The top returner is Emma Bates but she will be challenged by Aisling Cuffe, Kate Avery and Shelby Houlihan up front. Can Cuffe break the Foot Locker curse? Can a freshman (Elise Cranny or Sarah Baxter) crack the top five for the first time since 2009? We sort through a wide-open women's field as just 6 of the top 16 from NCAAs last year are back in 2014.

It was a Washington State sweep at the tenth edition of Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Ore., as Alexa Efraimson and Kai Wilmot prevailed in 16:50.1 and 15:00, respectively. While Efraimson came from behind with a fierce kick in the girls race, Wilmot ran away from the field in the final mile of the boys contest.

Alexa Efraimson appeared to be dropped, but battled back with a great kick the final 400m to kick past Elise Cranny and Sarah Baxter to win. Baxter ended her high school XC career with her only loss as the Fayetteville-Manlius amazing streak of 7 national team titles ended with a runner-up finish to Wayzata.