WOMEN'S RECAP
There were a few surprises in Terre Haute, but individual favorite Kate Avery of Iona and the Michigan State women didn’t let anything get in their way of capturing NCAA titles.

Avery, a Junior, took the lead almost immediately, breaking away to run alone somewhere around the 3k mark. When she crossed 5000m in 16:03, we knew she was untouchable. Avery finished in 19:31, 8 seconds in front of Sophomore Sarah Disanza of Wisconsin. It was Avery’s third race and win of the season. On her fitness and race plan, Avery said “I’m just incredibly strong at the minute, so that’s why I wanted to run the race the way I did.”

Disanza’s runner-up performance was the first surprise of the day, beating out favorites Emma Bates of Boise State (third), Crystal Nelson of Iowa State (seventh), and Shelby Houlihan of Arizona State (ninth). Rachele Schulist of Michigan State finished fourth, Rachel Johnson of Baylor fifth, Dominique Scott of Arkansas sixth, Katy Moen of Iowa State eighth, and Chelsea Blaase of Tennessee tenth, respectively.

The Michigan State women made their mark in Terre Haute history by scoring 85 points, 62 ahead of runner-up Iowa State (147), and well ahead of New Mexico (188) and Georgetown (189). Sophomore Schulist led the way by finishing fourth, with Junior Lindsay Clark taking 11th, Senior Leah O’Connor 17th, and Senior Julia Otwell 21st. Senior Sara Kroll rounded out their top five with a 61st place finish. The win is Michigan State’s first national championship.

The New Mexico women’s third-place finish was another surprise highlight of the day. After finishing second to Colorado at the Mountain Region, the Lobos had two All Americans in Freshman Alice Wright (20th) and Senior Charlotte After (22nd). Senior Calli Thackery (43rd), Junior Tamara Armoush (73rd) and Sophomore Heleene Tambet (93rd) rounded out their top five, securing a podium spot with 188 points.



MEN'S RECAP
The Colorado men and Oregon Sophomore Edward Cheserek repeated 2013 performances in dominating fashion.

The Buffalos left Terre Haute with their second consecutive NCAA Championship, scoring 65 points by placing their top five men in the top 35. Led by Junior Ammar Moussa’s fifth-place finish, 90 places better than his 2013 finish, the Buffs maintained their unbeatable record. At 5k, there appeared to be 12 points separating Oregon, Colorado, and Stanford. When the hammer was dropped around 8k, Colorado’s depth was too much for the Ducks and Cardinals, who finished sixth and second, respectively. Sophomore Ben Saarel finished seventh, Senior Blake Theroux ninth, Junior Connor Winter 24th, and Junior Pierce Murphy 35th.

Silencing the critics, the Stanford men put up 98 points to finish second. Senior Maksim Korolev unleashed a monster kick to move up in the final stretch and finish fourth. Sophomore Sean McGorty, in his second race of 2014, finished 20th. Senior Michael Atchoo (29th), Junior Joe Rosa (33rd), and Freshman Sam Wharton (39th) rounded out the Cardinals’ top five.

The Portland Pilots (175) and Northern Arizona (188) also made podium appearances.

Cheserek’s winning time of 30:19 was just ahead of teammate Eric Jenkins, whose runner-up finish gave the Ducks the first 1-2 finish by the same teammates since 1989 (John Nuttall and Jonah Koech of Iowa State). Jenkins had to work for it, though. Battling with Junior Futsum Ziennasellassie of Northern Arizona down the straightaway, Jenkins proved victorious as Futsum broke down to finish third.

Stanley Kebenei of Arkansas (sixth), John Mascari of Indiana State (eighth), and Malachy Schrobilgen of Wisconsin (10th) rounded out the top ten.