NCAA XC Conference Preview: Valbymania Heads to SC, Big 12s Is Loaded, and Bye-Bye Pac-12

In college cross country, conference affiliation matters for exactly one week.

This week.

College cross country teams don’t have regular season conference matchups like their counterparts in most other sports. Nor does winning the conference guarantee a berth in the NCAA championship. If cross country is the only NCAA sport you follow, you may not have even realized that BYU is in the Big 12 this year. Why would you? Until now, nothing has changed.

But this week is conference week, and in college XC, it’s a pretty big deal. Not only are there trophies and bragging rights on the line, but teams are solidifying into their final forms. NCAAs are just three weeks away. If someone is banged up, it’s time to throw ’em out there and see what they can do or call it quits and end their season. It’s also time to decide whether to yank the redshirts from those prized freshmen (looking in your direction, Jerry Schumacher).

We won’t get to see all the best teams race each other like we did at Nuttycombe two weeks ago. But almost every collegiate runner of consequence will be in action this weekend, and the teams that didn’t race at Nuttycombe/Pre-Nats — Oklahoma State and the Oregon men — can’t sit this one out.

As we head into a critical weekend, here are the biggest storylines to follow.

PSA: We will be streaming a LIVE video version of the Friday 15 podcast after the meets on Friday at 3 p.m. ET. So be sure to come back to LetsRun.com to get our live reactions and analysis of all the action.

Friday races

ACC Championships — Will we see a full-strength NC State at last?

Apalachee Regional Park, Tallahassee, Fla. *Results *Streaming link (ACC network)
Men’s race 8:30 a.m. ET Friday, women’s race 9:30 a.m. ET Friday

Ranked teams
Men: #4 Syracuse, #11 North Carolina, #14 Notre Dame, #16 Virginia, #20 Wake Forest
Women: #2 NC State, #8 Notre Dame, #10 Virginia, #28 Syracuse, #30 Duke

The men’s race at ACCs should be a battle with five ranked teams squaring off — the most of any men’s race in the country this weekend. A rejuvenated Syracuse team, with Chris Fox back as assistant coach, will begin as favorites after a third-place showing at Nuttycombe where the Orange’s 251 points easily outdistance North Carolina and Notre Dame (399 apiece).

Individually, reigning champ Carter Solomon of Notre Dame has not been the same guy this season and was only 66th at Nuttycombe. Instead, the battle should be between North Carolina’s Parker Wolfe and Wake Forest true freshman Rocky Hansen. It’s exceedingly rare for an American true freshman to win a Power 5 conference meet, but considering Hansen beat Wolfe by 1.8 seconds to be the top ACC finisher at Nuttycombe, it’s well within the realm of possibility.

On the women’s side, #2 NC State — winners of the last two national titles and last seven ACC titles — will begin as heavy favorites over #8 Notre Dame. Likewise, the Wolfpack’s Katelyn Tuohy will be expected to repeat as individual champion. The question is, who else lines up for NC State?

Four women on the NC State roster finished in the top 15 at NCAA XC last year, and given how well Northern Arizona ran at Nuttycombe two weeks ago, it is likely the Wolfpack will need all of them at NCAAs next month if they are to win a third straight national title. Tuohy and Kelsey Chmiel (3rd at Nuttycombe) are fit and rolling. But Sam Bush (15th at ’22 NCAAs) was sidelined by injury at the end of the 2023 track season and still hurt during the summer. In two races this fall, she finished 30th at the Joe Piane Invite at Notre Dame and DNF’d Nuttycombe. How much progress has she made in two weeks?

Amaris Tyynismaa, who was 3rd at NCAA XC in 2020 and 4th in the NCAA 5,000 in June, is the other star MIA so far this fall. Last month, NC State coach Laurie Henes told LetsRun that Tyynismaa had been dealing with an injury and would not open up until late in the season. It’s now late in the season. Whether Tyynismaa runs — and how close she can get to her best — will play a key role in the Wolfpack’s three-peat chances.

Pac-12 Championships — So long to the Pac-12, and does Jerry pull the redshirts?

Chambers Bay Regional Park, University Place, Wash. *Results *Streaming link (Pac-12 network)
Men’s race 1 p.m. ET Friday, women’s race 2 p.m. ET Friday

Ranked teams
Men: #9 Colorado, #25 Stanford
Women: #5 Stanford, #9 Oregon State, #14 Oregon, #19 Washington, #20 Colorado, #21 Utah

When Colorado and Utah joined the conference in 2011 to turn the Pac-10 into the Pac-12, it created a cross country monster. Between Colorado, Stanford, and Oregon, the Pac-12 had three of the sport’s traditional powers, with almost every other school fielding a competitive squad at some point in the 2010s. Annually, Pac-12s was one of, if not the most competitive conference meet in America.

But all of that will come crashing down next year as the realities of NCAA sports — which is to say, football TV money — are set to blow apart the conference. In August 2024, UCLA, Oregon, USC, and Washington will head to the Big 10. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah will depart for the Big 12. Cal and Stanford will go to the ACC. And wherever Oregon State and Washington State end up, it won’t resemble what was once the premier NCAA XC conference.

That means that Friday’s races represent the last huzzah for Pac-12 cross country, and unfortunately the meet coincides with a down year on the men’s side. Colorado is a top-10 team, but #25 Stanford has its worst squad for years while no other men’s squad is even ranked.

Birnbaum at NB Indoor Nationals last year

Still, the men’s race bears watching. Can a Stanford team that was ranked 4th in the preseason turn things around after finishing way back in 20th at Nuttycombe? And what about Oregon? Ducks coach Jerry Schumacher has three of the country’s best freshmen prospects in Simeon Birnbaum (3:37 1500, 8:34 2-mile), Connor Burns (3:58/8:34/13:37), and Archie Noakes (7:53/13:52). All three ran unattached at the Bill Dellinger Invite on September 22, but neither they nor anyone else on the men’s team has raced at all since. With the conference experiencing a down year, could Schumacher burn their redshirts and try to win the last-ever Pac-12 XC title? My boss Robert Johnson has been saying on our Track Talk podcast for weeks that’s exactly what is going to happen – we’ll find out tomorrow.

Individually, Stanford’s Ky Robinson is the favorite.

The women’s race will be one of the most competitive in America with five top-20 teams in action, led by #5 Stanford. The Cardinal were the best Pac-12 squad at Nuttycombe, finishing 4th overall. Oregon State (7th Nuttycombe) are their biggest challengers, led by individual title contender Kaylee Mitchell.

SEC Championships — Valbymania hits South Carolina

Charwood Golf Club, West Columbia, S.C. *Results *Streaming link (SEC network)
Men’s race 10:08 a.m. ET Friday, women’s race 10:50 a.m. ET Friday

Ranked teams
Men: #8 Arkansas, #13 Tennessee, #22 Alabama
Women: #7 Florida, #11 Arkansas, #13 Alabama, #18 Ole Miss, #23 Tennessee

Team-wise, it’s still hard to know what to make of the Arkansas men. They ran riot at Pre-Nats two weeks ago, but the next-highest-ranked team in that meet was #13 Tennessee…who are also the next-highest-ranked team at SECs this weekend. Considering Arkansas had four men in before Tennessee’s #2, the Razorbacks will be favored to win again on Friday, but we will have to wait until NCAAs to see how they stack up against the nation’s best.

On the women’s side, coach Will Palmer will be going for his second straight SEC title — but this time with Florida, after winning the crown with Alabama last year (Flomena Asekol, who was 7th last year for Alabama, followed Palmer to Florida). A team title would be the Gators’ first since 2012, and considering Florida was 5th at Wisconsin without running Amelia Mazza-Downie (22nd at ’22 NCAAs), they’ll be favored here. Arkansas, now in the post-Lance Harter era, is their biggest challenger after finishing 2nd at Pre-Nats under new coach Megan Elliott.

Individually, Florida’s Parker Valby is the heavy favorite after a commanding victory at Nuttycombe, but Alabama has a couple of stars of their own in Hilda Olemomoi (15:17 5k, 6th ’22 NCAA XC) and freshman Doris Lemngole (who beat NCAA XC 3rd placer Kelsey Chmiel to win the Joe Piane Invite at Notre Dame last month).

MB: SEC XC Championships 2023 Discussion Thread

Big 10 Championships — Is there a top 10 team lurking here?

Zimmer Championship Course, Madison, Wis. *Results *Streaming link (Big Ten network)
Men’s race 11:45 a.m. ET Friday, women’s race 12:45 p.m. ET Friday

Ranked teams
Men: #19 Michigan, #24 Wisconsin
Women: #15 Michigan State, #22 Wisconsin

Few teams own a conference like the Wisconsin men own the Big 10. Last year in Ann Arbor, the Badgers won their fifth straight team title — and their 53rd overall, a truly staggering number. In each of the last two years, Wisconsin has run their best race of the season at Big 10s — which means they have not run their best race of the season at NCAAs.

That is something coach Mick Byrne is hoping to change in 2023. When LetsRun reached out to ask why two-time Big 10 champ Bob Liking did not race at Nuttycombe two weeks ago — a decision that contributed to the Badgers’ 22nd-place finish — Byrne said he is playing the long game this year.

“Same reason why we didn’t run Adam Spencer, Micah Wilson, & Josh Truchon,” Byrne wrote in a text message. “We want to be better in November.”

That performance at Nuttycombe sent Wisconsin tumbling from 4th to 24th in the coaches’ poll, but they’ll get a chance on Friday to move up at Big 10s, which they are hosting on their home course. If Byrne is to be believed, we may not see the dominant Badgers performance of the last two years, where they scored 25 and 27 points to smash the competition — the big goal is NCAAs, after all. But if Spencer (a 3:31 1500 man on the track), Wilson, and Truchon run on Friday, Wisconsin will have a good chance to turn the tables on Michigan, who were the top Big 10 men’s team at Nuttycombe in 15th.

On the women’s side, #15 Michigan State is favored to win its second straight title with #22 Wisconsin the only other ranked team in the field.

MB: Big 10 
MB: What is going on with Bob Liking??

Saturday races

Big 12 Championships — BYU’s addition makes this the best meet of the weekend

ISU Cross Country Course, Ames, Iowa *Results *Streaming link (ESPN +)
Men’s race 11 a.m. ET Saturday, women’s race 12 p.m. ET Saturday

Ranked teams
Men: #2 Oklahoma State, #3 BYU, #6 Texas, #17 Iowa State
Women: #4 BYU, #6 Oklahoma State, #17 Iowa State

In each of the last five years, Brigham Young has swept the men’s and women’s team titles in the West Coast Conference, never scoring more than 30 points. This year, instead of a trip to Malibu for WCCs (Saturday forecast: high of 70 degrees and sunny), they get to go to Ames, Iowa (Saturday forecast: high of 39).

That’s a downgrade for parents flying out to support the team but a serious upgrade for fans of college cross country. Instead of BYU waltzing to a pair of conference titles, they will have to scratch and claw against Oklahoma State, which has swept the men’s and women’s titles at the last two Big 12 meets.

“It’s kind of nice that they’re so good because they’re the one with the target on them and we’re the new guys on the block trying to do well,” said BYU coach Ed Eyestone.

OK State’s fearsome foursome: Alex Maier, Fouad Messaoudi, Denis Kipngetich, & Brian Musau (Courtesy Oklahoma State XC/T&F)

The men’s race is stacked up top. Between #2 OK State, #3 BYU, and #6 Texas, half of the top six teams in the country will be in action in Ames. OK State will be favored, but can the Cowboys make a statement after staying home to run an intrasquad meet instead of running Nuttycombe or Pre-Nats? Back on September 23, OK State beat Texas at the Cowboy Jamboree, 26-32. And that was without Alex Maier and Fouad Messaoudi, both of whom finished in the top 12 at NCAAs last year. Neither has raced yet this fall, but presumably that will change on Saturday. What will they look like?

The OK State women are an enigma, too. Last year, they finished 4th at NCAAs, and most of that roster returned this fall. But they haven’t raced anyone good this fall, and the team’s top runner, 2022 NCAA 3k champ Taylor Roe, hasn’t raced at all. BYU, meanwhile, is coming off a big win at Pre-Nats, led by individual champion Carmen Alder. For both teams, this is a big test.

Individually, Roe and Alder should battle it out with OK State’s Billah Jepkirui, who won the Cowboy Jamboree in September. On the men’s side, OK State has multiple individual title contenders, including Maier, Messaoudi, and Denis Kipngetich with Kansas’ Chandler Gibbens — the winner at Notre Dame in September — also in contention.

Ivy League Heptagonal Championships — Harvard men seek to end 50-year drought

Franklin Park, Boston, Mass. *Results *Streaming link (ESPN+)
Women’s race 11 a.m. ET Saturday, men’s race 12 p.m. ET Saturday

Ranked teams
Men: #7 Harvard, #15 Princeton
Women: #26 Harvard

Okay, so Heps isn’t a Power 5 conference, but it’s near and dear to LetsRun’s heart and this year’s meet has a few intriguing storylines. First of all, the venue. For many, many years, Heps was held at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. That tradition was one of the things that made the meet great as whether you ran in the Heps in 1960 or 2020, you could compare your times at conference, but in 2011 VCP began alternating with Princeton as host and now the meet has expanded to Boston’s Franklin Park. Ridiculous.

And in a strange twist of fate, the northernmost Heps XC ever will be one of the hottest as the forecast calls for a high of 79 degrees in Boston on Saturday — almost as hot as the ACC Championships in Tallahassee.

Photo by Tim Boyle

The competition is also among the strongest the conference has ever seen. Harvard’s Graham Blanks is the individual favorite after winning the Nuttycombe Invitational two weeks ago. Blanks is also hoping to lead Harvard to its first men’s team title since 1972.

Harvard enters this weekend ranked #7 in the country, the best ranking by a Heps team since at least 1995, which is when the USTFCCCA’s data archive begins. Standing in their way: #15 Princeton, the two-time defending champions. In the last two years, Harvard has finished well above Princeton at NCAAs — the Crimson finished 12th in 2021 and 17th in 2022 while the Tigers were 23rd in 2021 and 30th in 2022. But NCAAs is a much bigger meet, where Harvard gets an edge from its stars like Blanks and Acer Iverson. Heps runs more like a dual meet between Harvard and Princeton, which places a greater emphasis on depth.

The good news for Harvard is they are deep this year as well. While Princeton, who finished 12th at Nuttycombe, had a better #4 at that meet, Harvard had a better #5. All the pieces are in place for Harvard to end its drought, and on its de facto home course, no less. But Princeton will not go down easy.

On the women’s side, #26 Harvard is the only ranked team and no other schools are even receiving votes in the most recent USTFCCCA poll. NCAA 1500 champion Maia Ramsden, who was 6th at Nuttycombe, is the big favorite to win the individual title.

MB: Ivy League HepsXC 2023 – 10/28, Franklin Park (Boston MA)

We will be recording a live video show to react to the meets on Friday. So come back and get our analysis live on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.

Discuss this weekend’s action on the LetsRun.com messageboard:

MB: SEC XC Championships 2023 Discussion Thread
MB: Ivy League HepsXC 2023 – 10/28, Franklin Park (Boston MA)
MB: Big 10 
MB: What is going on with Bob Liking??