Izzo has Arkansas women inspired to contend for first national title, calendar year triple crown; Terre Haute could showcase NAU times two at championship meet for first time since 2008

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The biggest regular-season weekend in NCAA Division 1 cross country just concluded with the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison and the Pre-Nationals at LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind. Here are some of the most significant performances that began to clarify the national picture entering the 32 conference championships from Oct. 21-Nov. 3.

Northern Arizona will take two teams to Terre Haute

For all the outstanding performances achieved during the past four seasons by the Northern Arizona men’s team, and Friday’s 8-kilometer race at Nuttycombe was another impressive example, Lumberjacks coach Mike Smith was even more excited about the sixth-place effort produced by his women’s lineup.

Northern Arizona has qualified for the NCAA Division 1 women’s cross country championships 15 times in program history, but hasn’t advanced to the national final since 2008, the last time the Lumberjacks had both teams competing at the meet.

Since then, the men’s team has advanced every year but 2015, when the Lumberjacks finished eighth at the Mountain Regional.

Northern Arizona bounced back in memorable fashion by winning three consecutive titles and is a significant favorite to capture a fourth crown Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind., which would equal UTEP (1978-81) and Arkansas (1990-93) for most consecutive men’s championships.

Not only did the Northern Arizona women secure sixth, the Lumberjacks finished ahead of every team at the meet representing the Mountain Regional, including New Mexico, and placed higher than eight programs who qualified among the 31-team national field last season.

Sophomore Taryn O’Neill placed 20th overall in 20:23.3 for the Lumberjacks, who had a 47-second spread among their scoring runners to elevate from 19th place at Nuttycombe last year.

Northern Arizona will have to contend with BYU, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah on Nov. 15 at the Mountain Regional in Salt Lake City, but the Lumberjacks appear ready to end the 11-year drought and return to the national finals.

As for the Northern Arizona men, not only did the Lumberjacks win a fourth straight Nuttycombe title and fifth in the past seven years, they did so again by an overwhelming margin, finishing 74 points ahead of Stanford after defeating the Cardinal by only 20 points Sept. 21 at the John McNichols Invitational in Indiana.

Freshmen Abdihamid Nur, Theo Quax and Drew Bosley have provided strong support for veterans Luis Grijalva and Geordie Beamish, with Northern Arizona still having the potential to rely on additional reinforcements in Blaise Ferro, Brodey Hasty, Ryan Raff and Cade Burks as the season progresses.

Katie Izzo is the most instrumental piece to any championship puzzle

Of all the offseason transfers, the one perhaps publicized the least, but has thus far mattered the most is the move of graduate student Katie Izzo from Cal Poly to Arkansas.

Izzo, who arrived in Fayetteville with eligibility remaining in all three seasons, has finished in the top five of all three meets this season, including a fifth-place finish Friday at Nuttycombe as part of four Arkansas athletes – along with Taylor Werner (third), Devin Clark (seventh) and Carina Viljoen (ninth) – placing in the top 10 overall to help the Razorbacks secure their first title in Madison in the meet’s 11-year history.

In her two 6-kilometer races at the Thomas Zimmer Championship course last year, Izzo clocked 21:13.3 and 20:58.1, the latter resulting in an 82nd-place finish at the NCAA Division 1 Championships, one spot behind Werner.

Izzo took advantage of much more favorable conditions Friday to run 19:59.4, a 15-second personal best on any 6-kilometer course in her career.

With junior Lauren Gregory still improving her fitness in an effort to peak in the postseason – she was Arkansas’ fifth scorer in 38th place – the presence of Izzo along with fellow veterans Werner, Clark and Viljoen has allowed Razorbacks coach Lance Harter the ability not to race sophomore standout Katrina Robinson from Australia so far this season.

Without Izzo in the lineup, Arkansas still would have finished second behind Stanford, but by a considerable margin.

Her arrival in Fayetteville has also given the Razorbacks the potential to complete a championship triple crown in the same calendar year, after Arkansas already won indoor and outdoor track and field titles in March and June.

Although Arkansas has captured 11 men’s championships, the Razorbacks are still searching for their first women’s team title, which would be an even more significant achievement after placing 14th at last year’s national final.

Washington could wind up back on top

The last time the Washington women’s team won Pre-Nationals was in 2008, also the last year the Huskies went on to capture an NCAA Division 1 title at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

Katie Rainsberger and coach Maurica Powell haven’t had to wait that long to experience a national championship, but after the Huskies edged BYU in the women’s 6-kilometer blue race Saturday at Pre-Nationals, they realized the potential was there to end the season standing together again on top of the podium.

Rainsberger placed fourth for Oregon in 2016 at the Division 1 final, helping the Powell-led Ducks hold off Michigan by one point to secure the program’s fourth national championship.

Powell moved from Oregon to Washington last season, with Rainsberger and another former Ducks All-American Lilli Burdon following their coach to Seattle, as the Huskies finished ninth at last year’s Division 1 championship meet in Wisconsin.

Rainsberger was sixth Saturday at LaVern Gibson, with Burdon finishing 20th, supporting a 12th-place performance from Shona McCulloch, a 21st-place effort from Allie Schadler and Camila David-Smith taking 28th to prevail by two points over BYU.

But the most encouraging aspect for Washington was winning without the presence of freshman standout Melany Smart of Australia in the lineup.

Smart has finished in the top five of both 5-kilometer races she has competed in this season Oct. 4 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, as well as Sept. 21 at the John McNichols Invitational at LaVern Gibson.

Powell wanted to give her promising newcomer a weekend off before the Huskies prepare for the Pac-12 Championships, West Regional and a return to Terre Haute for the Nov. 23 national final.

With Smart in the lineup, Washington has the potential to not only compete for a spot on the podium, but challenge for a national title in five weeks.

Alicia Monson ready to make more history

Wisconsin senior Alicia Monson became the first female athlete in the 11-year history of the Nuttycombe Invitational to win back-to-back titles Friday, but her greatest motivation remains becoming the Badgers’ first national champion in 20 years.

Wisconsin is tied for second all-time in Division 1 with three individual winners – Villanova leads all women’s programs with nine – but hasn’t crowned a champion since Erica Palmer in 1999. Cathy Branta captured the Badgers’ first title in 1984 and Kathy Butler earned a championship in 1995.

Monson finished fourth last season on her home course at the national final, a significant improvement from placing 139th in 2017 and 96th in 2016.

But her Nuttycombe victory by nine seconds over New Mexico junior Weini Kelati not only atoned for a 12-second setback in their previous matchup Oct. 4 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, but also demonstrated that Monson is capable of producing a significant surge with two kilometers remaining and gapping the field, instead of relying on her impressive kick in the final 400 meters to secure a win.

Monson will not only have to contend with Kelati for a third time at the Nov. 23 national championship, but also BYU senior Erica Birk, another athlete with the ability to produce a decisive surge late in the race, which she did Saturday to pull away from Auburn junior Joyce Kimeli and win by nearly seven seconds at Pre-Nationals.

Birk, who finished seventh at last year’s nationals, and Monson are two of the five athletes returning after placing in the top 10 last season. Notre Dame senior Anna Rohrer, 10th last year, was also 10th Friday at Nuttycombe.

Kelati and New Mexico teammate Ednah Kurgat, who finished 18th at Nuttycombe, are the others.

Morgan McDonald became the fourth Wisconsin male athlete to win a national title last season, capturing the Badgers’ first men’s individual crown since 2005.

Monson is inspired to match McDonald’s feat by winning her final college cross country race for the Badgers in Terre Haute.

Conner Mantz vs. Kenya

Brigham Young sophomore Conner Mantz was able to pull away from Campbell junior Amon Kemboi in the final stretch of the men’s 8-kilometer blue race Saturday to secure his third victory of the season and lead the Cougars to the team title in Terre Haute, but the All-American can expect to see several more Kenyan stars when he returns to race again Nov. 23 at LaVern Gibson.

Iowa State senior Edwin Kurgat won the men’s 8-kilometer championship race Friday at Nuttycombe, with Alabama seniors Vincent Kiprop and Gilbert Kigen – who didn’t race at either high-profile meet over the weekend – taking the top two spots Oct. 4 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.

Even Middle Tennessee State senior Jacob Choge and Kigen Chemadi expect to be among the leaders in the national championship race, meaning Mantz could have to beat as many as six Kenyan standouts to win an individual title, possibly seven if Campbell junior Athanas Kioko bounces back from his 22nd-place finish Saturday after capturing the title Oct. 5 at the Louisville Classic.

Mantz, who finished 10th last year as a freshman, is looking to become the first BYU male athlete to capture an individual title since Josh Rohatinsky in 2006. He could also potentially become the first American-born athlete to secure the men’s individual crown since Galen Rupp won the championship for Oregon in 2008.

Sam Chelanga, a Kenyan-born athlete who won a pair of titles at Liberty in 2009-10, became a U.S. citizen in 2015. Lawi Lalang, another Kenyan standout who captured the championship for Arizona in 2011, became eligible to compete for the U.S. this year.

The past three national champions – Villanova’s Patrick Tiernan, Syracuse’s Justyn Knight and Wisconsin’s Morgan McDonald – represented either Australia or Canada.

Although Iowa State has captured a pair of men’s individual national titles in 1989-90, all of the remaining Kenyan stars – Chemadi, Choge, Kemboi, Kigen, Kioko and Kiprop – are trying to capture the first individual national championship for their respective teams.

New Mexico needs Adva Cohen to be a contender

Even with a pair of NCAA champions in its lineup – 2017 cross country winner Ednah Kurgat and reigning 10,000-meter title holder Weini Kelati – New Mexico demonstrated Oct. 4 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational and again Friday at Nuttycombe that the only chance the Lobos have to challenge for a spot on the podium Nov. 23 is with junior Adva Cohen in the lineup.

Cohen’s return to Albuquerque after competing for Israel at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in late September has delayed the start to her cross country season and New Mexico has felt the absence, finishing seventh at Notre Dame and ninth in the championship race at Nuttycombe.

Although the Lobos finished behind a pair of Mountain Regional rivals in Utah and Colorado at Notre Dame, perhaps the most eye-opening aspect of their finish at Nuttycombe was behind Mountain West Conference counterparts Boise State and Air Force.

New Mexico has won 11 consecutive Mountain West women’s championships, a streak that was tested significantly last year by Boise State when the Lobos prevailed by a 33-35 margin. The historic run could be challenged again Nov. 1 in Logan, Utah.

But even with Kelati and Kurgat leading the way for New Mexico, the Lobos still need not only Cohen, but Alondra Negron to provide support and bridge the gap in the lineup to Hannah Nuttall, thus minimizing the pressure on athletes like Gracelyn Larkin, Juanita Johnson and Brenda Rosales-Coria.

Cohen placed ninth at last year’s conference final, 12th at the Mountain Regional meet and 43rd at the NCAA Division 1 Championships.

Few athletes who have yet to compete this season could have such a profound impact on a lineup as Cohen could for New Mexico, which has won national titles in 2015 and 2017, in addition to placing second last season.

Time to take Tulsa seriously

Tulsa has made nine appearances at the NCAA Division 1 men’s cross country championships, but last year was perhaps the most humbling experience of them all, with the Golden Hurricane finishing 30th out of 31 programs in Wisconsin.

Tulsa returned Friday to the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course for Nuttycombe and placed third behind the top two programs in the country in Northern Arizona and Stanford, relying on all five scorers placing in the top 50.

Junior Peter Lynch, 114th at last year’s national final at the 10-kilometer distance, finished 14th on the 8-kilometer layout Friday. The spread among the top five for the Golden Hurricane was 19 seconds, with less than 10 seconds separating the four runners behind Lynch, 35th-place Patrick Dever, 39th-place Cameron Field, 41st-place Isaac Akers and 46th-place Scott Beattie.

Dever didn’t compete at last year’s national championship meet, Beattie didn’t finish the race, with Akers and Field placing 194th and 218th, respectively.

Tulsa had five scorers separated by 14 seconds Sept. 21 at the Rhodes College Invitational in Memphis, Tenn., but being able to execute a similar pack at Nuttycombe demonstrated the maturity of the Golden Hurricane to perform in a high-pressure situation.

Tulsa’s best performance at the Division 1 final came with a seventh-place result in 2012, the program’s only time finishing in the top 10.

Although the Golden Hurricane, the reigning American Athletic Conference champions, will have to battle against Iowa State and Oklahoma State for an automatic berth Nov. 15 at the Midwest Regional in Stillwater, Okla., Tulsa help strengthen its case for another at-large berth Friday by prevailing over fourth-place Iowa State by five points.

Ericka VanderLende has Michigan moving in the right direction

No freshman in the country has made a more impressive transition to running at the collegiate level thus far than Michigan’s Ericka VanderLende, who finished fifth in the women’s 6-kilometer blue race at Pre-Nationals.

In four races for the Wolverines, VanderLende has placed in the top five in every outing, including a 5-kilometer victory Aug. 30 at the Michigan Open and a 6-kilometer win Sept. 28 at the Ohio State Buckeye Preview.

In her first trip Sept. 21 to the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, VanderLende placed fourth in a 5-kilometer race, two seconds ahead of Washington freshman and Australian standout Melany Smart.

Michigan finished fourth Saturday behind Washington, BYU and Colorado. But VanderLende has allowed the rest of the Wolverines’ scorers – 32nd-place Kathryn House, 41st-place Maddy Trevisan, 43rd-place Jena Metwali and 48th-place Camille Davre – the ability to run as a pack, with the quartet separated by 11 seconds at LaVern Gibson and Anna West less than a second behind Davre in 50th place overall.

Michigan showcased even more depth by having five of the top five finishers in the women’s 6-kilometer open race, including the top two athletes in Emma Sloan and Alice Hill.

The Wolverines have advanced to nationals 17 consecutive years, achieving five podium appearances during that stretch, including a fourth-place finish last season.

The presence of VanderLende up front gives Michigan an opportunity to again challenge for another top-four finish, which would be the seventh in program history.

International relations continue to bolster Iona

Another team with 17 consecutive appearances at the NCAA Division 1 Championships is the Iona men’s team, but last season’s 28th-place finish was the lowest for the Gaels since they placed 29th in 2012.

But Iona demonstrated Saturday at Pre-Nationals that it is capable of climbing back into the top 10, where it has finished 15 times in its previous 24 trips to the national final, including five podium appearances.

Led by a sixth-place finish from Ehab El-Sandali and a 10th-place performance from Johnjack Millar, the Gaels took third in the 8-kilometer blue race at LaVern Gibson Championship Course.

El-Sandali, from Toronto, and Great Britain’s Millar were supported by a 35th-place finish by Jack O’Leary from Ireland, a 37th-place effort by Jamie Dee of England and a 52nd-place performance from Ed Goddard of Australia.

Jac Hopkins, from Wales, was Iona’s No. 7 runner, with Jordan Brannan of New Jersey the only American athlete in the Gaels’ lineup Saturday.

Iona also had a strong showing in the women’s 6-kilometer white race, with junior Egle Morenaite of Lithuania finishing second overall to help the Gaels to a runner-up finish behind Arizona by a 121-187 margin.

Sophie Murphy from Ireland was Iona’s No. 3 scorer, finishing 24th overall.

Colorado making push toward another podium double play

The only program in the country last year to place both men’s and women’s teams on the podium at the Division 1 national final was Colorado.

Although the Buffaloes aren’t the favorite to repeat as women’s champion this season, both teams demonstrated Saturday at LaVern Gibson Championship Course that Colorado will again be in contention to make the podium.

The Buffaloes, fourth at last year’s Division 1 championship meet, had four scorers place in the top 20 in the men’s 6-kilometer blue race and five athletes finish in the top 20 in Terre Haute to take second by an 81-83 margin behind BYU.

John Dressel finished eighth, Joe Klecker was ninth, Kashon Harrison earned 11th and Eduardo “Lalo” Herrera secured 17th for Colorado, which had Alec Horneker as its fifth runner in 38th place.

Sage Hurta placed third and Tabor Scholl took 10th for the Buffaloes in the women’s blue 6-kilometer race, as Colorado finished third with 126 points.

Annie Hill was 31st, Villanova transfer Rachel McArthur finished 38th and Karina Mann placed 49th for the Buffaloes, who also had Holly Bent secure 51st.

Colorado continued to showcase consistency after winning the men’s 5-mile race Oct. 4 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational and finishing second behind Utah in the women’s 5-kilometer race.

The Buffaloes will look for more top-three finishes Nov. 1 at the Pac-12 Championships in Monmouth, Ore., before competing Nov. 15 at the Mountain Regional in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Colorado has made 48 overall men’s appearances at the Division 1 final, qualifying for every championship since 1992. The Buffaloes have achieved 28 women’s appearances, including 10 in a row.