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Every year, star individuals earn a spot on the line in Terre Haute, becuase not every team can be Colorado, right?

Based on these TEAMS we project advancing to the NCAA Championships, below are the individuals who we think will make it to the Big Dance. We realize the NCAA selects 38 individuals who will compete in Terre Haute, and we are only listing the initial top 4 individuals from each region, with the remaining selections being made by the NCAA selection committee. May the odds be ever in your favor!

 

 

 

John Mascari (Indiana State): His fifth place at the Colorado-Oregon heavy Pre-Nats is no joke. This three-time Missouri Valley Conference champ will look to wow the crowd on his home course in Terre Haute in two weeks (32nd in 2013). 

 

Matt McClintock (Purdue): The Boilermaker finished directly behind Mascari at Pre-Nats and is coming off a third place Big Ten finish. 

 

Erik Peterson (Butler): Peterson has been making a name for himself this XC season. Fourth place at Big East and 10th at Pre-Nats are only the beginning of his quest for All American honors.

 

Willy Fink (Eastern Michigan): Fink won the MAC crown a few weeks ago, and placed 28th at Pre-Nats. He’s on the upswing and looks to be a darkhorse in Madison.

 

Victoria Voronko (Eastern Michigan): A 2013 qualifier and 2014 steeple qualifier, Voronko will challenge the studs from Michigan State.

 

Mara Olson (Butler): Olson took one of the top spots in this race last year, and with the disappointing season Butler is having, she looks to be their lone NCAA qualifier.

 

Maria McDaniel (Western Michigan): McDaniel is having an outstanding freshman campaign for the Broncos with her runner-up finish at the MAC meet and her win at the ND Invite Gold race.

 

Jess Hoover (Miami, OH): Her 6th place showing at the MAC championships is a good sign she is ready to run fast when it counts.

 

 

Jacob Morgan (Kansas): His 5th place finish at Big 12s is a good sign that he can hang with the Oklahoma boys and advance to Terre Haute.

 

Dan Curts (Iowa State): Freshman stud Curts finished 10th at Big 12s and will team up with teammate Martin Coolidge (5th at Griak, 42nd at Wisco) to send two Cyclone men to NCAAs.

 

Sam Penzenstadler (Loyola (Ill.)): This sub-4 miler and 3:39 1500 man came in second to John Mascari at the MVC Championship and will look to make his NCAA XC debut after a good showing in the Midwest.

 

Courtney Frerichs (UMKC): She was 7th in a stacked Roy Griak race, WAC Champion, and an All American in 2013. She’ll mix things up with the Cyclone women.

 

Monika Juodeskaite (Oklahoma State): The 2013 All-American Cowgirl looks to be the only qualifier from OK State as their team’s lack of competition all season doesn’t position them to make a team bid.

 

Kaitlyn Fischer (Missouri): Her 6th place finish at SECs and ninth place in the 2014 10k puts her in a great position to make a run for Terre Haute.

 

Laura Galvin (Kansas State): She was 16th in this race last year, and has been competing well in 2014. 11th in the Big 12 and 5th place in the Arkansas-dominant Chile Pepper Festival are good credentials. 

 

 

Ty McCormack (Auburn): The returning NCAA All American finished 2nd in the SEC and is the favorite of this region.

 

Damian Roszko (Miss. State): This dark horse was 13th at SECs a few weeks ago and will have to maintain contact with the FSU and Ole Miss boys to have a shot.

 

Shadrack Matelong (Midd. Tenn. St.): Has been their front runner all season long, and what we thought would be a dark horse team looks to just be one individual from MTS.

 

Austin Whitelaw (Tennessee): His 11th place at SECs is a good indication that he is ready to make his senior year his best yet.

 

Chelsea Blaase (Tennessee): Her third place at SECs was her worst finish all season. Not bad.

 

Rhianwedd Price (Miss. State): She was fourth behind Blaase at SECs, but by over 20 seconds. She’ll need to hold on to qualify.

 

Katelyn Greanleaf (Alabama): 11th at SECs is a good indication that she’ll be ready in Tallahassee. 

 

Alexis Panisse (Tennessee): An All-American in the 800m, Panisse is a wild card when it comes to XC. But her competitive nature could carry her through to a spot on the line in Terre Haute.

 

 

Dominic Deluca (Cornell): This frosh finished 4th at Heps, just five seconds back of Penn’s Tommy Awad. Deluca finished a spot ahead of Yale’s Kevin Dooney, an NCAA qualifier in 2013.

 

Kevin Dooney (Yale): Dooney was 11th at the NE Region last year, and placed 100th at NCAA’s. Experience is crucial this time of year. 

 

Brian Eimstad (Cornell): Eimstad joined his teammate Deluca in the top 10 at Heps. More impressive was that he moved up 23 spots in the last 3k. 

 

Tom Purnell (Harvard): Purnell was only 40th at the NE Region last year, but his Heps finish (8th) indicates that he's on point to compete for an NCAA spot.

 

Catarina Rocha (Providence): Providence won it all in 2013, but their odds are slim to make it back to Terre Haute. Catarina Rocha will make sure the Friars are still represented at NCAA’s, as she was 2nd at Big East’s. 

 

Kira Garry (Yale): Garry was only 54th at the NE region in 2013, but she has been much improved this season. Her fourth place finish at Heps proves she ready to book her ticket to NCAA’s. 

 

Emily Durgin and Lauren Sara (UConn): Durgin and Sara went 1-2 at the AAC Championships, but it was Sara’s 11th place finish at Pre-Nats that was most impressive. Durgin finished 16th at regionals last year. 

 

 

Tommy Awad (Penn): Awad took home the Heps title he so coveted two weeks ago at Princeton, but it was his fourth place showing at Notre Dame proves he can be an All-American.

 

Stephen Schroeder (Navy): Schroeder led Navy to a surprising team title at Paul Short with his ninth place finish, and most recently won the Patriot League in 23:57. 

 

Sam Pons (Princeton): Pons’ recovered nicely from his off day at Wisco with a 3rd place finish at Heps. 

 

Michael Sublette (Princeton): Sublette was only Princeton’s 5th man at Wisco, but he was their #1 at Heps, finishing 2nd. 

 

Megan Curham (Princeton): The Ivy League champion is ranked #14 in the Saucony Flo50. Her 2nd place finish at Pre-Nats suggests she could be top 10 in Terre Haute. 

 

Elizabeth Chikotas (Penn State): The Penn State frosh was 8th at Pre-Nats, and was 15th in the highly competitive race at Big 10’s. 

 

Kathryn Fluer and Natalie Rathjen (Princeton): These two placed 7th and 8th at Heps, and should join their superstar teammate Curham as individual qualifiers. Princeton is solid 1-3, but lack the 4-5 runners to make it to the dance. 

 

 

Chris Walden (Cal): Walden finished 10th at PAC-12’s, one spot behind Maksim Korolev, and ahead of Flo50 #16 Aaron Nelson.

 

Jose Madera (USF): Madera was the first non-BYU or Portland finisher at the West Coast Conference, finishing 9th. 

 

David Elliot (Boise State): Elliot won the Mountain West by beating a talented group of New Mexico Lobos. The senior has improved a lot since his 18th place finish at regionals from a year ago. 

 

Eric Causey (USF): Causey made it to NCAA’s last season by finishing 11th in this loaded region. Causey joins Jose Madera to give San Francisco a nice 1-2 punch. 

 

Bethan Knights (Cal): We were impressed when this freshman took 5th at Pre-Nats. We were even more impressed when she placed 3rd at PAC-12’s. Knights should finish among the top-30 in Terre Haute. 

 

Abby Regan (WSU): Regan went from 50th at PAC 12’s in 2013 to ninth this year. She should see a similar improvement from her 52nd place showing from regionals last year. 

 

Tansey Lystad (Portland): This year’s West Coast conference champion was 18th in the West region in 2013. Lystad beat all but one Oregon runner at the UW Invite in October, placing sixth. 

 

Danielle Shanahan (Loyala Marymount): Shanahan was 3rd at WCC’s, but her most impressive performance was her 10th place finish at Pre-Nats. 

 

 

Ernest Kibet (Louisville): The junior from Louisville is coming off of a 2nd place finish at ACCs and has been looking incredibly strong all season. He finished 11th last year, and earned an individual spot on the line at the 2013 NCAA championships as a sophomore.

 

Luis Vargas (Elon): He caught our attention after winning the white race at Pre-Nats in a time of 24:20, which he ran by himself. The time would have put him in the top ten in the stacked men’s blue race that included all of No. 1 Colorado’s top five runners. 

 

Ambrose Maritim (Eastern Kentucky): If Eastern Kentucky doesn’t qualify as a team, Maritim will build off of his Ohio Valley Conference Championship win to qualify as an individual in the southeast. 

 

Luka Ndungu (Eastern Kentucky): Maritim’s teammate Ndungu will also be in the mix after finishing just behind Maritim for the runner-up spot at conference. 

 

Allie Buchalski (Furman): The sophomore from Furman finished 10th last year at southeast and just won her first SoCon Cross Country Championships individual title. 

 

Sinead Haughey (Furman): The Furman senior is coming off of a 2nd place finish at the SoCon championships. 

 

Bethany Sachtleben (George Mason): The senior from George Mason is returning from a 5th place finish at the A-10 championships. 

 

Marisa Ruskan (Richmond): The sophomore from Richmond led the Spiders to a 3rd place A-10 conference team finish and a clocked a 6th place overall finish. 

 

 

Isaac Spencer (Texas A&M): The junior from A&M finished 8th last year at South Central, but did not perform well at conference a few weeks ago. He will look to capture the same magic from last season that earned him an individual spot at NCAAs.

 

Will Firth (Rice): The junior from Rice finished 11th last year at South Central, and is returning from a 6th place finish at the C-USA conference championships.

 

Virgilio Martinez (UTA): The freshman from UTA will continue to lead his team after finishing 5th at the WAC conference championships. 

 

Sam Stabler (Lamar): He was 3rd at Chile Pepper and 35th at Wisco before capturing the Southland Conference.

 

Hillary Montgomery (Texas A&M): The Aggie has led her team all season with a 16th-place individual finish at Wisconsin and a 5th place finish at the SEC championships a couple weeks ago. 

 

Karis Jochen (Texas A&M): The sophomore from Texas A&M finished 8th at the SEC championships and has been looking strong all season.

 

Agnes Sjostrom (SMU): The sophomore led the SMU Mustangs to a 3rd place team finish at AAC conference championships with a 4th place individual finish.

 

Stephanie Wangui (UTA): The senior from UTSA finished 10th at the conference USA championship.  

 

 

Anthony Rotich (UTEP): The NCAA steeplechase champion from UTEP finished 2nd behind Kennedy Kithuka at last year’s Mountain Region, but will look to build off of his individual win at conference and earn another spot on the line in Terre Haute with an individual title in 2014. 

 

Cosmas Boit (UTEP): The freshman from UTEP will follow his teammate after finishing 2nd behind Rotich by just four seconds at conference.

 

Amos Bowen (Wyoming): The junior from Wyoming will return after finishing 9th at Mountain West Conference Championships a couple weeks ago.

 

Jake Turner (Montana State): The junior from Montana State is returning after finishing 7th at the Mountain West Conference Championships. 

 

Melanie Townsend (Northern Arizona): The Lumberjack finished 4th at the Big Sky Conference Championships and has been running consistently strong all season.

 

Ashley Hawks (Southern Utah): Southern Utah’s No. 1 runner clocked a runner-up finish at the Big Sky Conference Championships a couple weeks ago. 

 

Jamie Stokes (Weber State): She finished 6th at Big Sky and led Weber State to a runner-up team finish. 

 

Kayla Freeman (Northern Arizona): She will look to follow her Lumberjack teammate to an NCAA individual qualification after finishing fifth at Big Sky.