vipam, you are showing your ignorance here. We KNOW that he was running for the team, because he and his teammates and his coach have all told us on several occasions what the team tactics were this year. Last year, they let Derrick go for the title and this year he ran every single race with Riley and Heath, finishing together each time until nationals where Heath fell back. So, we know what the tactic was and the only question is whether it was a good one. While he could have reduced Stanford's total by a maximum of, I think, two points (Korir and Puskedra both counted for team, but not Sambu or Chelanga, right?) by a higher finish, that might have been at the cost of Riley's high placing. If he had gone out on his own, maybe Riley would have fallen back. It is proven that running with a teammate improves the slower teammate. So, the tactic was also justified. Nonetheless, Derrick finished 5th, an impressive achievement and I'm sure that he would have gotten second or third if he had been racing for the win.
african train or whatever you call yourself, there is no mistake that any one of dozens of african runners in the age range COULD come to the NCAA's and win every year, but the fact is that Rupp beat Chelanga, McDougal won NCAA XC over Rupp, Ritz beat Hall, Goucher won, BK won, and numerous other non-African runners have won NCAA's in the last thirty plus years.