With one race left in the season, everything is on the line. The top teams in the nation will navigate the Thomas Zimmer Cross Country course in Madison, Wisconsin as the top teams and individuals chase a 2024 NCAA XC Championship title.

Who will rise to the top? Time will tell.

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Will It Be The BYU Show? 

Coming into the big dance, it feels like BYU and then everyone else.

On Saturday morning at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Madison, BYU leads the frontrunners looking to secure a women’s team title at Thomas Zimmer Cross Country Course.

The Cougars are arriving at the final show without much of a blemish on their resume.Their only loss of the season came at the Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational, when NAU was able to narrowly slip by them winning with 52 over BYU’s 65.

Since then, they've found another gear. The team won the Big 12 Conference Championship by 19 points, and then took the Mountain regional title over NAU by 13 points.

Oregon has also performed well down the stretch. Currently ranked No. 2 in the FloTrack College XC Rankings presented by HOKA.

The team started the season slow. With a “B” squad at the Nuttycombe Invitational, Oregon finished ninth behind a number of strong teams. But the arch improved from there.

At their home meet, the Bill Dellinger Invitational, the Ducks finished second to Utah, 25 to 53. On paper, it was a blowout defeat, but Oregon was without Silan Ayyildiz. With her in the lineup, the score would have been much closer.

Oregon then won the Big Ten Championship and the West regional championship.

But there’s more than two headliners looking to come home with the team trophy.

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention Northern Arizona in the team title conversation. As mentioned earlier, they traded punches with BYU during the regular season. In Coach Mike Smith's final season at the helm of the program, the Northern Arizona ladies would love to get a final cross country championship for their departing leader.

West Virginia, Providence, Georgetown, Stanford, Utah, New Mexico and NC State seem to be a half step behind our top three teams. However, each team has looked competitive at different parts of the season. Any of those teams (and certainly a few others) could land on the podium.

Out of the bunch, keep an eye on West Virginia. Starting the season unranked, they’ve been on the rise since August. With Ceili McCabe as an individual contender, they already have a low stick contributing to the team’s total.

Is It The Big 3 Or Someone Else?

When looking at the front of the race, there’s a big three to pay attention to – Pamela Kosgei, Hilda Olemomoi and Doris Lemngole. All three are heavy favorites to vye for the individual title.

They've all exchanged a number of blows, but of the three, Kosgei is the only undefeated runner.

She defeated Olemomoi at Wisconsin Pre-Nationals and was able to ease through her region as the champion. At Pre-Nationals, she set the course record in an astounding 18:59.1, taking down Parker Valby’s previous record.

Olemomoi, formerly at Alabama with Lemngole, has gotten stronger over the span of the season. She lost to both Kosgei and Lemngole in the early parts of the season, but took down Lemngole to win the South regional title.

However, Olemomoi is peaking at the right time, and it is no surprise to see her at the forefront of the conversation.

Lemngole’s lone loss came to Olemomoi, but otherwise, she has been perfect. With a personal best of 15:04 over 5,000m and a 4:11 1,500m personal best, she has the tools in her belt to get the job done.

It's the big three up front, but can Ceile McCabe or Chloe Thomas find themselves in contention?

McCabe has been a bright spot in 2024. After redshirting 2023 to chase an Olympic dream, McCabe returned to the course with ferocity. Aside from a loss at Pre-Nationals (to two of the aforementioned women), McCabe has enjoyed an undefeated season. She was only 11 seconds behind Kosgei at Pre-Nats, crossing the line in 19:10.

She most recently won the Big 12 Championship and the Mid-Atlantic regional titles.

Chloe Thomas is somehow, someway, still flying under the radar. Thomas finished fifth at Wisconsin Pre-National, just behind McCabe (one second).

Aside from that blemish (if you could call it that), Thomas has been unstoppable. She won Paul Short by over 30 seconds, stormed through the Big East Championship with ease and most recently won the Northeast regional championship.

At the national meeting, she’ll be a threat to the top three.

Other women to watch include Grace Hartman (NC State), Chloe Scrimgeour (Georgetown), Alex Millard (Providence), Kimberly May (Providence), Caroline Jeptanui (Tulane), Juliet Cherubet (Texas Tech) and Paityn Noe (Arkansas).

What Is The NCAA D1 Cross Country Championships 2024; NCAA XC Championship Schedule

The Cross Country Championships are at 10:20 a.m. (women’s 6000m) and 11:10 a.m. (men’s 10000m) on Nov. 23. The Division II and Division III Championships will be held on the same day, though start times have not yet been determined.

Where Are The NCAA D1 Cross Country Championships 2024?

The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Division I National Championships are at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Verona, Washington. They will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin.

csDivision I: Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Verona, Wisconsin

• Division II: Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, California
• Division III: LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.

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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