NCAA D1 Cross Country Championships 2013

The long run for home in Terre Haute and Abbey D'Agostino

Nov 20, 2013 by FloTrack Staff

The long run for home in Terre Haute isn’t just roughly 600m. And we know - that’s already an unfairly long finish to begin with. It’s longer mentally because it’s barren, flat, and totally visible finish. It’s completely honest.

When you come off that final turn in the far corner, you have to wonder if it’s just a tiny bit evil for the runners. Think about it - you’ve been waiting a whole year, maybe four whole years to make that turn in the lead. When you do, there’s only one thing left to think about. It isn’t “Did I get enough sleep?” or “Should I eat this burrito,” it’s “I really hope I time this kick to perfection.” Because in that barren, flat, and wide-open 600m stretch, there’s no second chances for a national title.

Whether or not you believe in a divine power, everyone gets a little religious in those final meters.

The last three years, the finish in the women’s race has been spectacular. We could describe to you who’s been in those small packs in the final stretch, but we’d rather just show you in pictures.

2012 (We know this was in Louisville, but the finish was similar)

2011

2010

Two common trends: (1) when there’s just daylight and nicely manicured grass between you and the finish line, everyone thinks they have a shot to win and (2) Abbey D’Agostino is literally inching towards first.

Seemingly coming out of nowhere two years ago, D’Agostino is primed for a title this year. After her unbelievable double indoors and a dominant 5k win outdoors, a win this Saturday would cap off a nice little string of big performances on the national stage.

D’Agostino is going to win. Yes, it’s going to be cold and yes, it’s going to be insanely muddy. We know that. But barring illness or injury, D’Agostino is finally going to win a fall title.

But due to those conditions, we don’t think the race will be as fast as in previous years. If that’s the case, then who’s going to be in that lonely, but hopeful pack?

Abbey D’Agostino (Dartmouth)
No question here. It’s going to be an even sweeter win when she turns around and sees the rest of the Dartmouth squad roll in.

Race	Time	Place
NCAA Division I Northeast Region Cross Country Championships	19:48.3	1
Ivy League Cross Country Championships	19:40.8	1
Wisconsin adidas Invitational	19:31.0	1
Lehigh's Paul Short Run	19:43.2	1
Dartmouth Cross Country Invitational	20:12.3	1

Emma Bates (Boise State)
The last time in Terre Haute, she took the narrow win. She needed it, too.

She gave her mission statement after the West Regional, too.

Bates told Flotrack that after losing to a high school stud (who we’ll have a Workout Wednesday with later this season... spoiler alert) at Bill Dellinger, she needed a win at Pre-Nationals to give her the faith that she could challenge for the title when she would make her return trip to Terre Haute.

We appreciate the honesty. Do you know how many times someone tells us that they “want to run to my potential, LOL”? The girl’s got gumption and we like it.

Race	Time	Place
NCAA Division I West Region Cross Country Championships	19:10.6	1
Mountain West Cross Country Championships	20:48.2	1
Pre-National Invitational	20:09.1	1
Bill Dellinger Invitational	16:34.9	2
Utah Open XC Meet	14:11.0	1

Marielle Hall (Texas)
No Austin, TX bias here. While Hall was very quiet at the beginning of the season, she’s emerged as the front-running contender that we’ve seen glimpses of the past few seasons. Her solo runs at Big 12s and the South Central Regional were impressive and we’d like to see what she’s capable of when she gets some competition.

We were tempted to slot Providence’s Emily Sisson in this spot since she beat Hall at Wisconsin, but we think the last few weeks have been better for the Texas senior.

Race	Time	Place
NCAA Division I South Central Region Cross Country Championships	19:40.6	1
Big 12 Cross Country Championships	19:38.2	1
Wisconsin adidas Invitational	19:46.0	3
Texas Invitational Cross Country Meet	17:43.4	6

Aisling Cuffe (Stanford)
After seeing Cuffe make a run for it at Pre-Nationals, we picked her to take the crown at Pac-12s. Cuffe returned the favor and did indeed take the win in Louisville, CO.

Though she did take a knock or two at the West Regional (losing to Bates and ASU’s Shelby Houlihan), Cuffe knows Terre Haute well and will bounce back.

Race	Time	Place
NCAA Division I West Region Cross Country Championships	19:14.1	3
Pac-12 Cross Country Championships	21:04.0	1
Pre-National Invitational	20:10.7	2
Stanford Cross Country Invitational	20:59.8	2
San Francisco Cross Country Invitational	17:44.9	3

The Dark Horse - Shelby Houlihan (Arizona State)

A solid run at Wisconsin (behind Hall), a tough run at Pac-12s (at altitude), and a huge run at the West Regional (second behind Bates) makes Houlihan our official Dark Horse pick.

But it’s not just her efforts that garner her this title. Again, because of the conditions, we like to think that Houlihan’s toughness will come into play. Plus, if it’s slow, how can you count out a miler?

Race	Time	Place
NCAA Division I West Region Cross Country Championships	19:13.5	2
Pac-12 Cross Country Championships	21:19.0	4
Wisconsin adidas Invitational	19:52.0	4
Roy Griak Invitational	20:35.5	1

We could have easily covered all of our bases and listed a few more probables, but we wanted to keep the potential pack as small as small. This Saturday morning, we'll see who has confidence to try and run away from the best women in the country.

But in the end, it'll be D'Agostino.