Keen observers of NCAA cross country might have noticed a strange result from last weekend’s Louisville Classic. 

Middle Tennessee State, the 14th-ranked team in the nation pre-season, finished 28th out of 29 teams. Absent from the results were All-Americans Kigen Chemadi and Jacob Choge. In fact, the entire projected top four for the Blue Raiders did not race. 

Holding out the top four runners for September meet isn’t unheard of in NCAA cross country, but for Middle Tennessee State, it signaled part of a larger strategy.

Head coach Keith Vroman has redshirted Chemadi and Choge, along with Thobile Mosito and Brian Rono, for the 2018 season in hopes of strengthening the team for a run at a top-ten finish in 2019. 

Chemadi is a sub-14-minute 5000m runner who placed 23rd at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Choge has a personal best of 13:39 and took 34th last fall. And it's Mosito and Rono's first year at the school; Mosito comes from Cloud County Community College where he won three junior college titles, and Rono is a highly touted freshman from Kenya.  

Toby Mosito has officially signed with Middle Tennessee State!!
- XC 2x All American
-TRACK 7x All American
- indoor 5k Champion
He has done impressively every distance event from the 800m - 10k. We wish you the best in your future endeavors!!@mtsu @ccccsports #CloudProud ⚡? pic.twitter.com/VVlFxoJOIO

— CloudXCTF (@CloudXCTF) April 12, 2018

While the scale might be larger than normal, the idea of strategic redshirting has some high-profile examples. 

Northern Arizona redshirted Futsum Zeinasellassie in 2015 to help the Lumberjacks set up a successful title run in 2016. Wisconsin had a similar approach with Morgan McDonald last fall, with hopes of maximizing the Badgers’ chances for a strong showing on their home course this November. 

NCAA XC News: 2014 3rd place finisher Futsum Zienasellassie will redshirt 2015 XC season: http://t.co/pR7888OYCI pic.twitter.com/FQbLoO2GQe

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) September 21, 2015

To round out their squad, and bolster their chances at a top-10 finish, Middle Tennessee State will need a fifth runner. Vroman now has a year to find that missing piece and is currently recruiting Kenyan athletes to pair with his strong first four.