Five Takeaways from college cross country's big weekend

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

With a month left in the NCAA Division 1 cross country season, the results of Wisconsin’s Nuttycombe Invitational and the Pre-National Invitational provided a snapshot of which teams and individuals could be in position Nov. 18 to win national championships. 

Results - Pre-Nationals | Nuttycombe Wisconsin

Here are five of the biggest takeaways from the weekend’s action: 

- Given that the course in Wisconsin seems 15-25 seconds slower than the course at Tom Sawyer State Park in Kentucky, Ednah Kurgat’s 16-second victory at Nuttycombe appears to be the best result of the weekend for women. The New Mexico sophomore dominated her race, which included reigning NCAA 10,000-meter champion Charlotte Taylor of San Francisco (third). 

- Elinor Purrier is a player for the NCAA title as well. The New Hampshire star not only defeated reigning NCAA champion Karissa Schweizer of Missouri, she seems to have significantly improved from a year ago, when she finished seventh at the NCAA Championships. She crushed the field Sept. 22 at the Coast to Coast Battle In Beantown and should carry more momentum and confidence into her postseason. 

- Justyn Knight and Grant Fisher waged an epic duel in the Nuttycombe meet and it could be a preview of nationals. Syracuse’s Knight managed to outkick Stanford’s Fisher in a battle of distance running heavyweights. Knight was the NCAA runner-up in 2016 and has IAAF World Championships finals experience on the track in the 5,000 meters. Fisher is the NCAA 5,000 champion on the track and has managed to keep the momentum moving forward after reaching stardom in high school with a pair of Foot Locker National titles. 

- The BYU men are even better than advertised. The Cougars put on another clinic at Pre-Nationals, putting five guys in the top 15 and splitting 17 seconds behind winner Rory Linkletter. This could be the year of the high-altitude program. Northern Arizona’s men and the New Mexico women both won at Nuttycombe. And nobody should ever count out Colorado. The Buffs’ men and women were both second at Pre-Nats.

-  The Oregon women won the Pre-Nationals title and might not yet be running its best lineup. Alli Cash, who was 14th at nationals last year, has not yet raced this fall. Susan Ejore, a JC transfer from Monroe College in Westchester County, N.Y., didn’t run either in Kentucky. The Ducks look to be positioning themselves for a title defense in November, led by sophomore Katie Rainsberger.