Boise State’s Bates Leads A Big Group of Returners in Division I Women’s Cross Country

Boise State’s Bates Leads A Big Group of Returners in Division I Women’s Cross Country

By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA
August 22, 2014

Note: this preview is NOT predictive, but simply an overview of the top returners.
NEW ORLEANS – The NCAA Division I women’s cross country throne is empty. With the graduation of 2013 individual champion Abbey D’Agostino of Dartmouth, the top spot is up for grabs.
There is certainly no shortage of women ready to make a run at it.
Look Who’s Back
Returning 2013 All-Americans
Place Name School
2 Bates, Emma Boise State
3 Avery, Kate Iona
4 Cuffe, Aisling Stanford
6 Quigley, Colleen Florida State
8 Houlihan, Shelby Arizona State
10 Santisteban, Kelsey California
12 Silva, Sammy New Mexico
17 Westphal, Liv Boston College
20 Henderson, Teghan Chattanooga
22 Corbin, Nicci Arizona
23 Juodeskaite, Monika Oklahoma State
25 LeHardy, Annie North Carolina
26 Olson, Mara Butler
28 Scott, Dominique Arkansas
30 Finn, Erin Michigan
31 Giordano, Dana Dartmouth
32 Nelson, Crystal Iowa State
34 Curham, Megan Princeton
35 Murphy, Emma-Lisa Wisconsin
36 Thompson, Joanna North Carolina St.
37 Brown, Bethanie Iowa State
38 Frerichs, Courtney UMKC
39 Collins, Sarah Providence
40 Borchers, Katie Ohio State
24 – All-Americans Returning
66 – Top-100 Finishers Returning
(Based on listed 2013 eligibility)
Of the 40 All-Americans from a year ago, as many as 24 will be back in the hunt for the individual win this year – including six of the top 10 finishers – along with several women who didn’t fare quite as well on the sloppy LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind., but have since logged some impressive performances.
Not that the plot needs to thicken any more than that, but here it is anyway: of those six returning top-10 performers, five are seniors taking one last run at the crown.
Next in the line of succession, using the 2013 nationals results as a guideline, is Boise State senior Emma Bates. The Bronco ran side-by-side with D’Agostino until the late stages of the race, before ultimately falling three seconds short of the title.
She is coming off a strong track & field campaign that included a hard-fought national title at 10,000 meters over UAB’s Elinor Kirk, and the 10th-fastest time in collegiate history at 10,000 meters in 32:20.83 at Payton Jordan. For good measure she added a pair of fourth-place national showings outdoors at 5000 meters and indoors at 3000 meters.
The last XCrunner-up to win the title the next year? Set the Wayback Machine all the way back to… 2013 for D’Agostino. But before that, you have to go back another decade to Kim Smith of Providence in 2003, and then nearly another to the other three women who have accomplished the feat: Amy Skieresz of Arizona in 1995, Jennifer Rhines of Villanova in 1993, and the first to do it, Carole Zajac of Villanova in 1991 – before Bates was even born.
Elevated company, to say the least.
While Bates is the top returning finisher, no one led last year’s run through the mud longer than the woman she and D’Agostino overtook in the closing moments of the race: third-place finisher Kate Avery, now a junior at Iona. The Gael pushed the pace from the beginning and led by three seconds or more for a significant portion, succumbing to the finishing surges put on by D’Agostino and Bates.
While she didn’t quite have the same success as Bates on the track circuit (highlighted by the No. 8 all-time performance by a collegian indoors at 3000 meters in 8:56.20, and a first-team All-America showing outdoors at 5000 meters) she certainly finished it on a high note. Showing improved strength and stamina that bodes well for her this fall, she ran a personal-best 32.33.25 over 10,000 meters for a fourth-place finish at the Commonwealth Games as a late addition to England’s roster.
Returner Spotlight:
Shelby Houlihan, Arizona State

Q: What are your individual goals this year, and are they affected by the fact that you’re now a woman with a big target on your back after a superb 2013-14 in both cross country and track?
A: My individual goals for cross country are to win every race that I compete in and to win another National Title. I don’t feel affected by having a target on my back. I usually just focus on what I need to do and what I can control rather than worrying about my competitors.
Q: Perhaps no runner in the NCAA right now has your range to be able to compete at a championship level from 800 meters all the way through the cross country 6k (and probably beyond). What do you view as the biggest advantages that range provide you during the cross country season?
A: It is definitely an advantage for me to have the range that I have. My speed helps in the last part of the race because I have more foot speed than a lot of my competitors and have a better chance to out-kick them if it comes down to that. Also, being able to stay healthy and connecting training blocks from year to year has made me a lot stronger.
Q: You took the momentum from a great cross country season and transfered it onto the track for a great outdoor campaign, specifically, with NCAA and NACAC titles. What’s the key to keeping that momentum flowing back into this cross country season?
A: The biggest thing to keep the momentum going is to stay healthy. I’ve been able to stay healthy every year which has allowed me to gradually become stronger with each year. I really felt this strength during my outdoor track season with every race I ran and it has also given me more confidence in myself.
The strongest finisher of anyone in the top 10 last year, in terms of positioning? That would be Stanford senior Aisling Cuffe, the top returning two-time XC All-American who surged seven spots over the final two kilometers to finish fourth. Her strong finish was in contrast to the Pre-Nationals race on that same course just a month earlier in which, after a big move to take the lead on the final stretch, she was overtaken by Bates in the last 100 meters.
Her track campaign was superb with two national runner-up finishes in the indoor and outdoor 5000 meter races – beating D’Agostino to the line in the latter – along with a first-team All-America finish indoors at 3000 meters. Not only tactically strong on the track, she showed her wheels with a 15:11.13 outdoors over 5000 meters for the third-fastest time in collegiate history.
Another strong finisher from a year ago was Colleen Quigley of Florida State, now a senior. The two-time cross country All-American covered the final two kilometers faster than anyone not named D’Agostino, Bates or Cuffe, and moved up three spots to finish sixth as a result.
Her track season didn’t go the way she had hoped – she finished sixth nationally in the indoor mile but her outdoor season was cut short prior to the NCAA Championships – but a summer’s worth of recovery and preparation could put her back on the trajectory she showed as the fifth-fastest collegiate steeplechaser of all time back in 2013. More on her steeplechase competitors later.
Rounding out the top five returners is arguably the collegiate runner with the best range in Arizona State senior Shelby Houlihan. The Sun Devil was eighth a year ago, though she faded a bit in the final two kilometers to drop three spots, but she returns this year even more confident after a great track season (see sidebar).
It capped a breakthrough cross country season for the mid-distance runner that saw her win at Roy Griak and post top-four finishes at Wisconsin, Pac-12 and the West Region.
She carried that momentum into the winter and spring as she finished third in the indoor mile before claiming her first NCAA title with a 1500 meters crown. She then dropped down to 800 meters for the summer to make the USATF Outdoor Championships final and win the NACAC U-23 Championship. Time will tell if she can keep the momentum going as she upshifts back to the longer XC races.
Others with momentum to keep an eye on:
Cal senior Kelsey Santisteban, last year’s 10th-place finisher
Arkansas junior Dominique Scott, national runner-up at 3000 meters indoors (28th in XC)
Michigan sophomore Erin Finn, this summer’s NACAC champion at 5000 meters who made a name as a fearless frontrunner for herself in her freshman year (30th in XC)
Providence junior Sarah Collins, who is now the undisputed leader of the defending national champion Providence Friars (39th in XC, 10th in 2012)
Michgan State senior Leah O’Connor, the defending steeplechase champion and third-fastest collegiate steeplechaser in history (44th in XC)
Cal Poly junior Laura Hollander, who finished ninth in XC in 2012 but only 75th in 2013. Returns after a redshirted 2013-14 track season.