weekend. Men's Predictions Teams 1. Iowa State 2. Texas 3. Oklahoma State 4. Kansas 5. Kansas State Individuals 1. Edwin Kurgat (Iowa State) 2. Isai Rodriguez (Oklahoma State) 3. Ashenafi Hatte (Oklahoma State) 4. Addison Dehaven (Iowa State) 5. Sam Worley (Texas) Women's Preview Teams The women's team title at the BIG 12 Cross Country Championships can be considered wide-open this fall. There is no one dominant team, but Oklahoma State, Texas, West Virginia, and Iowa State will make this a must-watch race. Oklahoma State and Iowa State will need to prove themselves this weekend before heading into the Midwest regional meet. According to our Kolas projections , West Virginia will be on the outside looking in while Oklahoma State will likely not be in the qualifying conversation (given the current point totals). If you look at this meet beyond bragging rights, there is a lot at stake here from a Kolas perspective. Two or three of these teams could realistically find themselves in automatic qualifying positions two weeks from now, so it's important that teams who need the Kolas points secure them this weekend. Let's begin our meet analysis with Oklahoma State, a team that did not start their season until the Chile Pepper Festival. In Arkansas, they placed 4th behind TSR #1 Arkansas, Texas, and West Virginia. The Cowgirls took a blow when Sinclaire Johnson turned professional before completing her NCAA eligibility, but two women have stepped up to bat. Molly Born and Taylor Somers have proven that they are two of the individual favorites heading into the conference meet and they will lead this young and developing team. These two finished 5th (Born) and 6th (Somers) at Chile Pepper before excelling again at Pre-Nationals when they finished 8th (Born) and 9th (Somers). Having these two finish together is going to help Oklahoma State score valuable low points, especially with such a large gap between them and their bottom three scorers. Just like their men's team, the bulk of Oklahoma State's success this weekend will be determined in the second half of their scoring lineup. Texas is the next team to watch at BIG 12’s. The Longhorns haven’t put up stellar results this season, but they still have the ability to finish in the top three. In big invitationals, Texas has finished 7th (Bill Dellinger) and 2nd (Chile Pepper) which is relatively respectable in the grand scheme of things. At Chile Pepper, the women of Texas took down five other BIG 12 schools, but Oklahoma State and West Virginia have improved significantly since that race. Destiny Collins and Kathryn Gillespie have traded roles for leading this team and both will need to work together to score as few points as possible up front. The Longhorns have formed packs by grouping their 1-2-3 runners and 4-5-6 runners in most of their meets so far this season. Closing the gap between those two packs will be crucial towards Texas stay competitive with Oklahoma State and West Virginia (among others). West Virginia put together a very solid performance at Nuttycombe when they finished 21st, six places higher than conference rival Iowa State. Although West Virginia doesn’t have a star up front, they only had a 31 second spread between their top five. Such a low spread will help the Mountaineers compete for a top three finish this weekend (or more). If they can perform like they did at Chile Pepper, when they were only 10 points behind Texas, big things could happen for WVU. Iowa State is the final team to keep an eye on. Callie Logue is the individual favorite and has been a big bright spot for the Cyclones this season. However, behind Logue is a huge gap where points have been adding up quickly for the Cyclones. At Nuttycombe, Iowa State scored 656 points and had a 2:06 time spread among their top five. This team hasn’t gained any Kolas points (based on current projections), so if they don't put together a major performance this weekend, then their season will most likely end at the Midwest Regional Championships. Individuals Logue of Iowa State is the individual favorite heading into BIG 12’s, but she will have company up front with the Oklahoma State duo of Born and Somers. Logue has had a decent season thus far, finishing 8th at John McNichols and then 25th at Nuttycombe. The Cyclone ace will have her work cut out for her this weekend if she wants to repeat as the individual champion. Born and Somers of Oklahoma State have finished in the top 10 of their past two races. Most recently, they took down some big names at Pre-Nationals en route to two breakout performances in a deep field. Born was 16th last fall at BIG 12’s and has already shown improvement since then. Somers was the 9th place finisher last fall and appears ready to challenge Logue (and Born) for the individual title. Collins of Texas was 4th at this meet in 2018 and could find herself in the top five again this weekend. Collins has finished 27th at Bill Dellinger and 7th at Chile Pepper this fall. She will need to use the confidence she had at Chile Pepper to compete with some of the top women in the NCAA. Hayley Jackson of West Virginia is another top 10 returner from last fall after finishing 8th. Jackson has had a slower start to her 2019 season, placing 30th at Chile Pepper and 69th at Nuttycombe. West Virginia will need a big performance from Jackson to help elevate the team to the podium. Women's Predictions Teams 1. Oklahoma State 2. Texas 3. West Virginia 4. Iowa State 5. Texas Tech Individuals 1. Molly Born (Oklahoma State) 2. Cailie Logue (Iowa State) 3. Taylor Somers (Oklahoma State) 4. Destiny Collins (Texas) 5. Hayley Jackson (West Virginia)

Men's Preview Let's avoid an introduction and just jump straight into this. We have a lot to talk about... It seems like a no-brainer that we should begin our conversation with the Princeton Tigers as they are the overwhelming favorites to take home the conference title on Friday. Coach Jason Vigilante has taken a somewhat similar, yet somehow different approach in how his Tigers have raced in 2019 compared to what we saw from them last year. Earlier in the season, we saw their top group toe the line at Paul Short, but they were all entered in the Open section where team scores weren't tallied. Needless to say, the Princeton men dominated that race. However, the conservative, under-the-radar approach that we saw from this group in 2018 was suddenly flipped a few weeks ago when they decided to go to Nuttycombe and put forth (what seemed to be) an all-out effort. The end result was a bit underwhelming as the Princeton men finished 17th overall with finishes of 31-40-124-139-144 (in the team scoring). Regardless, it seems pretty safe to say that this team is still the overwhelming favorite to take home the conference title as no other Ivy League rival has positioned themselves to be a legitimate threat to Princeton. The scoring potency of Lundy and Grossman, matched with an exciting mix of experienced veterans (Deokar) and high-upside freshmen (Nisbet and Fischer) solidly positions this team as the class of the field. However, the inexperience of their freshmen scorers could be something to watch in a championship setting. It's the runner-up spot, however, that seems to be a bit of a toss-up between Penn and Harvard. Personally, I like Penn to have the edge despite an early-season result at Beantown suggesting otherwise. Anthony Russo is one of the more underrated low-sticks in the eastern portion of the country this year after securing a 2nd place finish at the Penn State National Open two weeks ago. The rest of Penn's top five all finished inside the top 20 of that race and will bring a considerable amount of experience to their lineup tomorrow afternoon. I'm not ready to say that there will be an upset, but if Penn is firing on all cylinders, they could give Princeton a scare. I see far more positives than negatives within their lineup. Still, it's hard to discount Harvard who had a very respectable opener at Beantown back in September when they finished 4th overall, one spot ahead of Washington. They also beat conference rivals Dartmouth (7th), Penn (8th), and Brown (13th) in the process. Despite beating Penn, the Crimson underwhelmed quite a bit at Nuttycombe, finishing 28th overall out of 33 teams. Kieran Tuntivate (TSR #44) has been an absolute stud this year and is the favorite to take home the individual title on Friday. Freshman teammate Colin Baker has been a pleasant surprise at the top of Harvard's top five, but at the Ivy League Championships, it seems like a handful of top teams have a legitimate front-runner that can negate some of their firepower. In the end, I think Penn's depth and supporting cast will be the reason they edge out the Crimson men. Yale, much like Harvard, is in the same boat. The Bulldogs have two great leaders in Nick Dahl and Robert Miranda, but their backend has some issues that need to be fixed. Then we have Dartmouth who edged Yale by one spot at Pre-Nationals, showing a bit more consistency through their scoring five, but still not inspiring much confidence. They beat Penn at Beantown earlier in the season, but I'm not sure they have progressed the same way that the Quakers have. All in all, this will be Princeton's race to lose. Penn looks strong, but results from the regular season suggest that they will not be the "at first glance" favorite like I'm making them out to be. As for the individual race, many Ivy League fans may be focused on men like Tuntivate and Lundy, but it's important that we give Vasbinder the proper recognition. He won Roy Griak and was only one spot behind Lundy at Nuttycombe (and ahead of Tuntivate). I'm not saying he'll win, but if he does, no one should be surprised. Men's Predictions Teams 1. Princeton 2. Penn 3. Harvard 4. Dartmouth 5. Yale 6. Columbia 7. Brown 8. Cornell Individuals 1. Kieran Tuntivate (Harvard) 2. Kenny Vasbinder (Columbia) 3. Conor Lundy (Princeton) 4. Matthew Grossman (Princeton) 5. Anthony Russo (Penn) 6. Nick Dahl (Yale) 7. Quinn Cooney (Dartmouth) 8. Cameron Daly (Brown) 9. Colin Baker (Harvard) 10. Robert Miranda (Yale) Women's Preview The men's race is all about Princeton, but that's isn't necessarily the case for the women. The team title is up for grabs this Friday with no one team acting as the overwhelming favorite. The Princeton women were a top ranked program in our Preseason XC Top 25, but they have failed to meet expectations so far this fall. Even so, this is a team that can still put themselves in a position to battle for a top three finish when the final team scores are tallied. Unlike the men, the women actually put forth a legitimate effort at Paul Short, resulting in a total score of 211 points and a 6th place finish. Standout low-stick Meila Chittenden had a superb race, crossing the line in 7th place overall. However, the gap between her and the rest of her teammates was relatively large. Even so, their final four scorers finished 47-49-53-55 which, on paper, is truthfully not a bad performance. The Princeton women went on to beat the Penn Quakers at the Penn State National Open without Chittenden, but it should be noted that Penn didn't have their top runner (Villalba) either. Instead, the group of Liebich (16th), Cantine (18th), Loveys (20th), and Wagner (29th) posted a string of impressive results which gave the Tigers a 4th place team finish, 15 points ahead of their conference rival. Should Chittenden return to the lineup for the Ivy League Championships, it seems fair to say that the Princeton women will have the most complete lineup through five runners. Columbia, however, will likely not be phased. Despite losing a couple of key scorers from their 2018 roster, the Lions still boast a front-heavy lineup that has done quite well against some stiff competition this year. They were runner-up at Roy Griak thanks to Alexandra Hays and Katie Wasserman securing 2nd and 4th place finishes in the team scoring. Bianca Alonzo finishing 15th was also a well-received result. However, their bottom two scorers (who finished 29th and 30th in the team scoring) allowed the women of CBU to take home the win. Nonetheless, that was still enough to upend a Minnesota team that is currently ranked #24 in our XC Top 25. The Lions stuck close to Minnesota once again at Nuttycombe, this time falling only one place behind the Gophers. Once again, Hays and Wasserman gave their team a strong 1-2 punch while Emily Acker stepped up to be the team's #3 option. Of course, it was those bottom two scorers that would end up being the difference makers. I like Columbia a lot, specifically in this field where it seems like some teams don't have the same firepower as them. Still, the backend of their lineup may not be strong enough to fend off deeper, more stable teams. If everyone runs to their full potential on the same day (which is easier said than done), then that shouldn't be a problem. And how could we forget about the Penn Quakers? They placed a surprising 3rd at Paul Short earlier this year, easily holding off Princeton and putting three women inside the top 30 in that race. Madison Villalba has carried her momentum from the spring track season to the grass and the same can be said for half-mile specialist Nia Akins. However, it's the group of Melissa Tanaka, Ariana Gardizy, and freshman Elizabeth Bader that gives the Quakers a complete and thorough scoring five which truthfully doesn't show much weakness. But which Penn team will we see at the Ivy League Championships? The squad that trounced a full Princeton lineup at Paul Short? Or the team that fell to the Chittenden-less Tigers at Penn State? Your guess is as good as mine. You can also very easily make a favorable argument for Harvard. The Crimson women finished 4th at Beantown earlier this season, beating out numerous Ivy League rivals as well as 5th place Georgia Tech (TSR #25). However, their recent performance at Nuttycombe was concerning for their conference title hopes. They finished 32nd out of 36 teams with freshman Isabell Sagar (75th) being the only one from her team to finish inside the top 120. As a result, I am left feeling uncertain about their postseason potential. The last team we need to talk about is Yale. The Bulldogs have been on our radar since the beginning of the season and when you look at the results, it's easy to understand why. The Yale women finished 2nd overall at the Panorama Farms Invitational behind a powerhouse Michigan State team. In that race, Kayley DeLay and Jocelyn Chau gave the Bulldogs are very potent 1-2 finish by placing 8th and 9th, respectively. With two others finishing in the top 25, and their final scorer sneaking inside the top 40, it was hard to dislike what we had seen from this group. But just when you thought that we had seen everything from the Yale women, they continued to impress. The Bulldogs locked down a strong 13th place finish at Pre-Nationals with DeLay securing a wildly impressive 13th place finish of her own. Although the rest of the lineup wasn't exactly perfect (55-75-114-156) it was still a statement performance that validated just how talented they are. Trying to decide who was going to come out on top on Friday feels like a struggle. However, I like what we've seen from the Columbia Lions just little bit more than Yale (but not by much). The Lions have an excellent top two and respectable supporting scorers between Alonzo and Acker who just need to run well on the same day. Although the bottom half of their lineup hasn't always been great, I don't think that is going to be too big of an issue in a smaller field like this. Women's Predictions Teams 1. Columbia 2. Yale 3. Penn 4. Princeton 5. Harvard 6. Dartmouth 7. Cornell 8. Brown Individuals 1. Alexandra Hays (Columbia) 2. Katie Wasserman (Columbia) 3. Kayley DeLay (Yale) 4. Meila Chittenden (Princeton) 5. Madison Villalba (Penn) 6. Isabel Sagar (Harvard) 7. Jocelyn Chau (Yale) 8. Taylor Knibb (Cornell) 9. Melissa Tanaka (Penn) 10. Emily Acker (Columbia)

Men's Preview The ACC is one of the strongest conferences in the nation, but is undergoing a bit of a power-shift. For a few years, Syracuse was completely dominating the conference, scoring under 30 points in both 2016 and 2017. However, it was Notre Dame who ended up dethroning the Orange in 2018, beating them by only four points. This year, the team race is far more open and could go a variety of ways. Uncertainty is not something this conference has been particularly familiar with over the past few years, so it will be interesting to see how things are shaken up with no clear favorite. This Friday, 15 teams will convene in Blacksburg, Virginia to kick off their postseasons. With the depth this conference has seen this year, the team race will likely come down to six teams: Notre Dame, NC State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Florida State and possibly Syracuse who is coming off of an underwhelming performance at Nuttycombe. The Notre Dame men (TSR #17) come in as the reigning champs, but don't necessarily look like a true favorite this year. The Fighting Irish recently finished 15th at the Nuttycombe Invitational, ahead of Virginia, Syracuse, and Wake Forest. They were the top ACC team in that race. Prior to that, they took 5th at the Joe Piane Invitational on their home turf. In that race, NC State edged them by only 10 points. Much like 2018, Notre Dame has once again been led by Yared Nuguse (TSR #26), the reigning NCAA 1500 meter champion. His season has been highlighted by a standout 6th place finish at Joe Piane where he ran 23:28 over the five mile course. Teammates Andrew Alexander, Dylan Jacobs, Anthony Williams, and Matthew Carmody fill out a very strong top five, albeit with a few inconsistencies. Danny Kilrea has struggled this year after earning an All-American finish last fall as a true freshman. If Kilrea is back in top form for the ACC Championships, Notre Dame could significantly raise their chances of repeating as champions. The NC State Wolfpack (TSR #14) have had an interesting season that leaves their potential unknown. They only had three men finish at Nuttycombe, seemingly in an attempt to avoid producing a team score. Prior to that, they produced a strong 3rd place finish at Joe Piane, ahead of Notre Dame. Ian Shanklin (TSR #29) led the way for them, finishing 7th overall in what was a huge statement result for him. JP Flavin has been another key contributor for the Wolfpack, but after a DNF at Nuttycombe, there are rumors circulating that he may be injured. If this is the case and he is out for Friday, NC State may be disadvantaged and fall slightly in the team standings. Joe Bistritz, Hannes Burger, and Gavin Gaynor round out a very strong top five, but if Flavin is out then they may have some trouble filling his shoes. One of those three athletes could step up and produce a solid #2 finish, but NC State’s #6 man was about 40 seconds off of Gaynor at Joe Piane. If this gap is not closed, that could spell trouble for the Wolfpack. The Virginia Cavaliers are a very strong team that might have as good of a chance to win the ACC title as anyone. Despite never appearing in our XC Top 25 teams this season, they have a very deep squad which could bring home the title thanks to a tight spread in a deep field. A disappointing 18th place finish at Nuttycombe does not look good compared to Notre Dame and NC State, but with legendary coach Vin Lananna now at the helm, it would be surprising if Virginia is not ready when it matters. A 42 second time spread at Nuttycombe is Virginia’s worst of the season, but still better than many other similar caliber teams. At their home meet, the Panorama Farms Invitational, the men of Virginia won handily with only six seconds between their first five runners. Ari Klau has led the Cavaliers for much of the season, but when he faltered at Nuttycombe, AJ Ernst stepped right in to fill his shoes. This type of scoring dynamic is crucial in what will almost certainly be a tight race for the ACC title, and Virginia has plenty of guys who can step up if need be. Peter Morris, Alex Corbett, Rohann Asfaw, and Spencer Dodds have all looked good this season and have perfected the pack-running technique. Lachlan Cook came into this season looking like a potential All-American, but has not lived up to that so far. If he starts looking like the 29:10 10k runner we saw in the spring, he could be a game-changer for the Cavaliers. This is a dangerous team because they can squeeze so many guys across the line so quickly. They lack a true low-stick in the sense that we probably won’t see an individual winner from Virginia, but they don’t necessarily need one in a smaller field. A somewhat surprising threat to Virginia’s hunt for an upset title could be in-state rival Virginia Tech. After building one of the deepest middle distance squads in the country over the past few years (Neil Gourley, Vincent Ciattei, Drew Piazza, Patrick Joseph) the Hokies are looking to show that they can produce strong results on the grass as well. A 7th place finish at Pre-Nationals, as well as two wins on their home course, puts Virginia Tech in a very comfortable position heading into the postseason. The advantage of being able to train on the championship course may be a difference-maker for the Hokies as well. Led by the reigning ACC cross country champion Peter Seufer (TSR #40), Virginia Tech’s depth will propel them towards the front of the team standings. 8:40 steeplechaser Fitsum Seyoum has also been running well this season and has been acting as a very reliable supporting scorer. Middle distance specialist Bashir Mosavel-Lo has also stepped out of his comfort zone and has made himself known on the cross country course while veterans Jack Joyce and Diego Zarate have established themselves as serious contributors to this squad. It's not the flashiest group, but they are quietly very strong throughout their top five. Potentially the biggest question mark heading into ACC's is Syracuse. The Orange (TSR #22) won the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown back in September over most of their Northeast rivals (excluding Iona) and established themselves as a virtual lock to qualify for NCAA's. More recently, however, Syracuse fell all the way back to 24th place at Nuttycombe. This is a troubling result for the Orange, as they were without star ace Aidan Tooker. Was Tooker just resting up to be sharp for the postseason, or is he out with an injury? That is a major question that we're still unsure about. If Aidan Tooker is sidelined, then Syracuse will be looking at their other scoring options for some help. Joe Dragon (4th) and Kevin James (11th) put together very encouraging performances at Beantown, but struggled quite a bit at Nuttycombe. Nathan Henderson was 50th in Wisconsin, but was also a DNF at Beantown. Other guys like Noah Beveridge, Nathan Lawler, Simon Smith and Matthew Scrape have also been in scoring positions this year, but with the exception of Smith, most of these men lack experience. Syracuse has options, but if Aidan Tooker (or anybody else for that matter) is out of the lineup, they'll be at a significant disadvantage. Capturing another title may be difficult for the Orange, but a long history of success may suggest otherwise. How about Florida State? This team has a better shot at winning than some people may realize, especially thanks to Kasey Knevelbaard’s arrival. The Seminoles finished 6th at Pre-Nats, led by Knevelbaard's impressive 15th place finish. He has been their best runner by far and the rest of their scoring five have put together underappreciated performances. Sophomore Paul Stafford has been a very respectable supporting piece for this lineup while Pottorff and Cross bring reliable experience and consistency to the middle portion of their top lineup. However, what makes this FSU team so sneaky good is having Lipscomb transfer Silas Griffith who has given the Seminoles a lift on the backend of their scoring five. He's been a major reason why they have been competitive on the nation's biggest stages this year. A lot of people are going to be surprised by this, but I think the UVA men are capable of pulling off the upset. Their depth, specifically in this field, is far more valuable than some may realize. With teams like Notre Dame, NC State, and Syracuse showing vulnerabilities, I think the stars are aligning for yet another shocking upset this year... Men's Predictions Teams 1. Virginia 2. Notre Dame 3. NC State 4. Florida State 5. Virginia Tech 6. Syracuse Individuals 1. Peter Seufer (Virginia Tech) 2. Emmanuel Cheboson (Louisville) 3. Ian Shanklin (NC State) 4. Yared Nuguse (Notre Dame) 5. Kasey Knevelbaard (Florida State) 6. Albert Kosgei (Louisville) 7. Ari Klau (Virginia) 8. Nathan Henderson (Syracuse) 9. AJ Ernst (Virginia) 10. Zach Facioni (Wake Forest) Women's Preview As one of the deepest conferences in the NCAA, the ACC is shaping up to produce some fireworks tomorrow. The NC State women have won three titles in a row and look primed to take a fourth - but it will not be easy. Last year, the Wolfpack won by a single point over Notre Dame. This year, it looks a lot more clear-cut in the idea that NC State is the favorite. We may see a return of the dominance we saw from NC State in 2016 and 2017 when they won by 66 and 21 points; much more comfortable margins. The team race looks like it will be between NC State, Florida State, Notre Dame, and Virginia Tech. Some other teams have outside chances at the win, but with the strength that NC State has shown, the title is theirs for the taking. NC State (TSR #6) further solidified their position as a podium contender at Nationals with their recent 3rd place finish at Nuttycombe. Although Arkansas and Stanford handily beat them, NC State still showcased their depth incredibly well. NC State also took 4th earlier in the season at the Joe Piane Invitational, but the Wolfpack actually lost to Florida State by 10 points in that same race. Luckily for them, they have picked up some good momentum since then. Elly Henes (TSR #10) has led the Wolfpack all season and has shown why she is a solid All-American candidate. After all, she did finish 16th at the national meet last year. What NC State has been able to take advantage of is that after Henes, they have a bunch of women who are essentially interchangeable in terms of scoring. Freshman sensation Kelsey Chmiel (TSR #38) has been having a fantastic season. At Joe Piane, she was NC State’s #2 runner and was their #3 option at Nuttycombe. For a true freshman to find herself in that position on such a high caliber team is no joke. A lack of experience has not seemed to be much of an issue for her so far. Meanwhile, veterans Julia Zachgo and Dominique Clairmonte have also been critical scorers for the Wolfpack this season. The Wolfpack’s #5 runner, Samantha Bush, is the one who makes all the difference. At Joe Piane, she was just one second behind Zachgo, but she was 20 seconds off from Clairmonte at Nuttycombe. If Bush can keep that gap small between her and the other scorers, then NC State looks nearly unstoppable. Florida State (TSR #14) is the only ACC team to beat NC State this season, and they may have the best chance to do so again. 3rd place at Joe Piane and 5th at Pre-Nats shows that the Seminoles are the real deal. The four teams that beat Florida State at Pre-Nats are all potential podium contenders and FSU was not all that far off of 4th place Michigan (40 points). If the Seminoles can perform like they did at Pre-Nats, NC State might have something to be worried about. Elizabeth Funderburk (TSR#39) has acted as a strong low-stick for Florida State this season. She crossed the line in 11th at Pre-Nats, a drastic improvement from her 54th place finish from last year. If she can keep this momentum going, there is no reason that she can’t be vying for a top five spot at ACC's. Addison Coggins, Maudie Skyring and Megan Mooney make up a pretty tight trio that got across the line within 18 seconds of each other at Pre-Nats. Keep in mind that Skyring finished 17th at Joe Piane earlier in the season to lead this team. If she's at the top of her game, then the 'Noles could have a scary good pair of low-sticks this Friday. If their #5 runner (Rebecca Clark or Lauren Ryan) can close the gap on Mooney (15 seconds at Pre-Nats) then they look almost as good as NC State (and that's exactly what we saw at Joe Piane). Their bottom two varsity runners have been solid this season as well, so we could see them displace a few scorers. Notre Dame (TSR #18) might have the best 1-2 punch in the conference. Anna Rohrer (TSR #9) and Maddy Denner (TSR #28) finished nearly side-by-side at Nuttycombe for 10th and 11th place finishes, respectively. The team as a whole, however, was only 12th which was somewhat disappointing, but the field was admittedly super stacked. The Fighting Irish were also 8th at Joe Piane in what was a somewhat underwhelming result, especially considering that Rohrer was 6th overall and that the team was racing on their home course. What Notre Dame lacks is depth. If they can clean up their final few scoring spots and/or have Jacqueline Gaughan return to her 2018 form, then the Irish could see some substantial improvements. Neither of those scenarios are entirely unrealistic, leaving this Notre Dame team with some unique upside. After those three teams, things get interesting. Virginia Tech (TSR #23) and Georgia Tech (TSR #25) come into this meet looking rather similar in terms of lineup structure. For Virginia Tech, it is Sara Freix and Sarah Edwards who will do most of the work up front with Elizabeth Brush and Kyra Lopez not too far behind. However, it's the #5 spot that leaves us with some questions. Unless the Hokies have somebody who can close the gap on their top four, then they might not have what it takes to challenge for the likes of NC State, Florida State, and Notre Dame (but hey, we've been wrong before). Georgia Tech, led by Nicole Fegans, has five quality runners who are all pretty close in ability. Their top five were separated by 48 seconds at their most recent race at Penn State. Just like Virginia Tech, the Yellow Jackets will need to minimize their time spread to move up in the final team standings. Boston College and Syracuse leave some questions to be answered in terms of their depth and their ability to compete against the best in the conference. Both have significant gaps to close, but look strong overall. For Syracuse, they looked surprisingly good at Beantown earlier in the season, beating out teams like Georgia Tech and Boston College rather handily. However, their performance at Nuttycombe was far from ideal and it began to bring back memories of the 2018 postseason where they struggled quite a bit. We've already spoken about all of the big-name individuals, but one of the biggest questions to be answered is whether or not Louisville's Dorcas Wasike will race. She has not made a race appearance since the outdoor ACC meet in May, so it seems unlikely that the reigning champion will defend her crown. If she does show up though, she should not be counted out. Women's Predictions Teams 1. NC State 2. Florida State 3. Notre Dame 4. Virginia Tech 5. Syracuse 6. Georgia Tech 7. Boston College Individuals 1. Anna Rohrer (Notre Dame) 2. Elly Henes (NC State) 3. Maddy Denner (Notre Dame) 4. Kelsey Chmiel (NC State) 5. Sara Freix (Virginia Tech) 6. Dominique Clairmonte (NC State) 7. Elizabeth Funderburk (Florida State) 8. Maudie Skyring (Florida State) 9. Amanda Vestri (Syracuse) 10. Nicole Fegans (Georgia Tech)

Below are three conferences that may not have the deepest fields in terms of competition, but there are a handful of runners and teams that will surely make these respective meets entertaining. West Coast Conference Men Heading into conference week, the men of BYU are the favorite to win the WCC, both on the team and individual sides. The Cougars are coming off of a somewhat surprising two point victory over Colorado at Pre-Nationals despite not having Clayson Shumway. Conner Mantz has been on a roll this season and is three for three on individual wins this fall. Jacob Heslington, who finished 50th last fall at NCAA's, has improved to the #2 spot for the Cougars and has beaten several top individuals this season. Meanwhile, Brandon Garnica and Daniel Carney have been very solid supporting pieces for the Cougars and will add key points for the remainder of the season. BYU’s 5-6-7 haven't finished as close to their top scorers as one would like, but they still provide decent depth. The Portland Pilots are expected to be the 2nd place team on Friday. However, Coach Rob Conner is known for holding out his top runners at the conference meet and for giving his younger guys a chance at showing what they are made of. The Pilots are coming off of a 9th place finish at Nuttycombe and were led by Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse’s 19th place finish. Behind Roudolff-Levisse were Caleb Webb and Evert Silva who both finished inside the top 30 for the Pilots. This group provides a very good scoring base for Portland, but things go a little south after that trio. Portland will need their #4 and #5 runners to move up, especially their #5 (who finished in 160th at Nuttycombe), if they want to compete with BYU. But again, they likely won't run their top men. Gonzaga is one more team to watch this Friday. The Bulldogs just missed our XC Top 25 team rankings after their 16th place finish at Nuttycombe, but they should still be a team in the NCAA qualifying discussion. James Mwaura will compete for a top three finish at WCC's after establishing his place among the nation's best thanks to his 15th place finish at Wisconsin. Runners 3-4-5 were only separated by 10 seconds, but they need to minimize their overall time spread if they want to find themselves in the runner-up spot. Individually, Andrew Snyder of San Francisco will try to make a run for a top five finish. After transferring from Washington to San Francisco, Snyder has seen some success. He placed 11th at Griak, but at Pre-Nationals he competed in the “B” race. Although he walked away with a 3rd place finish, his time would’ve placed him just inside the top 100 in the championship race. Snyder will need to rebound from his Pre-Nationals performance if he wants to surprise the WCC before the West Regional Championships. Women The women of BYU will dominate the WCC this weekend. No other team in this field can come remotely close to the talent that the Cougars have at the front, middle, or backend of their lineup. Whittni Orton and Aubrey Frentheway did not compete at Pre-Nationals, but both are expected to be on the line this weekend, getting in one final tune-up before the regional meet. When you add in Erica Birk-Jarvis, Courtney Wayment, Olivia Hoj, and Anna Camp, BYU will be impossible to stop. One runner that could disrupt a 1-2-3-4-5 sweep for the women of BYU would be San Francisco’s Aoibhe Richardson. Richardson recently won the “B” Race at Pre-Nationals, but her time would have placed her 14th in the championship race, just ahead of BYU’s Hoj. American Athletic Conference Men Tulsa shocked the nation when they finished a surprising 3rd at Nuttycombe, placing all five runners in the top 46. Nine seconds separated their final four scorers and after such a convincing performance, winning the AAC should not at all be a surprise for the Golden Hurricanes. Peter Lynch will look to lead the team with Patrick Dever, Cameron Field, Isaac Akers, and Scott Beattie close behind. The only concern for Tulsa is that they don’t have a dependable #6 and #7 heading into the postseason. At Nuttycombe, Tulsa’s #6 finished 183rd and their #7 was 212nd. If one person in their top five falters, there is no one there to pick up the slack. AAC's will be the Golden Hurricanes chance to focus on finding a way to clean up those final two spots. Temple was runner-up last fall at the AAC Championships and will most likely take the same spot this fall. Temple has seen a 3rd place finish at the Iona Meet of Champions and a 1st place finish at Penn State National Open so far this season. Zach Seiger, Kristian Holm Jensen, Harry Powell, and Kevin Lapansky are four solid runners who will all help lead Temple to a strong finish. Aside from teams, there is an individual to watch out for and that is Cincinnati’s Aaron Bienenfeld. Bienenfeld placed 1st at Pre-Nationals in the “B” Race, winning easily by 42 seconds. Before Pre-Nationals, Bienenfeld won the Rhodes College Cross Country Invite, so he could try to make it three for three at the AAC in terms of wins this Friday. Women The Shockers of Wichita State should be crowned the team champions in Memphis, Tennessee. Winny Koskei will lead the team and will be supported by Rebekah Topham. Topham has had a bit of a rocky season thus far, but the conference meet will give her a chance to prove her All-American honors on the track were not just a one-time deal. Koskei is by far the favorite to win the AAC title. In their two big meets this fall, Koskei has finished 13th (Bill Dellinger) and 7th (Pre-Nationals). Her 7th place finish at Pre-Nationals is far more stellar when you look at the competition she pulled away from in that race. Koskei was an All-American last fall and is on track to repeat that honor this season. Caitlin Klopfer of Tulsa is one to look for near the front of this race after placing 36th at Nuttycombe the other week. Last fall, Klopfer was 6th at AAC's before earning All-Region honors. Klopfer is already ahead of where she finished last season and could challenge for a top three finish at AAC's. Connecticut’s Mia Nahom, the AAC’s 9th place finisher in 2018, placed 2nd at the Princeton Cross Country Invite a few weeks ago. Nahom has steadily improved this fall and that is very apparent based off of her new personal best at Paul Short. She ran 27 seconds faster this fall and should be near the front of this AAC Championship field on Friday. Mid-American Conference Men It will be a race for the MAC team title on the men’s side. No one team is a clear favorite as there are three programs to keep an eye on: Miami (OH), Eastern Michigan, and Akron. Miami (OH) is the reigning team champion, but they are without Christopher and Sean Torpy this season. Eastern Michigan has a solid pack and if they can keep each other close, the team could come away with the title. Akron was the top team at the All-Ohio XC Championship and looks like a legitimate contender to come out on top this weekend. At the NIU Huskie Classic, Toledo’s Jacob Harris won the race over Kent State’s Clark Bookman. Zachary Sleeman and Mark Beckmann, both of Central Michigan, were also in the race and these two could challenge for the win. Caleb Covell of Buffalo and Migliozzi of Akron are two other individuals to watch in this race. Those two men finished 3rd (Covell) and 4th (Migliozzi) at the Penn State National Open. Overall, the team and individual races are wide open in the Mid-American Conference. Women Eastern Michigan University has won the Mid-American Conference title since 2015, but there could be a new champion this fall. The women of Northern Illinois University have been on a roll this season and have beaten each MAC school they have competed against so far this season. At the NIU Huskie Classic, NIU hosted three other MAC schools and won the meet with a mere 32 points. A little over a month later, NIU competed against three more MAC schools at Pre-Nationals and came out on top once again, placing 27th compared to 31st (Toledo), 33rd (EMU), and 35th (Miami of OH). Northern Illinois is led by Ashley Tutt who has won three of the four meets the Huskies have competed in this fall. Recently at Pre-Nationals, Tutt finished 17th in a deep individual field and is the favorite to win the conference individual title. Tutt has earned All-Regional honors over the past two years and looks to be fighting for a third honor this fall (as well as a qualification to Nationals). Behind Tutt are Mackenzie Callahan, Ericka Hibser, and Vivian Overbeck who have packed together well throughout the season. They will be the engine that pushes the Huskies towards a conference win. Racing against Tutt for the individual title will be EMU’s Natalie Cizmas who was only seven seconds behind Tutt at Pre-Nationals. Mackenzie Andrews of Akron, Emily Shelton of Central Michigan, and Emily Akin of Miami (OH) will be three more runners near the front of the lead pack. Those four runners, plus the NIU four, will keep this race very competitive in DeKalb, Illinois this weekend.