Best cross country runners to never win NCAA cross country championship

Kevin Sullivan 4, 3, 8, 2

Allie Ostrander has gotta be up there for the womens side.

Dont remember why she missed 2016, maybe injury but she was 2nd, 4th, 6th the other 3 years.

Going back years ago, Marc Hunter was pretty solid. Marc is Drew Hunter’s dad.

Marc ran for Cleveland State after transferring from Kent State. His junior year he finished 4th and was the first American. Kenyans dominated that year taking 4 of the top 10 spots with a couple of Irishmen in the top 10 also. He was 6th his senior year and also repped the US at the World XC championships that year.

Um , ever heard of Jordan Hasay?

Marc’s other son Jacob Hunter was part of two NXN-winning teams and still competes for UVA

Isai Rodriguez

4th, 8th, 22nd, 8th

Me. Lots of talented runners never get that win.

Jenny Barringer (Simpson) of course.

2005 43rd
2006 2nd
2007 2nd
2009 163rd

Going into her senior year, she was the American record holder in 3000m steeplechase, 3rd fastest American ever at 1500m, and held multiple collegiate records from 1500, mile, 3000m steeplechase, and 5000m. And she of course panicked and blew up in that last collegiate race.

Wait, ur right! I actually forgot that Jordan came close and never won.

2009: 18th
2010: 3rd
2011: 2nd (by 0.6 of a second)
2012: 3rd (by 0.8 of a second)

Also Luke Puskedra was absolutely legendary for Oregon a little more than a decade ago (back when Oregon was really good at XC)

5th, 21st, 3rd, 6th

first year or two of his pro career were great too. How many Americans can say they got 5th at Chicago Marathon in their 3rd ever marathon? And his 2:10:24 is probably worth ~2:08:00 today with the shoes, which feels right, him and Mantz remind me of each other being a bit of grinding/endurance guys.

This is kind of cheating but without question Pat Porter never won an NCAA championship but he did win 8 straight US titles and 5 Top Ten finishes at Worlds.

Joe Klecker

Kenenisa Bekele also never won an NCAA championship.

Was he a US collegian? Porter was.

Alistair Cragg (3rd, 2nd, 8th)

Beat me to it. Bekele = 🐐

He'll be a freshman next year at OSU.

Yobes Ondieki (2, 3, 2) He won every other collegiate cross country race he ever ran and was later first man under 27:00 in 10,000.

Michael Musyoki (2, 6, 30, 2) He later won an Olympic bronze in the 10,000.