Three Top-Four Ranked Women's Teams To Clash At Notre Dame

Three Top-Four Ranked Women's Teams To Clash At Notre Dame

UPDATE, September 30, 10:12AM: The Wisconsin men's and women's teams have pulled out of the Joe Piane Notre Dame Cross Country Invitational due to illness,

Sep 29, 2016 by Meg Bellino
Three Top-Four Ranked Women's Teams To Clash At Notre Dame
UPDATE, September 30, 10:12AM: The Wisconsin men's and women's teams have pulled out of the Joe Piane Notre Dame Cross Country Invitational due to illness, according to Head Coach Mick Byrne. Seems like we won't see how good the No. 9 Badger men are for two more weeks.

--


The Joe Piane Notre Dame Cross Country Invitational takes place on Friday, September 30 in South Bend, Indiana. Ten Saucony Flo50 ranked teams will get their first taste of real competition starting at 2:00 PM EST.

Saucony Flo50 Women's Team Rankings | Saucony Flo50 Men's Team Rankings | FloTrack Rankings Hub

Women's Blue Race: Three Of The Top Four Teams To Clash In South Bend


When:
Friday, 2:00PM EST
Who: No. 2 Providence, No. 3 NC State, No. 4 New Mexico, No. 14 Notre Dame, No. 23 Weber State, Cal, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin
Why: Major. Kolas. Points.

This is the third-best cross country meet for NCAA women during the regular season, only behind the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invite and adidas Pre-Nationals. That's because five ranked teams, including three top-five squads, will toe the line in South Bend on Friday afternoon.

Ray Treacy's Providence team has raced twice this season, but is yet to race returning All-Americans Catarina Rocha and No. 22 Samantha Jones. It isn't clear if either will toe the line on Friday, but the group of No. 16 Sarah Collins, transfer Millie Paladino, freshman Abbey Wheeler, and returners Katie Lembo and Brianna Ilarda have been racing well and may be enough for the Friars to contend with No. 1 Colorado later this fall.

No. 3 NC State and No. 4 New Mexico are more unknown. The Wolfpack put five finishers across the line in fourth through eighth place at their home adidas XC Challenge on September 16. Led by All American Erika Kemp, 35 seconds separated the group and the Frazier sisters weren't even included. Wesley and Ryen were both banged up last year and will likely not race this weekend, but whatever the team does in South Bend will give us a glimpse at deep this Wolfpack team could be come November.



New Mexico is another story. No. 4 Alice Wright and No. 12 Calli Thackery return for the Lobos, but they're basically a new team after that. Sophie Conner had a tremendous track season but was nonexistent in the Lobo lineup when they won NCAAs. They lost Rhona Auckland to injury and are forced to sit out Liberty transfer Ednah Kurgat, who finished 12th in the NCAA last fall (Second at Pre-Nats, too!). The competitive field at Notre Dame will be an opportunity for the Lobos' 3-5 runners to shine.

Additionally, the depth of this race gives teams further down the totem pole a chance to steal some Kolas points. No. 14 Notre Dame should debut No. 5 Anna Rohrer, while No. 23 Weber State will need to have a strong showing to get out of the Mountain region (i.e., Colorado and New Mexico) in November. If unranked Cal, North Carolina, Texas, or Wisconsin beat any of the teams listed above, they're one step closer to Terre Haute birth come November.

Men's Blue Race: How Good Are Ole Miss, UTEP, And Wisconsin?


What: Men's Blue Race
When: Friday, 2:45PM EST
Who: No. 9 Wisconsin, No. 11 Eastern Kentucky, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 20 UTEP, No. 22 Washington State, Eastern Michigan, Illinois, NC State, New Mexico, Notre Dame, Texas
Why: Last year at this meet, we learned just how good No. 9 Jonah Koech was. On his biggest NCAA stage yet at the time, he finished within a half a second of NCAA champion teammate Anthony Rotich and Big Ten champ Matt McClintock. Rotich has moved on, but this will be the season debut for sophomore Koech, who finished 11th in Louisville last fall.

No. 9 Wisconsin is slated to compete, and this could be the first time we see a full-strength Badger squad before it hosts the Nuttycombe Invitational on October 14. They ran their aces No. 10 Morgan McDonald and No. 8 Malachy Schrobilgen at the Oz Memorial at the beginning of the month and are aiming to make it back to Terre Haute after failing to qualify last fall--the program's first time not making nationals in 44 seasons. With the way that Michigan, Michigan State, and Illinois looked last weekend at Roy Griak, Wisconsin is looking better and better in the Big Ten.

No. 11 Eastern Kentucky looked good at the Kentucky Bluegrass Invite, with a 20-second spread between its 1-5 and this will be the season debut for most of No. 13 Ole Miss. The Rebels finished first through ninth at their early season home invite, including placing seven within a second of each other. 

Teams like Eastern Michigan, Illinois, New Mexico, and Texas will need to defeat top ranked squads if they want to get out of their respective NCAA regionals. Eastern Michigan has been one spot away from qualifying out of the Great Lakes the past two seasons. Illinois, after finishing runner-up at the 2015 Big Ten Championship, fell apart in the Midwest region. Taking down team a team like Ole Miss, who won't have a difficult time placing top two in the South, would be a good thing for the Eastern Michigan Eagles, who need to get past a majority of Big Ten schools before landing in Terre Haute.