Yet again, the Nuttycombe Invitational showed why it's widely regarded as one of the premier meets of the collegiate cross country season.

It's only September, yet fans were treated to record-setting performances and impressive team showings at Thomas Zimmer Cross Country Course at Nuttycombe, marking the first of many meets to come in Madison as we get closer to the Wisconsin-hosted NCAA Championships in November.

Highlighted by a course record performance from North Carolina standout Parker Wolfe and some notable team showings, the Nuttycombe Invitational saw many NCAA contenders make their marks in the early season.

• FloTrack XC Rankings Presented By HOKA: Men's Individual
• FloTrack XC Rankings Presented By HOKA: Women's Individual
• Nuttycombe Invitational Event Hub

Parker Wolfe Sets Nuttycombe Course Record

The NCAA Outdoor 5,000m champion wasted no time returning to the cross country course.

Wolfe, who finished ninth last year for North Carolina at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Charlottesville, put together a masterfully-patient race en route to a 23:04.0 men's 8k course record at Nuttycombe.

Staying controlled in the early stages, Wolfe let Iowa State and Eastern Kentucky freshmen Robin Kwemoi Bera and Justine Kipkoech run out to the initial lead through the first three kilometers. Wolfe sat back in the chase pack with North Carolina teammate Ethan Strand, eventually working back up to the two frontrunners at the four-kilometer mark and bringing BYU's Casey Clinger and Wake Forest sophomore Rocky Hansen with him.

Bera responded with a move of his own to try and break away, putting six seconds between himself and Wolfe at six kilometers. But it was Wolfe who had more in the tank over the final kilometer, surging up the closing climb at Thomas Zimmerman Cross Country Course to earn the victory.

Iowa State newcomer Bera held on to earn fifth in 23:18.2.

One of the biggest stories, though, has to be the return of Hansen, who finished sixth at Nuttycombe as a true freshman in 2023, but did not compete the rest of the cross country season after that due to injury. Hansen didn't return to action until track season, placing 16th at NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 5,000m.

A year later, Hansen gets to go back to Winston-Salem, N.C. with a runner-up finish at Nuttycombe under his belt, along with a 23:06.9 PR that also ranks second-fastest mark ever on the Thomas Zimmer men's 8k course.

Sadie Sigfstead Earns Statement Win In Women's 6k

After ending her cross country season in 2023 with a 71st-place finish at NCAAs, Villanova's Sadie Sigfstead began her 2024 campaign on quite the winning note.

Last year's Mid-Atlantic Regional champion went for the win from the get go, running stride-for-stride with Gonzaga's Rosina Machu until pulling away over the closing kilometer to win the women's 6k championship at Nuttycombe in 19:55.7.

Aggressive from the start with Machu, the two put a gap on the field early on, and that margin grew to 10 seconds come two kilometers left to race. That's when Sigfstead eventually went to the lead ahead of last year's 16th-place finisher at the NCAA Championships and held first place through the finish line.

Sigfstead was the only woman to dip under 20 minutes in the race.

Possibly the biggest Nuttycombe improvement came from Penn State's Florence Cano, who closed hard for second ahead of Machu in 20:03.2 after finishing just 133rd at last year's weather-stricken Nuttycombe Invitational. Machu would hold on for third in 20:06.2

BYU Dominates Men's Championship Race

Perhaps it was no surprise to see BYU, currently ranked No. 3 on the FloTrack College XC Men's Team Rankings Presented by HOKA, take home the team title at Nuttycombe.

How much the Cougars won by may be the more impressive stat.

BYU scored just 48 points to win the men's championship team race in Madison, finishing ahead of runner-up Iowa State by a massive 72 points. The squad put three in the top 10, going 4-6-7-11-20 for the dominant performance.

Other notable team performances came from Wake Forest, who beat ACC rival North Carolina by nearly 100 points for third, and Colorado, who took fifth behind the Tarheels in their first true outing under new head coach Sean Carlson.

Washington Controls Women's Team Battle

The Washington women may have been sitting in fourth two kilometers in to the women's championship 6k race at Nuttycombe -- but that would be the only time they would be outside the lead.

After four kilometers, Washington held a 26 point lead on Utah, and they would hold that lead through the finish, winning the women's title with 110 points.

Utah held on for second by a narrow margin over Georgetown, who took third despite not competing top runner Chloe Scrimgeour, who took seventh at Nuttycombe in 2023.

The Providence women, along with the home crown favorite Wisconsin Badgers, also had strong showings, taking fourth and fifth in the team standing.

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