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2019 Big Ten XC Championships

2019 Division I Conference XC Recap

2019 Division I Conference XC Recap

A running recap of the top conference action in Division I cross country.

Nov 1, 2019
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We will update this article as results pour in from conference meets across the country.

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We will update this article as results pour in from conference meets across the country.

Nov. 3

Big Ten: Hoare Leads Wisconsin To Repeat Titles; Monson Wins Easily

Alicia Monson bided her time until the final kilometer before showing why she's the top-ranked woman in the nation at the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday. Monson ran with the pack for the majority of the race until she dropped the field with a decisive move to repeat as individual champion. Indiana sophomore Bailey Hertenstein won a competitive battle for second ahead of Michigan State's Annie Fuller and Wisconsin's Amy Davis.

Michigan State narrowly defeated Wisconsin for the team title, 56 to 62. Wisconsin had four runners before Michigan State's third, but Wisconsin's fifth didn't place until 35th. The Spartans, meanwhile, went 3-8-14-15-16. Michigan, who was attempting to win their fourth straight conference title, was third with 88 points. 

In the men's race, Oliver Hoare built off his second-place finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational to win his sixth Big Ten title. Like Monson, Hoare moved late but piled up a seven-second victory over George Kusche of Nebraska. Michigan State's Morgan Beadlescomb, Indiana's Ben Veatch and Purdue's Jaret Carpenter rounded out the top five. 

Hoare's win propelled the Badgers to a team victory of 56 to 70 over Indiana. Wisconsin's Olin Hacker took seventh and all of their scorers placed in the top 20. Michigan (78 points) and Purdue (82) took third and fourth. 

Nov. 2

Big 12: Kurgat Leads Iowa State Men To Third Straight Conference Crown; Oklahoma State Women Win First Since '15

No. 1-ranked Edwin Kurgat of Iowa State emerged victorious from an entertaining duel with Oklahoma State’s Isai Rodriguez to win the Big 12 title 23:36 to 23:39 on Saturday in Waco, Texas. Kurgat’s win led No. 5 Iowa State to their third consecutive conference title as the Cyclones tallied 34 points to runner-up Oklahoma State’s 58.

Kurgat and Rodriguez, third and fourth at NCAAs last year, respectively, ran stride-for-stride for almost the entire 8k race before the senior from Iowa State broke away for good in the final 400 meters. Their 1-2 finish was a repeat of the 2018 Big 12 Championship.

The Oklahoma State women claimed their first Big 12 cross country title since 2015 on Saturday and simultaneously ended Iowa State’s three-year reign atop the conference with a narrow 52-54 victory over Texas. West Virginia was close, too, with 56 points for third.

Iowa State took fourth with 77 points.

While the Cyclones’ streak ended in Waco, Iowa State junior Cailie Logue built one of her own by winning the race for the second straight season. Logue barely held off Oklahoma State’s Taylor Somers in a thrilling 6k race that came down to the final meters. Logue won in 20:08.2 with Somers just a step behind in 20:08.5.

The Cowgirls were led by Somers and Molly Born in second and third. OSU’s spread wasn’t exactly impressive— 73 seconds passed between Somers and their fifth scorer, Ariane Ballner (19th)— but it was just enough to squeak past a Texas team that put three runners in the top six.

Nov. 1

SEC: Arkansas Women Cruise, Izzo Takes Individual Title

The top-ranked Arkansas women rolled through the SEC Championships in Lexington, Kentucky. The Razorbacks went 1-2-4-5-9 to score 21 points, far ahead of second-place Ole Miss with 93 points. Katie Izzo led the team for the first time this year, crossing the line in 19:38, four seconds ahead of her teammate Taylor Werner. It’s the best result so far in what has been an incredible breakout season for the transfer from Cal Poly, who was 82nd at the NCAA Championships last year. 

In the men’s race, Alabama went 1-2, but Ole Miss still comfortable won the team competition, 35-90 over the Crimson Tide. Vincent Kiprop and Gilbert Kigen were the first across the line, but the Rebels quickly countered with Waleed Suliman in third and Farah Abdulkarim in fourth. The rest of the Rebels’ scorers came in the top 13 to secure the victory.

ACC: Syracuse Men, NC Women Prevail

The Syracuse men are atop the ACC once again after a 68-73 victory over Notre Dame on Friday in Blacksburg, Virginia. In 2018, Notre Dame won the meet by four points--snapping Syracuse’s five-year ACC win streak.

On Friday, Syracuse’s first runner didn’t finish until ninth-place, but their 1-5 spread was a scant 14 seconds, as the Orangemen placed 9-10-15-16-18. 

Notre Dame was led by Yared Nuguse, who finished second behind individual champion, Peter Seufer of Virginia Tech. 

Elly Henes’ steady progression to the top of the ACC is now complete. The NC State senior ran 20:37 to finish 11 seconds better than Virginia Tech’s Sara Freix in the women’s race. Henes win led the Wolfpack to a 64-76 win over Florida State. Freshman Kelsey Chmiel was the second runner for NC State, finishing in fourth-place. 

Mountain West: Utah State Men Win First Title, New Mexico Women Keep Streak Alive

Led by an individual win from BYU transfer Dallin Farnsworth, the Utah State men claimed their first Mountain West cross country title on Friday on their home course in Logan, Utah, 42-74 over Colorado State. Farnsworth took control of the race after 5k and won going away in 23:12 over runner-up Forrest Barton (23:22) of Colorado State in the 8k race.

Behind Farnsworth, the Aggies went 5-6-14-16, a dominant win just one year after they placed fifth in 2018. Luke Beattie (fifth) and James Withers (sixth) were the other USU runners in the top ten.

It was a disappointing day for No. 21 Boise State, the top-ranked team in the conference heading into the weekend. The Broncos took fourth on Friday behind Utah State, Colorado State and Wyoming.

The New Mexico women’s streak in the Mountain West lives on thanks to an easy win by Weini Kelati and three other women in the top ten. Kelati dominated on Friday in 19:11 over the 6k trek, with Ednah Kurgat (second, 20:00), Hannah Nuttall (fifth, 20:14) and Gracelyn Larkin (10th, 20:32) helping the Lobos to their 12th straight conference cross country title. They totaled 31 points.

Fellow Lobo Adva Cohen ran with Kelati early in the race, but ultimately faded to 33rd in her season debut. Cohen competed in the World Championships in Doha, Qatar on Sep. 27.

No. 18 Air Force finished runner-up with 54 points, while No. 17 Boise State took third with 63 points.

West Coast: Whittni Orton Slips Past Erica Birk As BYU Dominates 

There was little drama in the women’s team race at the West Coast Conference as the No. 2 BYU women romped 18-84 over unranked Portland. The Cougars put eight runners in the top 10 and swept the top three places on Friday in Van Nuys, California.

There was some drama in the individual battle between Whittni Orton and Erica Birk, however, as the BYU teammates battled all the way to the line. Orton, zig-zagging in front of Birk in the final meters, broke the tape in 19:49.27 just ahead of the defending champion Birk in 19:49.33.

Led by a 1-2-3 finish from Conner Mantz, Jacob Heslington and Daniel Carney, the No. 3 BYU men won their fifth consecutive West Coast title. Mantz crossed the 8k line in 23:33 with Heslington two seconds back.

Like the BYU women, the Cougar men also tallied 18 points with Matt Owens (fifth) and Brandon Garnica rounding out the scoring.

No. 7 Portland was a distant second with 51 points. 

Pac 12: Colorado Runs Away With Men’s Title

Joe Klecker won the individual race at the Pac-12 Championships in Monmouth, Oregon and the rest of his Buffalo teammates followed suit. Klecker pulled away in the late stages to win by three seconds over Oregon’s Cooper Teare. 

“When I felt good, I just went,” Klecker said after the race. 

Colorado freshman Kashon Harrison was next across the line in seventh and was quickly followed by John Dressel (8th), Alec Hornecker (12th) and Eduardo Herrera (13th). All total, it was a 22 second 1-5 spread and a 16 point victory over Oregon. 

Stanford had two runners in the top six (Alex Ostberg was fourth and Thomas Ratcliffe was sixth), but their remaining scorers didn’t finish until 16th, 21st and 26th, relegating them to third. UCLA was fourth and Washington took fifth.

With a stunning 1-2-3 sweep led by Fiona O’Keeffe’s 19:32 win, the No. 4 Stanford women took the women’s PAC-12 title with a scant 27 points. Ella Donaghu and Jessica Lawson were second and third for the Cardinal in 19:34 and 19:38, respectively.

No. 3 Washington finished second with 55 points. Katie Rainsberger headed the Huskies with a fourth place finish in 19:41.