Collegiate Cross Country Weekend Recap

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National Team Scoring Summary (ATTACHED with D-I breakdowns as well)

By Region: Division I | Division II | Division III

By Conference: Division I | Division II | Division III

MEETS OF THE WEEK: Pre-National Invitational

PRE-NATIONAL INVITATIONAL (AT INDIANA STATE)

All Results | Flotrack Coverage

Top Teams

Men’s Blue Race: DI-#1 Stanford 43, DI-#18 Iona 127, DI-#15 Florida State 154 (35 teams)
Men’s White Race: DI-#16 Oklahoma 106, DI-#19 BYU 138, DI-#4 Colorado 140 (36 teams)
Women’s Blue Race: DI-#3 Florida State 115, DI-#6 Arizona 128, DI-#11 Iowa State 175 (38 teams)
Women’s White Race: DI-#5 Georgetown 100, DI-#9 Colorado 123, DI-#17 Stanford 125 (40 teams)

Great Day, Great Races at 2010 Indiana State Pre-National Invitational
source: Kevin Jenison, Indiana State

WOMEN’S BLUE RACE

Florida State and Arizona, two teams ranked in the top 10 of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings, battled it out in the Women’s 6K Blue Race with the third ranked Seminoles taking the team title with 115 points and the sixth ranked Wildcats second with 128. Iowa State, ranked 11th, was third (175) while 16th ranked Providence was fourth (231) and unranked Texas fifth (233).

Texas-El Paso’s Risper Kimaiyo was the individual winner with a time of 20:03.4 while Princeton’s Alex Banfich was second in 20:08.3, California’s Deborah Maier third in 20:19.3, Loyola-Marymount’s Tara Erdmann fourth in 20:27.4, and Iowa State’s Aliphine Tuliamuk fifth in 20:29.0. The second five was led by Providence’s Shelby Greany (20:29.3) in sixth followed by Florida State’s Amanda Winslow (20:32.8), Princeton’s Ashley Higginson (20:33.1), Michigan State’s Emily MacLeod (20:33.5), and Florida State’s Paswca Cheruiyot (20:34.8).

WOMEN’S WHITE RACE

Georgetown, Colorado, and Stanford had a tight fight for the top three spots in the Women’s 6K White Race with the fifth ranked Hoyas of Georgetown winning the team title with 100 points. The ninth ranked Buffaloes of Colorado held off the 17th ranked Cardinals of Stanford for second, Colorado scoring 123 points to Stanford’s 125. Stony Brook, ranked 12th in the USTFCCCA rankings, was fourth (216) while 26th ranked Minnesota was fifth (241).

Stony Brook’s Lucy Van Dalen was the race winner with a time of 20:08.1 with Colorado’s Laura Tremblay second at 20:10.1, Stanford’s Kathy Kroeger third in 20:12.0, North Carolina State’s Laura Hoer fourth in 20:13.2, and Georgetown’s Emily Jones fifth in 20:20.0. The second five was led by Minnesota’s Stephanie Price (20:25.2) in sixth followed by James Madison’s Alison Parris (20:26.1), Stony Brook’s Holly Van Dalen (20:27.1), Georgia’s Kristie Krueger (20:30.1), and UC-Santa Barbara’s Amanda Moreno (20:34.7).
MEN’S BLUE RACE

The top-ranked Stanford Cardinals ran away with the team title in the Men’s 8K Blue Race, scoring the top three individual spots enroute to a team total of 43 points. Iona, ranked 18th in the USTFCCCA rankings, was a distant second with 127 points while 15th ranked Florida State third with 154, fifth ranked Northern Arizona fourth at 192, and 12th ranked Princeton fifth with 196 points.

The Cardinals had the first 1-2-3 finish in the history of the Pre-National Invitational at Indiana State with Chris Derrick winning the individual title in 23:16.9, just edging teammate Elliott Heath, who was also timed in 23:16.9. Stanford’s Jake Riley was third in 23;17.1 Mississippi’s Barnabas Kirui broke the Stanford run with a fourth place finish in 23:29.3 while Northern Arizona’s Diego Estrada was fifth in 23:33.9. The second five was led by Princeton’s Donn Cabral (23:36.1) in sixth followed by California’s Michael Coe (23:37.1), William and Mary’s Chas Gillespie (23:43.2), Iona’s Leonard Korir (23:49.1), and Florida State’s Ciaran O’Lionaird (23;52.5).

MEN’S WHITE RACE

The Oklahoma Sooners, ranked 16 th in the USTFCCCA rankings, ran away with the team title in the Men’s 8K White race with 106 points. It was a tight battle for the next three spots with 19th ranked BYU holding on for a second place finish with 138 points, fourth ranked Colorado was third with 140, and eighth ranked Portland was fourth with 146. North Carolina State, ranked 13th, was fifth with 177 points.

NCAA defending champion and LaVern Gibson course record holder Samuel Chelanga of Liberty won the individual title with a time of 23:19.9, just off his record setting performance at the 2008 Pre-Nationals. North Carolina State’s Ryan Hill was second in 23:31.7 with Harvard’s Daniel Chenoweth third at 23:32.7, Portland’s Trevor Dunbar fourth in 23:365.8, and BYU’s Miles Batty was fifth in 23:42.4. The second five was led by Providence’s Lee Carey (23.47.2) followed by Colorado’s Joseph Bosshard (23:49.1), Portland’s Alfred Kipchumba (23:P54.4), Eastern Kentucky’s Soufiane Bouchikhi (23:54.5), and Western Kentucky’s Shadrack Kipchirchir (23:54.5).

WOMEN’S OPEN RACE

Iona’s Marion Joly-Trestault outkicked Georgetown’s Rachel Schneider in the final 1,000 meters to win the Women’s 6K Open race with a time of 21:43.9. Schneider was second in 21:47.7 just ahead of Arizona’s Erin Menefee who was third in 21:51.1. Washington’s Justine Johnson was fourth in 21:53.8 while Northern Arizona’s Rochelle Kanuho was fifth in 21:58.2

MEN’S OPEN RACE

Weber State’s Brett Hales won the Men’s 8K Open Race with a time of 24:23.5, just ahead of Stanford’s Andrew Berberick who was second in 24:29.0. Eastern Washington’s Kyle King came in third at 24:43.8 with North Carolina State’s Bobby Moldovan fourth in 24:44.8, and Georgetown’s James Grimes fifth in 24:47.7.

Stanford Men Win Pre-Nats, Women Take Third source: Stanford athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind.. - The Stanford cross country teams had a pair of top results on Saturday morning at the Pre-National Invitational. The Cardinal men put on a dominating performance in winning the Blue Race, while the Cardinal women took third in the White Race.

The No. 1 men’s team scored just 43 points to easily win the Blue Race, topping second place No. 18 Iona who had 127. The Stanford team time of 23:35.3 was also significantly faster than the winner of the men’s White Race, No. 16 Oklahoma. Overall, Stanford defeated eight ranked teams in its race alone.

"The men certainly did a great job," said head coach Jason Dunn. "I was really pleased with how they worked as a team most of the race."

The Stanford trio of Chris Derrick, Elliott Heath and Jacob Riley paced the field, finishing 1-2-3. Derrick took the title in a time of 23:16.9, but all three were together at the finish. Their closest competitor was Barnabus Kirui of Mississippi who placed fourth, 12 seconds behind the Stanford trio.

The Stanford group ran up front from the start, but did not stretch out the field until after 5,000 meters. From their Derrick, Heath and Riley slowly put time on the rest of the field, running as a group the whole way. (more)

Florida State Women Earn Win At Cross Country Pre-Nationals
source: Brandon Mellor, Florida State athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Florida State cross country teams had a pair of top results on Saturday morning at the Pre-National Invitational. The FSU women put on a dominating performance in winning their race while the men’s squad took third in their event.

Head coach Karen Harvey’s women’s team dominated in the 6k against some of the top programs in the entire nation. The No. 3-ranked Seminoles scored 115 points to get past second-place Arizona (128 points).

“Of course we are really pleased with today’s outcome but we have some major kinks in our armor,” Harvey said. “Amanda Winslow saved the day. She ran awesome … period. Pilar is a little beat up I think, too. To get five to seven athletes to run great on one day is a lot but we will keep reaching for it.

“We are going to train very hard in preparations for ACCs.”

As mentioned by Coach Harvey, Winslow performed masterfully Saturday as she set a new personal record with a time of 20:32.8. Her stellar time was enough to warrant a seventh place finish.

Trailing closely behind Winslow was her teammate Pasca Cheruiyot, who finished in 10th place. FSU’s senior captain ran the race in 20:34.8.

Fellow senior Pilar McShine was the third Seminole to cross the line as she finished in 24th by clocking a time of 20:49.0. Jessica Parry (31st, 21:52.1), Jennifer Dunn (43 rd, 21:07.8) and Atrid Leutert (77th, 21:29.4) rounded out the Seminole scoring. (more)

Oklahoma Men Win Pre-Nationals Title
source: Jennifer Van Tuyl, Oklahoma

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The No. 16 ranked University of Oklahoma men’s cross country team placed first at the Pre-Nationals meet among nine ranked teams in the White race division. Rob Sorrell paced the Sooners with an 11th-place finish.

The Sooners held the overall lead 5,000 meters into the race with a total of 116 points and improved by 10 points over the last 3,000 meters as they finished with a total of 106 points.

"I thought it was a complete team effort," said head coach Martin Smith. "Our strength is the ability to have a small split from our one to five man and today that was about 20 seconds. I felt all five guys ran extremely determined, and demonstrated good strong mental toughness over the last 3,000 meters when they began to labor."

Oklahoma finished ahead of three higher ranked teams in the White race, including conference opponent No. 4 Colorado, also the sixth place finisher from the 2009 NCAA Championship, No. 8 Portland and No. 13 North Carolina State. The Sooners also bested currently ranked No. 24 Alabama who placed third at the 2009 NCAA Championships. The title marked the first team win for the Sooners since the 2007 Golden Hurricane Invitational.

Sorrell was the top finisher for Oklahoma for the second straight meet with a time of 23 minutes, 56.8 seconds, earning an 11th-place finish. Sorrell set a personal best time at the 8,000 meter distance, breaking his previous fastest time of 23:5 set at last month’s Adidas Invitational. Sorrell was just37 seconds off the winning tyime of 23:19.9, run by defending NCAA Cross Country champion Samuel Chelanga of Liberty.

The next highest finisher for Oklahoma was Kevin Schwab who finished 15th with a time of 24:05.1. Schwab also recorded a personal best from his previous fastest time of 24:09 set at the Adidas Invitational. Schwab and Sorrell placed ahead of 2009 All-American Evans Kigen from Liberty who had a time of 24:11.8.

The top five finishers for Oklahoma all placed in the top 29, with Bill Kogel coming in at 25th (24:16.3), George Alex at 26th (24:17.0) and Kevin Williams rounding out the scoring at 29th (24:17). Aaron Sherf recorded a time of 24:50.2 and Jacob Boone finished with a time of 24:57.1.

"I’m happy for the guys on the team finish," said Martin. "To have the experience of winning a major competition is nice. Hopefully this will help us build on the championship part of the season and give the team additional confidence." (more)

Hoya Women’s Cross Country Wins Pre-Nationals
source: Georgetown athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Racing on the course that will host this year’s national championship and facing some of the toughest competition all season, the Georgetown men’s and women’s cross country teams turned in outstanding performances at the Pre-National Meet, hosted by Indiana State University Saturday.

The women’s team, led by sophomore Emily Jones (Harvard, Mass./Broomfield) with a fifth place finish, placed three runners among the top-20 overall and finished first among 40 teams, On the men’s side, seniorAyalew Taye (Portland, Maine/Cushing Academy) finished in 14th place as GU placed sixth among 36 teams.

The win for the women’s team was the third team win for the Hoyas, who posted wins at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational to start the season and then at the Paul Short Invitational.

"Obviously, we’re pretty pleased with the results," Women’s Head Cross Country Coach Chris Miltenberg said. "We’re a young team, but it was a good experience for us to be in a race with this level of competition and to come away with a strong performance.

"It was good for us to get the experience of being out on the NCAA Championship course and to experience the test of running against some of the best and seeing how our race plan will go. There’s still some time to go and there will be some challenges down the road, but I’m really happy with this performance."

Jones finished in fifth place among 274 runners, running the 6,000-meter course in 20:20.

The Hoyas placed three runners among the top-20 overall and had its five scorers finish among the top-35 overall. Junior Emily Infeld (University Heights, Ohio/Beaumont) finished in 11th place in 20:35.8 and graduate student Renee Tomlin (Ocean, City, N.J./Ocean City) placed 20th in 20:54.6. (more)

Chelanga Wins Again at Pre-Nationals
source: Paul Carmany, Liberty athletics

Sam Chelanga enjoyed a comfortable victory in the men’s 8K white race, highlighting Liberty’s showing at Saturday’s Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind. Meanwhile, Jennifer Klugh‘s 36th-place effort highlighted the Lady Flames’ performance in the women’s 6K blue race.

Chelanga’s second career Pre-Nationals victory led the Liberty men’s squad to its best finish ever at this meet, 10th place out of 36 entrants. The Flames’ score of 378, also aided by Evans Kigen‘s 20th-place finish, put them ahead of two nationally-ranked teams. Liberty defeated No. 21 Tulsa and No. 25 Minnesota in the final standings. Two other nationally-ranked squads topped the men’s white race standings, as No. 16 Oklahoma defeated No. 19 BYU by a 106-138 margin.

[...]

As he has done many times in his career, Chelanga raced out to the front of the pack from the opening gun and never looked back. The redshirt senior clocked an impressive 4:23 opening mile over the course’s undulating terrain, in his first visit to Terre Haute since winning the 2009 NCAA national title here.

The course record holder at both the 8K and 10K distances, Chelanga then went on to post a winning 8K time of 23:19.9, his best effort so far this season. Chelanga crossed the finish line 12 seconds ahead of N.C. State’s Ryan Hill, as Liberty’s fifth individual Pre-Nationals champion in the last six years. Josh McDougal claimed three straight Pre-Nationals crowns, between 2005 and 2007. (more)

CHILE PEPPER FESTIVAL

Results

Top Teams

MEN: DI-#2 Oklahoma State 22, DI-#7 Indiana 73, DI-#6 Arkansas 74 (50 teams)
WOMEN: DI-#28 Oklahoma State 72, DI-#24 Indiana 76, Texas A&M 162 (56 teams)

Oklahoma Cross Country Dominates Chile Pepper Festival
source: Oklahoma State athletics

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Oklahoma State cross country program turned in another outstanding performance Saturday, rolling over the rest of the field at the 22nd annual Chile Pepper Festival as the men’s and women’s teams both claimed team titles, and Colby Lowe finished first overall for the men’s squad.

"It was just a great day," coach Dave Smith said. "The guys were unbelievably poised and under control. They ran just like we planned and ran a perfect race."

The No. 2-ranked men’s team sealed its team championship as the first four across the line in the 10k race were all Cowboys. Lowe came in at 29:10.97, followed by Tom Farrell, German Fernandez and Girma Mecheso.

Mecheso’s finish, however, might be the most impressive due to his will to win.

"Girma was killing everyone and then got sick and had to walk for a little bit," Smith said. "I thought he might have to drop out of the race but he kept going and finished fourth. He was unbelievable. Colby also ran a great race and getting the individual win was huge for him."

The Cowboys finished with 22 team points, defeating second-place, No. 7-ranked Indiana by 51 points and third-place, No. 6-ranked Arkansas by 52 points.

The No. 28-ranked women’s squad also registered a big team win, finishing four-points ahead of second-place, No. 24-ranked Indiana due in large part to Mihaela Susa.

The Cowgirl senior anchored the championship with a fourth-place finish in the 5k with a time of 17:18. 96.

Susa was followed by Felicity Milton at sixth and Natalja Piliusina at 11th to help seal the victory.

"The women came in a little dinged up, but they ran a great race," Smith said. "They came together for a big win and the whole team ran unbelievably. Overall, it was a lucky day for us where everything fell into place and we were able to get both team wins."

The OSU cross country resumes competition Oct. 30, as the Cowboys and Cowgirls return to Stillwater for the 2010 Big 12 Cross Country Championships. (more)

Pease Wins, Hoosier Men and Women Second
source: Kyle Johnson, Indiana athletics

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Indiana cross country continued a strong season with a good showing at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival. Sarah Pease led the way, taking the individual title by 10 seconds. The men’s and women’s teams both took second place at the festival, each behind only Oklahoma State. The Indiana men knocked off the sixth-ranked team in the country and finished behind only the No. 2 Cowboys, who are the defending NCAA champs.

Pease led the Indiana women’s team to second, taking the individual title in the process. She finished in 16:39.42 for a 10 second win. The Hoosiers had a score of 72, finishing second to No. 28 Oklahoma State’s 68. Pease was joined by Chelsea Blanchard and Samantha Ginther in the top 10, as Blanchard took eighth in 17:07.56 and Ginther was 10th in 17:15.59.

The No. 7 Indiana men took second,to defending NCAA Champion and No. 2 Oklahoma State. The Hoosiers finished with a score of 73, bettering No. 6 Arkansas by a point. Indiana was led by Ben Hubers in 8th and Andrew Poore in 9th. Hubers and Poore finished in 29:39.30 and 29.39.58 respectively.

Indiana had five men in the top 25 of the 407-participant race. Zach Mayhew was 19th in 30:02.22 and Andy Bayer was 20th in 30:02.95. De’Sean Turner rounded out the top five in 23rd (30:13.33). (more)

PENN STATE NATIONAL

MEN: DI-#14 Syracuse 61, DI-#23 Penn State 91, Villanova 95 (27 teams)

WOMEN: DI-#1 Villanova 26, DI-#7 Syracuse 57, DI-#30 Penn State 137 (31 teams)

Results: MEN | WOMEN

Reid Leads the Way as Wildcats Continue Winning Ways at Penn State National
source: Villanova athletics

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.–Seniors Sheila Reid (Newmarket, Ontario) and Amanda Marino (Jackson, N.J.) formed a strong 1-2 combination and Villanova placed each of its first five runners in the top 10 overall en route to capturing the team title at the Penn State National, a 6K race held at the Blue and White Golf Courses on Saturday morning.

Reid was the individual winner with a time of 20:23 and the Wildcats had a spread of 41 seconds among its top five runners. Marino came in second (20:30) and fellow senior Ali Smith (Columbia, Md.) was fifth with a time of 20:40.

Villanova posted a team score of 26 to beat runner-up Syracuse (57) in what turned out to be a matchup of two of the top BIG EAST teams this season. Entering the race, the Orange were ranked seventh in the country and along with the Wildcats easily outdistanced the rest of the field. The host Nittany Lions were third (137), while Miami (Ohio) and Grand Valley State rounded out the top five with team scores of 155 and 166, respectively.

"We ran great today," Villanova head coach Gina Procaccio said. "Syracuse is the No. 7 team in the country and they cannot be beaten easily. The team has done a good job in our last two races of running to the level of competition. We have to keep doing that and continue getting better as we head into the championship portion of the schedule."

Freshman Emily Lipari (Greenvale, N.Y.) was the fourth finisher for Villanova and came in eighth overall with a time of 21:00, while junior Bogdana Mimic (Pancevo, Serbia) was 10th in 21:04.

"Emily really stepped it up this week and is starting to come into her own. For her to finish eighth against this level of competition is very impressive."

Senior Sarah Morrison (Chambersburg, Pa.) and freshmanNicky Akande (Lawrenceville, Ga.) rounded out the top seven for the Wildcats with times of 21:36 and 22:25, respectively. They finished 31st and 84th overall.

NOTES: Saturday’s race went out very slow as described by Procaccio afterwards … Marino stopped off the course at one point to put a shoe back on and Hogan ran much of the race with one shoe after losing one in the first 200 meters … Other BIG EAST schools at today’s race included West Virginia (sixth overall), USF (21st) and Pittsburgh (28th). (more)

UW OSHKOSH BROOKS INVITATIONAL

Results: MEN | WOMEN

MEN: DIII-#1 North Central (Ill.) 49, DIII-#8 Calvin 78, DIII-#9 NYU 138 (37 teams)
WOMEN: DII-#7 Minnesota Duluth 89, DIII-#15 Chicago 116, DIII-#7 UW Oshkosh 116 (36 teams)

North Central Men Prevails in Star-Studden Invite
source: Clark Teuscher, North Central athletics

WINNECONE, Wis. (Oct. 16, 2010) - Matched up against four other top-10-ranked opponents, the North Central College men’s cross country affirmed its status as the top-ranked NCAA Division III team in the nation on Saturday, placing seven runners in the top 25 and winning the 37-team University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational at Lake Breeze Golf Course.

The nation’s No. 1-ranked team for the past four weeks, the Cardinals scored a dominant victory on a fast course, tallying 49 points to give them a 29-point margin of victory over eighth-ranked Calvin College (78). Ninth-ranked New York University finished third (138), while second-ranked Washington University (Mo.) placed fourth (146) and the seventh-ranked University of WIsconsin-Stevens Point finished fifth (150).

At the front of the 575-man field was North Central’s Michael Spain, who completed the 8,000-meter (five-mile) course in 24 minutes, 22 seconds, his fastest time of the season. Spain, who remains undefeated this fall, prevailed by 17 seconds over his closest challenger, Michael Burnstein of Washington. (more)

Chicago’s Women Take Second at Oshkosh Invite
source: Chicago athletics

OSHKOSH, Wis. — The 15th-ranked University of Chicago women’s cross country team tied for second place — first place among Division III schools — at the 36-team University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational Saturday afternoon.

The meet included 10 of the top-25 teams in this week’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association of America poll.

Division II University of Minnesota-Duluth won the meet with 89 points, while Chicago and seventh-ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh were next with 116 points. Tenth-ranked Calvin College finished in fourth place (117), while #13 Hope claimed fifth place (142).

Senior Liz Lawton (North Easton, Mass./ Thayer Academy) (pictured) was the runner-up at the 499-participant event with a six-kilometer time of 21:14. Junior Rachel Ohman (Solana Beach, Calif./ Torrey Pines) and senior Lizzy Bright (Brighton, Mass./ Montana Academy) finished 17th (22:21) and 30th (22:40), respectively.

Minnesota-Duluth’s Morgan Place clocked a winning time of 21:00. (more)







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