With Nuttycombe and the Cowboy Jamboree now in the books, the latest College XC Rankings look quite different from a few weeks ago, as a pair of Oklahoma State Cowgirls jumped from unranked to the top three in the women’s individual rankings after a late-race surge in Stillwater.
At the same time, Florida jumped 18 spots, and West Virginia firmly planted itself in the national title conversation following big days in Madison.
After finishing seventh at the 2024 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, Billah Jepkirui finished 85th in last year’s edition. In the lone race of her senior campaign, Jepkirui has already made it clear that she has no intention of missing out on a medal this time around.
A few weeks ago at the Cowboy Jamboree, Jepkirui laid down one of the nastiest kicks we’ve ever seen over the last kilometer, taking down NCAA record holder Jane Hedengren (BYU) and shattering the previous course record in her 19:24.4 win. Fellow Cowgirl Maureen Cherotich joined her in the late-race kick, finishing runner-up in 19:28.6.
Their efforts moved them from unranked to the No. 1 and No. 3 spots in this season’s latest batch of College XC Rankings, while Hedengren splits them up at No. 2.
Hedengren has only raced twice during her sophomore campaign, winning the UVU XC Invite in 15:08 (3 Mile) and finishing third in Stillwater. Her weekend plans could result in her taking the No. 1 spot in the next set of rankings, but that depends on how she fares in BYU’s heavyweight bout against top-ranked NC State at Pre-Nationals.
Iowa State’s Mercyline Kirwa and NC State’s Hannah Gapes round out the top five, with Kirwa falling from the No. 1 spot she once held to No. 4, while Gapes stayed put at No. 5.
Kirwa opened the year ranked No. 1, but with her 2026 debut still pending, the defending 10,000m champ will have to earn her spot back over the next couple of weeks.
Eastern Kentucky’s Brighter Jepchumba, Indiana’s Katy Zang, Florida’s Judy Chepkoech, and Iowa State’s Betty Kipkore all moved up a handful of spots after a strong stretch of racing, while New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei dropped seven spots to No. 10.
Jepchumba made the most of the first race of her sophomore year last month, running down Zang at the John McNichols Invitational to set a new course record of 19:14.0. Zang has arguably been even more electric on the grass, winning the Sam Bell Invitational (4k) and finishing runner-up in Terre Haute and at the Joe Piane Invitational.
Chepkoech and Kipkore took the top two spots at Nuttycombe less than a week ago, separated by just a tenth of a second after 6k of racing as the Gator took the win in 19:19.5 to Kipkore’s 19:19.6.
Kosgei finished 13th overall in 19:35.3 in the first race of her junior year. Fellow Lobos Marion Jepngetich and Mercy Kirarei sit right behind her at No. 11 and No. 12, with Jepngetich dropping seven spots while Kirarei surged 38 places after finishing third in Madison.
Joy Naukot, who led her Mountaineer teammates to a statement win last weekend, sits at No. 13, while Notre Dame’s Mary Bonner Dalton and Alabama’s Caren Kiplagat each slipped a single spot to No. 14 and No. 15.
Arkansas’ Isca Chelangat, Toledo’s Purity Chepkirui, Tennessee’s Mary Ogwoka, Iowa State’s Rosemary Longisa, and Alabama’s Cynthia Jemutai fill out the top 20.
While the top of the team rankings didn’t see as much chaos as the individual rankings, there was still plenty of movement inside the top 10, along with a new face in the top five.
Led by Naukot, West Virginia made it look too easy on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, winning 66-111-130 as they handily took down Florida and Northern Arizona.
Naukot was joined in the top 20 by Mercy Kinyanjui, Sheila Chepkirui, and Naomi Kemboi, as the quartet finished 5-6-11-19 in 19:22.6, 19:23.3, 19:26.3, and 19:40.5 to anchor a 19:31 team average over 6k.
Heading into last weekend, the Mountaineers were already the first team outside the top five, but they’ve now officially shown they’re in the title hunt when the NCAA converges on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course next month.
The new-look top five still has NC State and BYU at No. 1 and No. 2, while Northern Arizona and New Mexico each moved back a spot to No. 4 and No. 5 with the Mountaineers moving ahead of them.
The biggest mover of the weekend was none other than the Florida Gators, who put both Judy Chepkoech and Claire Stegall in the top 10, followed by Desma Chepkoech in 12th.
The Gators ran their way to a fifth-place finish last month at the John McNichols Invitational with a partial squad, but turned the tables last weekend in Madison, comfortably beating all four teams that finished ahead of them in Terre Haute. Previously ranked No. 24, Will Palmer’s squad sits at No. 6 heading into the postseason.
Alabama stayed put at No. 7 after an off week, but can dictate their next ranking with a strong effort at the Crimson Classic this weekend in Tuscaloosa.
Colorado was the only other team to jump multiple spots into the top 10, climbing to No. 8 as the Buffaloes finished fifth, just nine points back of New Mexico.
Freshman Sheylah Kurgat led the way with her seventh-place finish in 19:24.3, while Adrianna Buitelaar and Abbey Mathison helped the cause with their 16th- and 21st-place finishes.
The Iowa State Cyclones fell six spots to No. 9, while the Oregon women jumped up a spot to No. 10 after a dominant win at the Bill Dellinger Invitational.
No. 11 Arkansas, No. 12 Notre Dame, No. 13 South Carolina, No. 14 Toledo, and No. 15 Washington State round out the top 15, with Toledo moving up nine spots after coming in at No. 23.
Oklahoma State was the biggest mover in the rankings, going from No. 32 to No. 16 in a matter of weeks.
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