Margot Appleton, Chandler Gibbens Enter As Pre-Race Favorites At Pre-Nats

The University of Virginia's Margot Appleton and Kansas' Chandler Gibbens are among the star power headed to Pre-Nationals on Saturday in Charlottesville.

Oct 12, 2023 by Maxx Bradley

Margot Appleton, Chandler Gibbens Enter As Pre-Race Favorites At Pre-Nats

For the first time since 1987, the University of Virginia is hosting the NCAA Cross Country National Championships.

But in the second championship course preview of the fall at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Virginia -- the first being the Virginia Invitational on September 23 -- five ranked programs on each side are getting one final run on the championship course on Saturday at Pre-Nationals.

Below, we dive into the top storylines.

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BYU, Virginia, Women Teams To Beat

While the BYU men head to Wisconsin, Diljeet Taylor's program is taking its first and final look at Panorama Farms. The Cougar women took care of business in Eugene, Oregon last month, winning the Bill Dellinger Invitational over hosts Oregon 42-78. Simply put, it was light work for BYU, as the women squeezed three into the top 10 and all seven of their scoring runners in the top 15.

Led by the senior duo of Lexy Halladay-Lowry and Aubrey Frentheway, the sixth-ranked Cougars managed to put seven in front of the Duck's fourth runner. However, hosts Virginia would love to move themselves up the national rankings and a win over perennial power BYU would likely be enough to do just that.

In what will be their second consecutive meet ran on their home course, the Cavaliers have the advantage of familiarity with Panorama Farms and if the pieces fall into place, Virginia should be able to keep pace with the 2021 national champions. At the Virginia Invitational, Margot Appleton was the first Cavalier to cross the line and was third overall; she will look to keep those good times rolling this weekend.

It's safe to say both squads have the opportunity for a statement win.

The women of Oregon, Arkansas and Utah Valley will also contend, as the No. 17, No. 18 and No. 24 ranked programs are in attendance and none will look to give up ground. Oregon is coming off of a runner-up finish at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, while both the Razorbacks and the Wolverines are coming off of wins at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival and the SUU Color Country Invitational.

Margot Appleton Set To Defend Home Turf

There are a number of women who could see themselves alone when they cross the finish line, with Virginia's Appleton seen as one of the best in the field. She was third on this course less than a month ago, running 16:21.5 over 5,000 meters. While this is her first 6K of the season, fully expect the junior to be toward the front of the pack -- if not leading it.

The good thing is she'll have plenty of help around her, with BYU's Halladay-Lowry and Frentheway keeping her company up front. The pair both nearly dipped under 20:00 a few weeks back. It will be no surprise if they do so on Saturday.

Despite the fact she's a true freshman, Paityn Noe's wire-to-wire win at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival was a statement performance. Not only did Noe win in her home debut, but she knocked the field out of the park, running 16:09.4 to win by 45 seconds ahead of teammate Sydney Thorvaldson. This will be Noe's first 6K of her college career, but a runner of her caliber has the natural ability to keep pace with the field's veterans and hang on.

Virginia Men Looking To Bounce Back

While all but two of the other 30 ranked programs travel to the Nuttycombe Invitational, No. 10 Virginia, No. 17 Tennessee and No. 21 Arkansas lead the way in the Pre-Nationals team battle on the men's side, each with something to prove to the rest of the country and the slate of national voters.

The Cavaliers took seventh at the Virginia Invitational last month, taking down the likes of Colorado and Stanford, but had those victories canceled out by lower-ranked Syracuse and Villanova, which finished ahead of the hosts. Vin Lananna's squad is looking to get back on track and come out on top in team's last race on the course before nationals next month.

Last time out, Virginia saw Wes Porter have an uncharacteristic day, as he finished as the team's fifth runner in 78th place. If Porter is back alongside Gary Martin, the hosts will be tougher to beat.

Sean Carlson's Volunteers have yet to race at a huge meet this fall, but they are riding the wave following a 1-5-6-7-8-9-10-11 finish at the Furman XC Invite, while Arkansas also picked up a dominant win of their own, going 1-2-4-5-6 at Chile Pepper, beating out a variety of NCAA programs.

It's Chandler Gibbens' Race To Lose

After his incredible win over the field at the Joe Piane Invitational, Kansas' Chandler Gibbens is a national threat.

Back in South Bend, Indiana, Gibbens let everybody know that his success on the track was no fluke. Winning the five-mile race over Alabama's Hillary Cheruiyot and Victor Kiprop was a statement by itself, but doing so in 23:08.4 (22:59 8K) makes this all the more impressive.

Not only did Gibbens show he can run a tactically sound race, he also showed that he can drop the hammer if need be. On paper, the Jayhawk is the man to beat.

Tennessee's Yaseen Abdalla is pretty familiar with Gibbens, though, as the two have met a multitude of times while Abdalla was at Texas. Recently, Abdalla took the win at Furman, winning the 6K in 17:55. With Gibbens there to push him to the brink, a clash between the two should be well worth the wait. You also can't count out South Alabama transfer Kirami Yego, who has proven it didn't take long to adjust to the Razorback system. Yego won his first race in the cardinal and white, taking the win at Chile Pepper not too long ago.