Big weekend on tap will reveal much 

By Adam Schneider of DyeStat

This is one of the four big weekends left in the season. The two biggest meets are the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational and NCAA Division 1 Pre-Nationals Invitational held on the E.P. ‘Tom Sawyer’ State Park championship course in Louisville, Ky. 

The second-ranked Stanford women have not run all of the team’s top runners in any meet but all of them could finally compete at Wisconsin. Harvard transfer Courtney Smith and fellow senior Elise Cranny could open their season here or perhaps as late as the NCAA meet. The Cardinal are so deep they could qualify easily for the NCAA meet without the two runners expected to be their best this year. Sophomore Ednah Kurgat leads fourth-ranked New Mexico and will challenge for the individual title, along with redshirt senior teammate Alice Wright as the Lobos might be the favorite at this meet. Reigning NCAA 10,000-meter champion Charlotte Taylor of San Francisco could win the individual crown and will lead the sixth-ranked Dons, a potential team titleist. 

Boise State sophomore Allie Ostrander will be one of the favorites and could help the No. 10 Broncos contend for the team title. Defending Pac-12 champion Amy-Eloise Neale, a senior at Washington, will contest for this title and lead the No. 14 Huskies. Utah junior Grayson Murphy, Cal senior Bethan Knights and freshman teammate Brie Oakley, Furman senior Allie Buchalski, Indiana junior Katherine Receveur and Eastern Michigan senior Jordann McDermitt will also challenge for the individual title. 

Eleventh-ranked Providence, No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 15 Iowa State, No. 17 Minnesota and No. 20 Michigan State will also challenge for top-five finishes at this meet. 

The top-heavy NCAA Division 1 Pre-Nationals Invitational in Louisville will have the majority of the top team and individual national contenders. Top-ranked Oregon brings sophomore Katie Rainsberger, along with an experienced group of top quality runners. Sophomore Lilli Burdon and junior Jessica Hull coud challenge for the top 10 here. Second-ranked Colorado has a deep roster with a few All-America contenders, including junior Dani Jones, senior Kaitlyn Benner and junior Makena Morley. Fifth-ranked Michigan is led by seniors Jamie Morrissey, Gina Sereno, and Avery Evenson. Colorado (93) is the defending meet champion over Oregon (154) and Michigan (179), but at the NCAA meet Oregon (125) edged Michigan (126) and Colorado (134) for the national title. This could be another great race.

There are other title contenders that could secure a trophy at the end of the season. Sophomore Taylor Werner is expected to lead eighth-ranked Arkansas. Junior Alyssa Snyder leads surprising ninth-ranked Utah State, with No. 13 BYU another team contender. 

Senior Karissa Schweizer of Missouri, the defending Division 1 champion, along with junior Sharon Lokedi of Kansas, senior Elinor Purrier of New Hampshire, Eastern Kentucky junior Charlotte Imer, senior Lauren LaRocco of No. 18 Portland, seniors Alexandria and Michaela Hackett of Abilene Christian, and Jessica and Samantha Drop from Georgia will likely challenge for top 20 individual spots. 

Big meets this weekend:

Oct. 13 Middle Tennessee State at Alabama Crimson Classic

Oct. 13 Missouri at Bradley Classic

Oct. 13 Oklahoma State and Villanova at Penn State National

Oct. 13 Michigan State at the Jayhawk Invitational

Oct. 13 Furman at HPU Vert Invitational

Oct. 13 Stanford, Furman, Iowa State, New Mexico, Boise State, San Francisco, Providence, Washington, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Georgetown, Michigan State, Indiana, Virginia, Colorado State, Utah, Eastern Michigan, Cal, Vanderbilt, and UCLA at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

Oct. 14 Princeton hosts Princeton Invitational

Oct. 14 Cal, Cal Poly SLO, and UC Santa Barbara at Santa Clara Bronco Invitational

Oct. 14 Colorado, Oregon, Arkansas, BYU, Michigan, Utah State, Portland, Mississippi, Abilene Christian, Georgia, Missouri, Eastern Kentucky and UTEP at Pre-Nationals in Louisville

Top 20 (last week’s ranking)

1. Oregon (1) at Pre-Nationals in Louisville

2. Colorado (2) at Pre-Nationals in Louisville

3. Stanford (3) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

4. New Mexico (4) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

5. Michigan (5) at Pre-Nationals in Louisville

6. San Francisco (6) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

7. North Carolina State (7) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

8. Arkansas (8) at Pre-Nationals in Louisville

9. Utah State (9) at Pre-Nationals in Louisville

10. Boise State (10) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

11. Providence (11) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

12. Wisconsin (12) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

13. BYU (13) at Pre-Nationals in Louisville

14. Washington (14) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

15. Iowa State (15) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

16. Furman (16) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

17. Minnesota (17) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

18. Portland (18) at Pre-Nationals in Louisville

19. Indiana (19) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

20. Michigan State (20) at Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational

Watch list: Villanova, Georgia, Georgetown, Utah, Eastern Michigan, Air Force, Cal, Columbia, Mississippi, and Penn State