No. 1 New Mexico

From the beginning of the fall, New Mexico has executed a nearly flawless cross country season that has seen dominant victory at nearly every competition. From the beginning, the Lobos have proven that they possess a quality unlike any other team in the NCAA this year — their entire top five could finish in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships. 

 

And we haven’t even seen them in full force yet. #TheyWoreFlats

 

 

The cross country community caught the first glimpse of their potential at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational where the team scored a record total of 32 points in a meet where the highest number of nationally-ranked teams met prior to the NCAA Championships. That score smashed the previous course record held by 2014 NCAA Championship squad Michigan State who scored 87 points the year prior, also thought to be unbeatable. 

 

In the history of the intensely competitive meet in Madison, no women’s or men’s team has scored a lower point total than the New Mexico Lobos did in October 2015. Although super-star transfer Courtney Frerichs was the first New Mexico runner to cross the finish line (fourth overall), the remaining Lobos followed within seconds of each other — Rhona Auckland fifth, Calli Thackery sixth, Alice Wright seventh, and Molly Renfer 10th. Each Lobo powered through the line one after the other, sending shock-waves through the NCAA. The results indicated early on that New Mexico has the potential to make NCAA history.

 

They continued their season at the Mountain West Conference Championships where they easily won their eighth-straight conference team title by putting all seven runners in the top 12. With 24 team points, the Lobos tallied the lowest team score since the team’s 20-point win in 2010. Then-No. 9 Boise State closed in for the runner-up team finish with 71 points. 

 

Next up was the NCAA Mountain Region Championships, where, despite resting All American Alice Wright, Heleene Tambet and Emily Hosker-Thornhill, the Lobos cruised to a runner-up team finish where 4.5 seconds separated top finisher Calli Thackery and No. 5 scorer Whitney Thornburg. No. 2 Colorado was able to squeak out a team win with 49 points over the Lobos’ 50. But knowing the power of a full New Mexico pack, the tables will surely turn when the Lobos finally run all-out at the NCAA Cross Country Championships this Saturday.  

WATCH - AWAY FROM HOME: NEW MEXICO (TRAILER)

No. 2 Colorado

In August, Coach Mark Wetmore was quoted in a CUBuffs.com release saying, “This will be a team that can definitely challenge for the podium. Combined with the men and women, they might be the two best teams we’ve had here.” 

 

Coming from a coach who has guided past teams which include the 2000 and 2004 NCAA Championship squads, Wetmore’s words were not taken lightly, and his prediction has come to fruition in the final moments of the season. 

 

Beginning at the Pre-National Invitational, front-runner Erin Clark commanded the individual title with a furious kick to the finish, taking down Air Force’s Hannah Everson. She led three teammates to finish in the top 20 of the race where the Buffaloes ended the competition with a score of 151 points, second to team winner Michigan. From there the Buffs kept building. 

 

Since the Pre-National performance in Louisville, Colorado has seen an emergence of fitness in sophomores Kaitlyn Benner and Melanie Nun, senior Maddie Alm, and standout freshman Dani Jones who each helped contribute to Colorado’s Pac-12 Conference Championship-winning performance in Pullman, Washington. Benner’s runner-up finish, Clark’s fourth-place, Nun’s seventh-place, Alm’s eighth-place and Jones’ 24th-place finish all totaled to 45 points for Colorado, six points lower than Oregon. Benner’s performance was a huge break-through as she finished 29th at last year’s championships. The performance marked the Buffaloes’ first Pac-12 Championship since winning in 2011. 

 

As mentioned earlier, the Buffaloes tallied 49 points at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships, just one point lower than No. 1 New Mexico. Led by another stellar performance from Benner, the Buffaloes were able to put together a tight pack on the Lobos’ home turf to claim the region title and earn an automatic qualifying spot to the NCAA Championships. Clark finished right behind Benner and was followed by Alm in seventh, Jones in 16th, and Nun in 23rd. Benner, Clark and Alm all finished before New Mexico’s No. 1 runner. 
 

 

If the Buffaloes are able close out another tight pack again in Louisville, Colorado will definitely secure the podium spot that Wetmore predicted. 

 

No. 3 Providence

Your Northeast Regional Champions! #D1Northeast #gofriars #jacketsonpoint pic.twitter.com/QCpkTEyn29

— Providence XC|Track (@FriarsXCTrack) November 13, 2015

Despite entering the Saucony Flo50 rankings at No. 11 in September, the Lady Friars have built upon their pre-season ranking with every performance this season, culminating with a No. 3 spot in the final week before the Big Dance. It’s been three years since Providence finished runner-up at the NCAA Cross Country Championships when the meet was back in Louisville, and 2015 is shaping up to be another podium year for the Friars. 

 

Providence started the season with a bang at the competitive Wisconsin adidas Invitational where they finished fifth as a team, tallying 264 points, behind NC State, Virginia, Arkansas and New Mexico. Led by an eighth-place finish from front-runner Sarah Collins, the squad had only just started to realize their potential. 

 

Two weeks later, Providence rolled on the competition at the Big East Championships where they swept the top three places and captured the seventh women’s title in program history. Led once again by Collins who claimed the individual title, the Friars’ point total was tallied by Lauren Mullins (2nd), Katie Lembo (3rd), Catarina Rocha (6th) and Brianna Llarda (14th). All of the top seven Providence women earned All Big East honors. 

 

Head Coach Ray Treacy was ecstatic over the conference win as he told Friars.com, “Obviously we expected to do really well today, but going 1-2-3 was a great achievement. I am delighted for Sarah, coming back to win the Big East title after a year of not competing…”

 

Having Collins back is an achievement for the team as well as she has made an immediate impact as a front-runner. She continued leading the Friars at the NCAA Northeast Region Championships with a runner-up finish to Dartmouth’s Dana Giordano. She was followed by teammates Lembo (9th), Rocha (10th), Mullins (11th), and Llarda (17th) to round out a winning team score of 49 points. The team that came closest to the Friars was Syracuse who scored 92 points total. 

 

If the Friars can continue this upward trend in Louisville, the podium is theres for the taking. 

 

No. 4 Arkansas

Not only does Arkansas have an NCAA title-contending front-runner in Dominique Scott, but they also have a potential podium team with a solid top five crew. Despite losing four seniors from last year’s team that finished fifth at the NCAA Championships, Head Coach Lance Harter has assembled a killer crew to contend for the final podium spot in Louisville. 

 

Scott has been dominant from the start of the season, beginning with an individual title at the Chili Pepper Festival, a third-place finish at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, a title at the SEC Conference Championships and another individual title at the NCAA South Central Championships. Scott has won an NCAA title on the track at the Indoor Championships, but never on the cross country course, and as a senior this will be her last chance to accomplish the feat. 



Devin Clark, Kaitlin Flattmann, Kelsey Schrader, Regan Ward, and Valeria Reina have all been building with each race this season, combining for a dangerous pack of interchangeable parts. Clark finished 18th at Wisconsin and followed it with an eighth-place finish at the SEC Championships. Flattmann is returning from a breakthrough sixth-place finish at the SEC Championships and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA South Central Region Championships. Schrader, Ward, and Reina all tallied top 15 finishes at the region meet along with middle-distance standout Nikki Hiltz who also had a standout performance. 

With depth of this magnitude, the Arkansas Razorbacks have real potential to make a big jump at the NCAA Championships on Saturday.