It was a busy weekend on the cross country course across all three NCAA Divisions, and particularly so for the top teams in DII. Below, we run through the highlights from Friday and Saturday in DII and DIII XC:

D2: No. 2 Adams State women beat Washington, take second at Stanford

Ninth-ranked Washington was running without All-American Lilli Burdon on Friday at the Stanford Invitational, but nonetheless, Adams State’s 69-90 point defeat of the Huskies is quite impressive. Stanford won the meet with 62 points despite competing without several of their projected scorers. Cardinal senior Elise Cranny took the individual title in 20:32 on the 6k course.

Adams State, the defending NCAA DII champions, put all five of their scorers in the top 30, including two top 10 finishes from All-American Eilish Flanagan (4th, 20:59) and freshman Stephanie Cotter (10th, 21:16). Cotter’s finish could be a revelation for the No. 2 Grizzlies, who returned just two All-Americans from last season. 

D2: Sydney Gidabuday finishes second, Adams State third at Stanford

If there was any question about Sydney Gidabuday’s fitness ahead of this weekend, it has surely been answered after he placed second on Friday in the Stanford Invite 8k in 23:55. The senior, who spent much of last cross country season on the shelf with an injury before finishing 17th at nationals, beat all but UCLA’s Robert Brandt in Palo Alto, once again showing why he’ll be awfully tough to be beat in December if he continues at this trajectory.

Gidabuday ran a 13:29 5k in April, but he finished just 10th in the NCAA DII 5k. No doubt the six-time national champion is hungry and focused to avenge that disappointment this fall.

Led by Gidabuday, the No. 1 Grizzlies finished third behind Stanford and UCLA. Senior Elias Gedyon joined his teammate in the top 10 with a seventh place finish, while ASU’s two other All-Americans-- Joshua Joseph and Kale Adams-- each recorded top 25 finishes.

D3: North Central (Ill.) wins Greater Louisville

There is virtually nothing that DIII stalwart North Central can do these days that qualifies as surprising, as the 18-time NCAA champs win with such regularity that it’s expected. Still, the Cardinals’ win at Greater Louisville on Saturday-- where they beat Power Five teams Kentucky and Louisville, among others-- is quite remarkable. Led by Dhruvil Patel’s fourth-place individual finish, NCC scored 102 points to topple Kentucky (110), Belmont (117), and host Louisville (155).

The 2018 Louisville Sports Commission XC Classic Men’s College Champion ⁦@SportsinLou⁩ #itsWseason pic.twitter.com/6DNX6EkKdm

— NCCMensXCTF (@NCCMensXCTF) September 29, 2018

Kentucky and Louisville aren’t as strong as they have been in recent seasons, but the point on North Central remains the same: they’re going to be all but impossible to beat in Division III in 2018.

D2: No. 4 U-Mary topples No. 8 Augustana (S.D.), Kayla Wooten scores some scalps at Griak

In a battle of top 10 DII women’s squads at Roy Griak on Saturday, the U-Mary women held serve as the top ranked Division II team at the meet by defeating Augustana (S.D.) 66-82. The Marauders got three top 10 finishes by seniors Jaiden Schuette (2nd), Ida Narbuvoll (3rd), and freshman Taylor Hestekin (8th), a great sign for their podium potential later in the season.

U Mary @UMaryXCTF get a close win over @AugustanaTrack #Griak2018 pic.twitter.com/51SaT7Qvx9

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) September 29, 2018

The results from Narbuvoll and Hestekin have to be particularly encouraging for U-Mary. Narbuvoll missed all of the 2017 cross country season and raced just once on the track in 2018, and yet she seems to once again be on track for a top 15 finish at NCAAs. She was 12th at nationals back in 2016.

Hestekin, meanwhile, was running just her second collegiate cross country race, but she could be a huge, albeit unexpected, piece for the Marauders in December.

In the individual battle at Griak, Colorado Springs Kayla Wooten scored a nice win over Schuette, Narbuvoll, and Augustana’s Mackenzie Kelly, all of whom have beaten her at NCAAs previously.

Kayla Wooten @UCCSTRACK wins the Women’s Maroon race in 21:55 #Griak2018 pic.twitter.com/PspTzBZz57

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) September 29, 2018

D2: Mason Phillips dominates Griak once again

It’s now two races and two dominating wins for Sioux Falls’ Mason Phillips at the Roy Griak Invitational, as the junior defended his 2017 title on Saturday with an 11 second win. Phillips took control early and hammered alone for a majority of the race, crossing the line in 24:53, a time that would’ve placed him 10th in the DI gold race.