D’AGOSTINO CRUSHES THE FIELD AT THE DARTMOUTH INVITE
After finishing second at last year’s NCAA Division I Cross-Country Championship, Dartmouth’s Abbey D’Agostino is the favorite to win her first NCAA cross-country title. On Saturday, the senior captured her third consecutive victory at the Dartmouth Invitational’s six-kilometer race in 20:12.34.

Junior Tara Dooley of Bentley College finished in second place 52 second behind D’Agostino. In 2012, D’Agostino’s margin of victory was just 35 seconds over second place finisher Lauren Sara of Connecticut.

The Huskies did not race in Hanover this weekend, but the competition was still tough as Georgetown took the team women’s team title with 46 points. The Hoyas finished 12th at last year’s national championship. Early on in the race, D’Agostino sat behind the lead pack of Georgetown runners before picking up the pace after a mile and a half.

“[Abbey] has only done like two workouts, so this was the first time that she’s put spikes on or really run hard since U.S. Champs,” head coach Mark Coogan told a New England running blog. “I was just glad to see her out here feeling good. It’s her senior year and she wanted to run at home, so it’s pretty exciting.”



D’Agostino missed qualifying for the five-kilometer national team headed to the IAAF World Championships in Moscow as she placed sixth at the U.S. Championships in June. She did not compete in any European meets over the summer, but has maintained her mileage around 70 miles per week.

Classes begin at Dartmouth on Monday and it will be three weeks until D’Agostino returns to action at the Paul Short Invitational. 

KENNEDY KITHUKA WINS BY MORE
Not to be outdone by D’Agostino’s phenomenal start on the women’s side, last year’s NCAA men’s champion returned to action at the Texas Tech Open. Kennedy Kithuka won the men’s 8,000-meter race in 24:09.00, which was 1:27 faster than the second place finisher.

The senior was tabbed the Big 12 Men’s Cross Country runner of the week after winning the Texas/New Mexico State Duel by more than 40 seconds. Another week with the honor looks to be on the way.

Unlike D’Agostino, Kithuka was impatient with the beginning of his race. After 800-meters, he passed the field and began to build upon his lead with each mile.

Kithuka remains unbeaten in his cross country career as a Red Raider and was recently honored for last year’s NCAA title at a Texas Tech football game in front of 50,000 fans.

Seven wins in seven races was the formula for success in 2012. Kithuka’s biggest threat, Lawi Lalang of Arizona, will not be racing during the first few weeks of the season after a summer of racing in the European circuit. The two are destined for a rematch of last year’s championship at this year’s contest in Terre Haute on Nov. 23.

Kithuka will compete next at the Cowboy Jamboree on September 28 hosted by Oklahoma State. 

SARAH BAXTER DOMINATES ON THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
From 11:00.20 to 10:43.12, Simi Valley High School senior Sarah Baxter dropped her course record at the Fastback Shootout to open her season on Saturday. The two-time defending Nike Cross-Country National Champion won the 1.92 mile race by 55 seconds on the Mt. SAC course.

Mary Cain’s cross country plans are still in the works, but a Nike Cross-Country Nationals rematch on December 7 in Portland may not be out of the question. Last year, Baxter won the race in 19:17 due to muddy conditions as Cain placed second.