NCAA Cross Country Weekend Roundup

NCAA Cross Country Weekend Roundup

The best teams in the country were spread across six meets this weekend. The men's title race remains unclear, but the women's race is coming into focus.

Oct 2, 2016 by Dennis Young
NCAA Cross Country Weekend Roundup

Results Roundup

The best teams in the country were spread across six meets; links to each of those results below.

Chile Pepper Festival: No. 5 Arkansas men, No. 15 Arkansas women
Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite: No. 11 Eastern Kentucky, No. 13 Mississippi, No. 20 UTEP, No. 22 Washington State men; No. 2 Providence, No. 3 N.C. State, No. 4 New Mexico, No. 14 Notre Dame, No. 17 Weber State women
Paul Short Run: No. 6 Georgetown, No. 8 Iona men; No. 18 Georgetown women
Rocky Mountain Shootout: No. 7 Colorado men,  No. 1 Colorado women
Washington Invite: No. 4 Oregon, No. 14 Washington men; No. 5 Oregon, No. 7 Washington, No. 17 Harvard women
Rim Rock Farm Classic: No. 17 Indiana men,  No. 22 Kansas women

How the Saucony Flo50 Fared


Men

1. BYU: Off
2. Syracuse: Off
3. Stanford: Sat big guns at Stanford Invite
4. Oregon: Won at Washington Invite; 26-39-64 over unranked Colorado State and ​No. 15 Washington
5. Arkansas: Won at Chile Pepper; Andrew Ronoh is yet to debut
6. Georgetown: Second at Paul Short; Lost 34-115 to No. 8 Iona
7. Colorado: Rocky Mountain Shootout; Went 1-5 with a :36 spread
8. Iona: Won at Paul Short; 34-115 over No. 6 Georgetown
9. Wisconsin: Pulled out of Notre Dame w/illness
10. Northern Arizona: Off
11. Eastern Kentucky: Third at Notre Dame; Behind No. 13 Mississippi, No. 20 UTEP
12. Virginia: Off
13. Mississippi: Won at Notre Dame; Beat No. 20 UTEP 83-99, also beat No. 11 Eastern Kentucky
14. Washington: Third at Washington Invite; 26-39-64 behind No. 4 Oregon, unranked Colorado State
15. Portland: Sat varsity
16. Iowa State: Off
17. Indiana: Won at Rim Rock; 23-42 over Kansas
18. Boise State: Off
19. Oklahoma State​: Off
20. UTEP: Second at Notre Dame; Lost 83-99 to No. 13 Mississippi
21. Michigan: Off
22. Washington State: Seventh at Notre Dame; Behind No. 13 Mississippi, No. 20 UTEP, No. 11 Eastern Kentucky, and unranked Providence, Illinois, and Southern Utah
23. Michigan State: Off
24. Tulsa: Off
25. Campbell: Sat varsity

Women

1. Colorado: Rocky Mountain Shootout; Ran 4 of 11 best times in meet history
2. Providence: Won at Notre Dame; 117 points beating No. 3 NC State (149), Eastern Michigan (159), No. 4 New Mexico (166) 
3. North Carolina State: Second at Notre Dame; 149 points beating Eastern Michigan, No. 4 New Mexico
4. New Mexico: Fourth at Notre Dame; Behind No. 2 Providence, No. 3 NC State, unranked Eastern Michigan
5. Oregon: Second at Washington Invite; Lost to No. 7 Washington 24-57, beat No. 17 Harvard 57-78
6. Stanford: Won at Stanford Invite; 37-46 over Cal Poly with a mostly full squad
7. Washington: Won at Washington Invite; 24-57 over No. 5 Oregon
8. Portland: Sat varsity
9. Michigan State: Off
10. Boise State: Off
11. Penn State: Off
12. Michigan: Won at Louisville; 58-143 over Guelph
13. BYU: Off
14. Notre Dame: Eighth at Notre Dame; Behind four unranked teams
15. Arkansas: Won at Chile Pepper; 22-72 over Missouri
16. Oklahoma State: Off
17. Harvard: Third at Washington Invite; 24-57-78 behind No. 7 Washington, No. 5 Oregon
18. Georgetown: Second at Paul Short; 92-119 behind unranked Yale
19. Princeton: Sat runners in Paul Short Brown race
20. Iowa State: Off
21. San Francisco: Off
22. Kansas: Third at Rim Rock; 36-45-46 behind Indiana and Rice
23. Weber State: 17th at Notre Dame; Behind 12 unranked teams
24. SMU: Off
25. Syracuse: Off

Quick notes


-Stanford's Thomas Ratcliffe might be the best true freshman in the NCAA.

-The men's national championship race remains unclear. Right now, it looks like at least eight teams could win on the right day. But the women's race is coming into focus. Providence (with or without Catarina Rocha and Sam Jones), Colorado, N.C. State (with the Fraziers), and Washington are a cut above the rest of the country right now.

-Colorado State's men show the insane variability of men's college cross country. Just a week ago, they were seventh at Roy Griak behind two unranked teams. On Saturday, they finished only 13 points behind No. 5 Oregon and 25 ahead of No. 15 Washington.

-Oregon coach Andy Powell wasn't kidding about Edward Cheserek being in "the best shape of his life." Ches ran nine seconds faster Saturday than he did at the same meet last year.

-Villanova's Angel Piccirillo missed all of the outdoor season after finishing second in the mile at NCAA indoors. She came back in a big way Saturday with a dominant win at Paul Short. 

-The battle for the men's Division II title will be really, really good. Sydney Gidabuday of Adams State ran 13:36 and won the DII 5K as a freshman. 2015 champion Alfred Chelanga of Shorter is back. And 2015 runner-up Vincent Kiprop of Missouri Southern appears to have made a huge leap. Kiprop would have been Arkansas's No. 1 man Saturday at the Chile Pepper Festival by 30 seconds.