As we head into the postseason on the NCAA cross country calendar, it’s time to take note of the biggest surprises, comebacks and performers we’ve seen during the regular season this fall.

Handing out superlatives for Most Improved Team, Dark Horse Team, Comeback Runner of Regular Season, Upset of the Regular Season and Regular Season MVP, we call out some of the notable storylines that have developed thus far in the cross country season.

Below, we give out our honors for our FloTrack NCAA Cross Country Regular Season Superlatives.

• Subscribe To FloTrack To Watch Track And Field, Marathons, And Cross Country All Season
• FloTrack College XC Rankings Presented by HOKA
• New Mexico's Pamela Kosgei Sets Course Record At Pre-Nats
• Habtom Samuel Crushes Course Record At Pre-Nats

Dark Horse Team

Men: Alabama

The Crimson Tide has perhaps one of the strongest four-man punches in the NCAA with veterans Victor Kiprop (No. 14 in FloTrack College XC Rankings presented by HOKA) and Hillary Cheruiyot (No. 119), along with two of the strongest rookies in Dennis Kipruto (No. 57) and Dismus Lokira (No. 114).

Sure, those individual rankings may not look as impressive on paper, but it doesn’t quite speak to how well we’ve seen the frontrunners from Alabama race so far this season. The squad’s best performance came at Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invite where they came in second and nearly beat current No. 9 Wisconsin, sweeping the top three individual spots with Lokira, Kiprop and Kipruto (Cheruiyot did not compete). 

Now, the gap from the frontrunners to the rest of Bama’s top seven is decently significant – for example, they had a 1:15 1-5 spread at Lakefront. But that doesn’t mean they can’t improve on that, especially since we haven’t seen Kiprop, Cheruiyot, Kipruto and Lokira all compete in the same race together.

We’ve yet to see Alabama’s big four all race as a pack, but perhaps we’ll see the four men toe the line next Friday at the SEC Championships in College Station.

Women: West Virginia

It’s probably safe to say that the Mountaineers’ fourth-place finish at Pre-Nationals caught people by surprise. Not only did the West Virginia women beat defending NCAA champion NC State, but they also earned wins over other prominent programs including current No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 New Mexico and No. 14 Wisconsin.

Led by veteran Ceili McCabe (No. 15 in our College XC Rankings presented by HOKA), West Virginia has a solid front pack, which also includes newcomer Joy Naukot (No. 19). Where the Mountaineers can improve is closing that gap behind Naukot and McCabe as the team posted a 1:19 1-5 spread on the day at Pre-Nats.

But that’s all to say that West Virginia still placed fourth and beat numerous top-ranked teams despite not having as great of an all-around team execution as some other programs. This makes West Virginia dangerous going into the postseason, and they have certainly shown they could shape up into a podium-contending program in November.

Most Improved Team

Men: Wyoming

In 2023, the Wyoming men didn’t even qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, finishing back in eighth place at the NCAA Mountain Regional.

But what a difference a year can make.

Not only did the Cowboys win the Roy Griak Invitational in their first true invitational of the season, but they also took fourth at the competitive Joe Piane Invitational. They also finished 12th out of 32 teams at Pre-Nationals last weekend in Wisconsin.

The squad currently ranks 28th in the FloTrack College XC Rankings presented by HOKA.

There’s still plenty of room for improvement, but some of the key pieces are there, including a solid lowstick in Jacob White, who finished ninth overall at Joe Piane and 38th at Pre-Nats. Mason Norman also picked up an individual win for the Cowboys at Roy Griak.

Going forward, the biggest key for Wyoming may be the spread. They posted 44-second and 50-second 1-5 spreads at Joe Piane and Pre-Nats, but if they can lower that, they could become a dangerous team at the NCAA Mountain Regional.

Women: Wisconsin

Last year, the Badgers finished 22nd at NCAA Cross Country Championships in Charlottesville. 

But Wisconsin has already proven in the regular season that they are much better than that 2023 team, placing fifth at Nuttycombe and eighth at Pre-Nationals and boasting impressive 16-second spreads in each of those top-10 team finishes.

Pack running has proven key for the women, led by senior Shea Ruhly (No. 77 in our College XC Rankings), who didn’t compete last year for the Wisconsin women but was 94th at the NCAA Championships in 2022. Leane Willemse (No. 103), the Badgers’ top returner from the 2023 cross country championships (44th), had her best race of the season at Nuttycombe as the squad’s No. 2 runner.

Lindsay Cunningham (No. 120) has been a key transfer from the team as well, who won the NCAA DII individual title at Winona State last fall, along with Carolyn Shult (No. 119), who placed fifth last year at the NCAA DIII Championships for Wisconsin-Eau Claire. 

Comeback Runner Of The Regular Season

Men: Rocky Hansen, Wake Forest

At Thomas Zimmer Cross Country Course in 2023 as a Wake Forest true freshman, Rocky Hansen made a huge statement with a sixth-place finish at Nuttycombe in 23:27.2 for 8k.

But that would end up being his last race of the season. Hansen would sit on the sidelines for the rest of the cross country season and much of the indoor season due to an injury suffered in Madison.

Now a sophomore, No. 21-ranked Hansen has already proven he’s back and better than ever for 2024, taking second place to only NCAA outdoor 5k champion Parker Wolfe at Nuttycombe in September in a 23:06.9 8k personal best. That performance alone a year after picking up a season-ending injury at the same invitational shows that he belongs in the conversation.

Women: Brynn Brown, North Carolina

After sitting out the entire 2023 cross country and 2024 indoor track & field seasons due to injury, North Carolina’s Brynn Brown (No. 23) has returned to the course with a punch.

She’s earned top-10 finishes in all four of her races this season, including a 16:32.2 win over 5k at the Virginia Invitational in September. Marquee runs at Nuttycombe (10th) and the Princeton Fall Classic (7th) have solidified Brown as a contender to watch come NCAA Championships in November.

Upset Of The Regular Season

Wingate Men Upset Harvard Men At Paul Short

Is the Wingate men’s team the most impressive team we’ve seen so far across all divisions? Perhaps so, and an upset win against Division I No. 17-ranked Harvard at the Lehigh Paul Short Run earlier this month solidified that the defending Division II national champion and our top-ranked team in our College XC Rankings presented by HOKA isn’t messing around.

The Bulldogs didn’t just beat Harvard to win the men’s gold race – they won by 65 points and posted an impressive score of 30 points to take the team title. Putting four in the top 10 – Hamza Chahid (2nd), Lukas Ehrle (3rd), Antonin Saint Peyre (6th) and Ricardo Barbosa (8th) – Wingate steamrolled the competition that also included other prominent DI programs including Utah State. The squad also boasted a solid 28-second spread.

Was Harvard without Graham Blanks? Sure. But even if he had raced, it likely wouldn’t have made a difference as Wingate’s performance was so dominant.

Regular Season MVP

Men: Habtom Samuel, New Mexico

Sure, Samuel is ranked No. 1 on the FloTrack College XC Rankings presented by HOKA, but he’s certainly earned that designation, to say the least. 

The 2023 NCAA XC runner-up torched the Thomas Zimmer 8k course record last weekend by 30 seconds, running 22:33.8 to win Pe-Nations in Wisconsin, beating last year’s NCAA champion Graham Blanks. Samuel also finished second in his season opener at the Cowboy Jamboree in September in 23:03.6 for 8k.

Beating the talented field at Pre-Nats – and doing so in dominant, record-breaking fashion – puts him on top right now as the regular season comes to a close.

Women: Doris Lemngole, Alabama

The top returner from the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships has already been off to a hot start this fall.

Coming off a stellar track season where she set the collegiate record in the 3k steeplechase to win a title at NCAA Outdoor Championships, Lemngole has already notched three wins on the cross country course this fall, including an impressive 18:48.2 6k performance at Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invite.

Lemgole has shown she is more than capable – and is perhaps the favorite – to win the NCAA individual title this November, and she currently sits at No. 1 in the FloTrack College XC Rankings presented by HOKA.

FloTrack Is Streaming Cross Country High School State Meets All November

November is also the month of high school cross country championship meets. Check the FloTrack schedule for a list of all the state championships streaming on FloTrack

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