Top Ranked Teams/Athletes Debut Results
Top Ranked Teams/Athletes Debut Results
Top Ranked Teams/Athletes Debut Results
The true start to the NCAA cross country season is this weekend with the Roy Griak XC Invitational, streamed LIVE on FloTrack. But first, let's take a look at some notable debuts from this past weekend's races.
The most unique result of the weekend was unranked Columbia defeating No. 5 Arkansas and No. 9 Iona at the Br. Doyle Meet of Champions. There were a few caveats to the results, as both Arkansas and Iona rested most of their top runners. Arkansas did not race their No. 1, No. 4, and No. 5 runners, and Iona did not race their No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 runners.
Arkansas coach Chris Bucknam told FloTrack that Alex George took a wrong turn with less than a mile to go, forcing him to backtrack. When asked what his race plans are for his athletes during these early season races Bucknam said, "Every year is a bit different, but my general philosophy is to introduce racing after a long summer on an individual basis. I approach [mid-August] thru [mid-October] as a transition period, hoping to get everyone on the same page by SECs. That being said, when they do race, I don't really want them 'going to the well,' but I don't want a tempo run either. We do plenty of steady states during this period, so I like them testing the waters a bit, it gives me another look at their fitness, among other things."
No. 9 Rory Linkletter (BYU) defeated No. 15 Dillon Maggard (Utah State). The BYU men won the BYU Autumn XC Classic placing ten runners in the top 11.
BYU's Top Ten (4 mile course)
19:25.8 JR Rory Linkletter
19:26.9 JR Connor McMillan
19:28.2 JR Clayton Young
19:29.4 FR Casey Clinger
19:30.2 FR Kramer Morton
19:31.0 SO Brayden McLelland
19:33.6 FR Clayson Shumway
19:35.6 SR Jonathan Harper
19:35.7 SR Daniel Carney
19:38.5 SR Spencer Hanson
The Razorbacks raced a majority of their varsity lineup to win the UC Riverside XC Invitational. Their 1-7 spread was under 12 seconds.
06) 20:15.9 SR Nikki Hiltz
07) 20:16.2 SO Taylor Werner
08) 20:16.5 JR Devin Clark
09) 20:17.2 FR Lauren Gregory
11) 20:24.2 SO Carina Viljoen
12) 20:25.4 SR Therese Haiss
13) 20:27.7 FR Ashton Endsley
The defending champion won her first race at the Commodore XC Classic by 64 seconds! She ran 16:25.4 over 5K, which broke the course record previously held by Michigan's Erin Finn by nearly 20 seconds (16:43). The runner-up was no slouch either, as Eastern Michigan's Jordan McDermitt is a returning All-American after placing 24th in Terre Haute last year.
The Crimson Tide ran split squads at the UC Riverside XC Invitational with their projected top three running the open race, and the rest of the roster running the invitational race. Vincent Kiprop, Gilbert Kigen, and Alfred Chelanga finished 1-2-3 all together in a control race.
The true freshman ran his first collegiate race and finished in the top three side-by-side-by-side with his Longhorn teammates in 18:31 over 6K at the Texas XC Invitational.
The Cardinal raced four of their projected top seven at the USD XC Invitational. Fiona O'Keeffe, Vanessa Fraser, Abbie McNulty, and Ella Donaghu all ran together finishing 1-2-3-4 in 21:35 over 6k.
The men from Stanford rested their projected top five, but did run five athletes who will battle for the 6th/7th spot on the team at the USD XC Invitational. Isaac Cortes, Tai Dinger, Alek Parsons, Alex Ostberg, and Blair Hurlock all ran a controlled race finishing 2-3-4-5-6 in 25:36 over 8K.
No. 5 Arkansas and No. 9 Iona Men Debut
The most unique result of the weekend was unranked Columbia defeating No. 5 Arkansas and No. 9 Iona at the Br. Doyle Meet of Champions. There were a few caveats to the results, as both Arkansas and Iona rested most of their top runners. Arkansas did not race their No. 1, No. 4, and No. 5 runners, and Iona did not race their No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 runners.
Arkansas coach Chris Bucknam told FloTrack that Alex George took a wrong turn with less than a mile to go, forcing him to backtrack. When asked what his race plans are for his athletes during these early season races Bucknam said, "Every year is a bit different, but my general philosophy is to introduce racing after a long summer on an individual basis. I approach [mid-August] thru [mid-October] as a transition period, hoping to get everyone on the same page by SECs. That being said, when they do race, I don't really want them 'going to the well,' but I don't want a tempo run either. We do plenty of steady states during this period, so I like them testing the waters a bit, it gives me another look at their fitness, among other things."
No. 6 BYU Men Debut
No. 9 Rory Linkletter (BYU) defeated No. 15 Dillon Maggard (Utah State). The BYU men won the BYU Autumn XC Classic placing ten runners in the top 11.
BYU's Top Ten (4 mile course)
19:25.8 JR Rory Linkletter
19:26.9 JR Connor McMillan
19:28.2 JR Clayton Young
19:29.4 FR Casey Clinger
19:30.2 FR Kramer Morton
19:31.0 SO Brayden McLelland
19:33.6 FR Clayson Shumway
19:35.6 SR Jonathan Harper
19:35.7 SR Daniel Carney
19:38.5 SR Spencer Hanson
No. 7 Arkansas Women Debut
The Razorbacks raced a majority of their varsity lineup to win the UC Riverside XC Invitational. Their 1-7 spread was under 12 seconds.
06) 20:15.9 SR Nikki Hiltz
07) 20:16.2 SO Taylor Werner
08) 20:16.5 JR Devin Clark
09) 20:17.2 FR Lauren Gregory
11) 20:24.2 SO Carina Viljoen
12) 20:25.4 SR Therese Haiss
13) 20:27.7 FR Ashton Endsley
No. 1 Karissa Schweizer (Missouri) Debuts
The defending champion won her first race at the Commodore XC Classic by 64 seconds! She ran 16:25.4 over 5K, which broke the course record previously held by Michigan's Erin Finn by nearly 20 seconds (16:43). The runner-up was no slouch either, as Eastern Michigan's Jordan McDermitt is a returning All-American after placing 24th in Terre Haute last year.
No. 11 Alabama Men Debut
The Crimson Tide ran split squads at the UC Riverside XC Invitational with their projected top three running the open race, and the rest of the roster running the invitational race. Vincent Kiprop, Gilbert Kigen, and Alfred Chelanga finished 1-2-3 all together in a control race.
No. 22 Sam Worley (Texas) Debuts
The true freshman ran his first collegiate race and finished in the top three side-by-side-by-side with his Longhorn teammates in 18:31 over 6K at the Texas XC Invitational.
No. 2 Stanford Women Debut
The Cardinal raced four of their projected top seven at the USD XC Invitational. Fiona O'Keeffe, Vanessa Fraser, Abbie McNulty, and Ella Donaghu all ran together finishing 1-2-3-4 in 21:35 over 6k.
No. 3 Stanford Men Debut
The men from Stanford rested their projected top five, but did run five athletes who will battle for the 6th/7th spot on the team at the USD XC Invitational. Isaac Cortes, Tai Dinger, Alek Parsons, Alex Ostberg, and Blair Hurlock all ran a controlled race finishing 2-3-4-5-6 in 25:36 over 8K.