Cross country teams ran for conference championships last weekend, giving fans exciting races before NCAA championship qualification begins. Here are some takeaways after the races.
The men's and women's team title races are between two teams
The defending men's and women's DI champions, Northern Arizona and NC State, respectively, won their conference titles last weekend. Both should remain the frontrunners to repeat as champions, but their top challenges separated themselves from the rest of the field.
On the men's side, Oklahoma State's 30-point win at the Big 12 championships showed that it can run a race that can stall NAU's dynasty. On the women's side, NAU's women's team took each of the top seven spots at Big Sky championships, just weeks after beating NC State — albeit without some of the top Wolfpack runners. The performances from Oklahoma State's men and NAU's women placed a gap between them and the rest of the NCAA. It's a two-team race for the men's and women's team titles entering regionals.
Scenes from our Big Sky win 📸#RaiseTheFlag | #BigSkyXC pic.twitter.com/QetxnBnj3y
— NAU Track & Field/XC (@NAUTrackFieldXC) October 28, 2023
Parker Valby is on a different level
After a statement win at the Nuttycombe Invitational, Parker Valby responded with a 33.8 second win at SEC Championships. Valby's last two races have both been dominant. She's running at a championship level.
Parker wins BACK-TO-BACK!
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) October 27, 2023
đź’»https://t.co/DHXxVvdiyZ pic.twitter.com/QsoKZnn9Qu
But Katelyn Tuohy won't be an easy out
For all the dominance of Parker Valby, Katelyn Tuohy remains the defending NCAA women's individual champion. After finishing second at the Nuttycombe, Tuohy bounced back to become the first back-to-back ACC women's individual champion since 2009. Tuohy may have lost to Valby in their last outing, but her performance at ACCs shows she's not give up her title easily.
The men's individual race could have a freshman on the podium
When Oklahoma State's Brian Musau won the Big 12 men's individual title, he became the latest freshman runner to impress in 2023. Musau joins New Mexico's Habtom Samuel and Wake Forest's Rocky Hansen on the list of rookies with standout performances this fall. It's looking more and more likely that a men's freshman runner will end up on the podium on Nov. 18.
Brian Musau with the winđź’Ş#GoPokes I #Big12XC pic.twitter.com/Zc0az9qDoc
— Oklahoma State XC/T&F (@run4okstate) October 28, 2023
The Pac-12 as we know it will be missed
2023 marked the last year of the Pac-12 championships in its current structure, and the conference didn't disappoint. Colorado — the highest ranked men's Pac-12 program entering the meet — finished fourth at conference championships. Stanford, Washington and Oregon took the top three spots, all exciting down the stretch with five finishers each in the top 22.
The women's race was even more thrilling as two points separated Pac-12 champion Washington and runner up Stanford. In fact, Stanford saw its first five runners cross the finish line before Washington's, but the fifth Husky runner Tori Herman finished 1.9 seconds ahead of Stanford's sixth place runner that could've forced a tie.
Exciting finishes like that are why the cross country fans everywhere will miss the Pac-12 as we know it.
