The championship portion of the NCAA season is here! Division I will take place Friday, November 10th.
Contributor's Picks
Predictions | Women | Men |
Individual | Chloe Scrimgeour (Georgetown) | Liam Murphy (Villanova) |
Team | Georgetown - 36 Pts | Villanova - 53 Pts |
Women - 12:00 PM
Qualifying - 2 Teams and 4 Individuals
The Team Race
Mid-Atlantic Region No.2 Penn State (Ranking via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll) is PA's top team going into the regional championship meet. Madaline Ullom paced the Nittany Lions to a fourth-place team finish at the Big 10 Championships three weeks ago. Florence Caron and Kileigh Kane were other All-Conference finishers for Penn State. If team front-runner Faith DeMars doesn't race, these three will play an even more vital role in Penn State's success on Friday. Charlotte Costich, Claire Zubey, and Lea Hatcher are other athletes who must be in the mix to secure Penn State's ticket to nationals.
Mid-Atlantic Region No.5 Villanova and No.6 Penn (Rankings via USTFCCCA Coaches Poll) are similarly matched dark horse teams that could surprise us. Note that Penn was the first team out from qualifying last year after they finished 3rd in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Both squads have a strong pair of front runners that put them in the team race. All four women will be mentioned below as individuals with the potential to qualify individually.
Standout Individuals
Sadie Sigfstead (Villanova) will be in the mix for one of the individual spots. Sigfstead was an individual qualifier in 2021 but did not compete in the 2022 season. She has found great success this year, notably finishing 4th at the Big East Championships.
Sigfstead's teammate, Emma McGill, is another contender for individual qualifying. McGill was 5th at the Big East Championships.
Maeve Stiles (Penn) was an individual national qualifier last year after finishing 4th at the regional meet. She is also a favorite for one of the individual qualifying spots this year. Stiles will have a lot of momentum going into regionals after her 4th place finish at the Ivy League Championship a few weeks ago.
Lily Murphy (Penn) will also be a contender for an individual qualifying spot. Murphy was 16th last year, earning All-Region recognition, and appears to be peaking at the right time this season.
Pitt's Sadie Carey-Tharp is one to keep an eye on.
Top Out of State Competition
Mid-Atlantic Region No.1 and US No.4 Georgetown (Ranking via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll) is the easy favorite. Expect Georgetown to defend its Mid-Atlantic Region team title from 2022. Georgetown's Chloe Scrimgeour is the clear favorite for the individual title.
Mid-Atlantic Region No.3 West Virginia and No.4 Princeton (Rankings via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll) are other teams to watch out for.
Sarah Tait, Katherine Dowie, and Alexis Lamb from the West Virginia squad are the ones to watch. These three can lead the Mountaineers to a top-two team finish.
Fiona Max, Margaret Liebich, Tsion Yared, and Mena Scatchard all finished in the top 15 at the Ivy League Championships for Princeton. These four closely grouped runners will be tough for other teams to match on Friday.
Men - 1:30 PM
Qualifying - 2 Teams and 4 Individuals
The Team Race
Mid-Atlantic Region No.1 and US No.11 Villanova (Rankings via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll) should defend their regional title from last year. The Wildcats must hold off Mid-Atlantic Region No.2 and US No.16 Princeton (Rankings via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll). Villanova's Liam Murphy, Haftu Strinzos, and Marco Langon will lead the charge. Liam Murphy will look to defend his individual title from 2022. However Strinzos and Langon are candidates for gold too.
Standout Individuals
Pitt's Luke Henseler is a strong candidate to earn an individual qualifying position for the National Championship. He made it last year, finishing 13th at the regional meet. Henseler has continued to have a strong season this year, finishing 27th at the ACC Championships.
Penn's Dylan Throop will be an exciting runner to watch. Throop has been on fire this season, impressively clocking a 23:20.1 8k to finish 7th at the University of Virginia's Pre-National meet. He also finished 2nd in the Ivy League Championship. If Throop can run like this Friday, it'd be no surprise if he walks away with the individual title.
Penn State's Evan Dorenkamp, another PA legend, needs to be on your radar. The middle-distance runner has made an incredible return to cross country, winning the Paul Short Gold and Nuttycombe B races. Dorenkamp is a championship racer who we expect to see battling for a qualifying spot.
The La Salle duo of Taonga Mbambo and MacCallum Rowe are other runners to watch. Mbambo was 6th at the A10 Championship, while MacCallum was 7th.
Top out of State Competition
As mentioned above, Princeton will be Villanova's biggest competitor for the team title. They won the Ivy League Championship, placing their scoring runners all in the top 11, with their six and seven runners placing 16th and 22nd. Princeton is a competitive, nationally ranked team led by Nicholas Bendtsen as their front-runner. Don't take this team lightly.
Georgetown and Navy are other top-ranked teams. Parker Stokes (2022 Mid-Atlantic Region Runner-Up), Abel Teffra, and Matthew Rizzo are the top Georgetown men to watch. As for Navy, we expect to see Patriot League Champion, Murphy Smith, and teammates Samuel Kenny and Alexander Kirkland. These three runners finished 1-3 at their conference championship meet.
2022 Winners - Individuals | Teams
Women: 19:58 (6k) - Ceili McCabe (West Virginia) | Georgetown
Men: 29:52.6 (10k) - Liam Murphy (Villanova) | Villanova