Last Friday, some of the nation's best cross country runners opened up their 2023 campaign at the well-known Joe Piane Invitational in South Bend, Indiana. 

This year, powerhouse programs like North Carolina State, Notre Dame and Alabama flexed a bulk of their full squads, as they get the legs rolling heading into a competitive October slate.

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No Tuohy, No Problem

It's fairly obvious that the North Carolina State women are the best women's team in the country right now, but there are a lot of different reasons for that. 

On one hand, they're the two-time defending national champions and have secured nine All-Americans over the last two championships. 

Another reason is Katelyn Tuohy, the four-time NCAA champion and defending NCAA cross country champion. 

However, the most integral reason why the Wolfpack are the cream of the crop is how they race in absence of their top dogs.

On Saturday at the Joe Piane Invitational at Notre Dame, the Wolfpack took down three ranked programs, one of which was Notre Dame, which was sitting at fourth in the nation heading to South Bend. Led by veteran Kelsey Chmiel, who finished runner-up in 16:16.51, the four Wolfpack scorers who followed all made their way into the top 15, putting their five ahead of the Fighting Irish's fifth runner. A pair of underclassmen in Leah Stephens and Grace Hartman showed up and showed out, putting up a 4-9 finish, each crossing as the clock displayed 16:24.0 and 16:36.6, respectively. Rounding out the scoring for Laurie Henes' squad was Gionna Quarzo and Jenna Schulz, who went back-to-back for a 14-15 finish.

Sure, the defending champs would have liked to put a bigger gap between themselves and Notre Dame, but after beating a top-five ranked team without both Katelyn Tuohy and Amaris Tyynismaa, there isn't too much to worry about in Raleigh.

Gibbens' Outdoor Season Was No Fluke

After a breakout season as a junior, University of Kansas senior Chandler Gibbens made it known over his spring season that he was no fluke. 

Gibbens had always been a great runner, notching four individual All-Big 12 honors before this past outdoor season. It turns out, though, that being a great runner wasn't enough, as Gibbens elevated himself to the best distance runner in the Big 12, winning both the 5,000m and 10,000m conference races over a lot of talent. He followed that up with his first national championship berth in the 5,000m a few weeks later, where he finished 17th in 14:24.

On Saturday, the experienced Jayhawk ran a tactical yet dominant race, staying on the leaders and the chase pack through nearly 7,000m. At that point, it was destined to come down to the strongest kick. Gibbens held off the Alabama duo of Hillary Cheruiyot and Victor Kiprop, with the trio finishing close together in 23:08.4, 23:10.6 and 23:12.3. 

Gibbens came into the meet with a 23:39.1 personal best in the 8,000m, but his performance in the 5-Mile over the weekend is equivalent to a 22:59, marking a hypothetical 40-second improvement. 

The Jayhawk superstar will be back in action next weekend, as Kansas travels to Charlottesville, Virginia, to go head-to-head against the best in the country at Pre-Nats.

It's Badger Season

The Wisconsin men put on a clinic in the 'Windy City' last weekend, as they dismantled the field at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational in Chicago, Illinois. 

Led by their individual champion Bob Liking, who ran 23:26.6, the Badgers stacked four in the top 15 and all five in the top 21. 

Jackson Sharp was the runner-up in 23:31.3, forming a top-notch 1-2 punch. Evan Bishop (23:54.8) and Micah Wilson (23:58.1) placed 11th and 14th. 

Rowen Ellenberg capped the Badger's scoring, finishing 21st in 24:07.8. Once Ellenberg crossed, Wisconsin had put all five runners ahead of Iona's number three. Their low-stick duo, 41-second pack time and their years of experience led the five-time defending Big 10 champions to a 49-109 victory over Iona.

We'll get our next look at the Badger men at the highly-competitive Nuttycombe Invitational, where they'll see a solid chunk of the nation's best teams.