WEEKEND PREVIEW (XC): Ranked Teams Fly South For Winter Classic

What do geese and 12 teams that were ranked in the most recent NCAA Division I Cross Country National Coaches’ Polls have in common? They both fly south for winter.
For those seven ranked men’s teams and five ranked women’s teams, they’ll head to the Sunshine State tomorrow for the Florida State Winter Cross Country Classic. The Men’s Garnet 8K begins at 8 am ET, while the Women’s Garnet 6K goes off 30 minutes later.
From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | Cross Country Scoreboard
Florida State Winter Cross Country Classic: CLICK HERE for LIVE RESULTS
Three of those seven ranked men’s teams provisionally entered reside in the top-15: No. 6 Iowa State, No. 12 Stanford and No. 13 Colorado. This will be the seasonal debut for both the Buffs and the Cardinal as the Pac-12 postponed competition in the fall. The Cyclones raced twice in October, finishing runner-up at both the Cowboy Jamboree as well as the Big 12 Championships – the latter of which where they lost in a tiebreaker. (It should be noted that several Colorado men competed unattached at the OSU Invitational in mid-October and if they were scored in the team standings, they would have finished fifth at the meet.)
The four remaining ranked teams in the men’s field include No. 19 Wake Forest, No. 22 Southern Utah, No. 27 Utah State and No. 30 Syracuse. The Deacons have been a true surprise in 2020-21, finishing a game third at the ACC Championships behind Notre Dame and NC State and own their best billing in the National Coaches’ Poll since 2001.
Two of those five ranked women’s teams provisionally entered own spots in the top-10: No. 4 Stanford and No. 8 Colorado. Like their male counterparts, this will be their seasonal debut as well. Last time we saw the Buffs and the Cardinal on the cross country course, they finished 10th and third, respectively, at the 2019 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana. Stanford returns five of the seven runners from that top-5 team, including Ella Donaghu (eighth) and Jessica Lawson (11th). Colorado has three athletes back from their NCAA squad and brought in two talented graduate transfers from Big Ten programs, namely Abby Nichols from Ohio State.
Don’t count out the three remaining ranked women’s teams, either: No. 20 Iowa State, No. 23 Duke and No. 29 Boston College. On top of that, there are five teams that received votes in the most recent National Coaches’ Poll in the field as well: California Baptist, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Other Meets of Interest

Oregon XC Open
Look for a number of heavy hitters on the West Coast to compete at the Oregon XC Open on Friday, which is hosted by Lane Community College.
The men’s race will feature two top-10 programs in No. 7 Portland and No. 10 Oregon. With opportunities at a premium this spring, chances are high that we’ll see top runners from each program, like we would at a traditional regional meet. Both the Ducks and the Pilots jumped three spots in the most recent National Coaches’ Poll released on Wednesday.
Two top-25 programs will be in the women’s race: No. 21 Oregon State and No. 24 Oregon. This will mark the grass circuit debut for each program in 2021. While the Ducks have the LCC Invitational on their schedule for February 19, the Beavers go right to the Pac-12 Championships on March 5 in Tacoma, Washington.
The American Cross Country Championships
After months and months and … Well, you get … months of waiting, athletes from the American Athletic Conference are finally racing again on the grass circuit. What a better way to get right into the season than with The American Cross Country Championships?
Competition begins on Saturday morning at the 4 Mile Creek Resort in Augusta, Kansas. The Women’s Championship 6K goes off at 10 am CT with the Men’s Championship 8K scheduled to start at 10:50 am CT. Fans can watch the meet LIVE on ESPN+.
Back in November of 2019, Tulsa doubled up on team titles. It was a near sweep for the men’s team as they went 2-3-4-5-6 for 20 points and the women beat Wichita State by 26 points.
Don’t expect much to change on Saturday as the Golden Hurricane returns numerous athletes from those championship teams. Tulsa’s men enter the meet ranked fourth nationally and are led by Patrick Dever and Peter Lynch. On the women’s side, Tulsa welcomes back four athletes who finished in the top-15 last year, including three from the top-10.
SCAC Cross Country Championships
There will be an NCAA Division III conference title up for grabs this weekend.
The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) hosts its championship meet on the campus of the University of Dallas. The Women’s 6K Championship begins at 9 am CT on Saturday morning with the Men’s Championship 8K set for exactly one hour later.
Colorado College swept the proceedings last time out. The men took six of the top-10 spots and won by 30 points over Trinity (Texas), while the women put five in the top-10 for 30 points.
Look for a new individual champion on the men’s side as the top-3 finishers in 2019 all graduated. The women’s race is headlined by defending champion Anna Wilgenbusch of Dallas, who won the 2019 title by 33 seconds.