By Parker Navarro - MileSplit

After all the previews, prognostications, and polls, the NCAA cross country season begins in earnest on Saturday at the John McNichols Invitational. The race puts a bunch of top-10 teams together in Terre Haute — a course they will see again in November for the NCAA Championships. 

It's usually hard to decipher how good a cross country team can be based on season openers. Various factors such as current training block, pre-planned effort level, and overall lack of fitness this far out from November can influence these "low-key meet" results. However, every few years a team does something out of the ordinary that can garner some attention.