NCAA Cross Country Championships Highlights (updated)

Aaron Rich

2012 Division 1 National XC Championships

Alexi Pappas and Jordan Hasay embrace after the race and an emotional rollercoaster ensued before Oregon was declared the champs. (Photo by Jonathan Grooms)

Coverage (Videos by Flotrack.com)

Saina, Hasay and D'Agostino as they close on the finish. (Photo by Tim O'Dowd, irishrunner.com)

Women's Championship Race: Betsy Saina (Iowa State) won the individual title with a time of 19:27.9 and Abbey D'Agostino (Dartmouth) was 2nd in 19:28.6, narrowly ahead of Jordan Hasay (Oregon), 3rd in 19:28.6.  Oregon won the team crown over Providence 114 to 183.  Stanford was 3rd with 198 points and Florida State was 4th with 202 points.  Cal Poly's Laura Hollander, just a frosh, showed some real guts by leading out from the gun through the first 2k.  Saina, D'Agostino and Hasay were among those in the pack following her lead in the early going.  The three broke away late in the race, about 1k to go, and held on to the finish, each waiting for the moves to be made.  Saina had the lead with 200m to go and withstood a late surge by Hasay, who faded just enough for D'Agostino to nab her at the line, with both runners timed equally.  The women of Oregon dominated the race at each check, and appeared as a runaway winner initially.  But then the results took an inexplicable turn as Providence was declared the winner and the Ducks 2nd runner, Alexi Pappas was left out of the results.  After a protest, Pappas was added into the results and Oregon was declared the official winner.  Florida State also had a runner left out of the results, and once added back in closed to within a few points of 3rd place Stanford.  Crazy ending to a fast and furious race, hopefully the NCAA can avoid such gaffes in the future.  

Kennedy Kithuka takes the win with a surge from 5k on. (Photo by Tim O'Dowd, irishrunner.com)

Men's Championship Race: Kennedy Kithuka (Texas Tech) broke away from the pack halfway and continued to keep the pressure on, taking the title with a time of 28:31.3 over 10k.  Stephen Sambu (Arizona) finished 2nd with a time of 28:38.6 and Lawi Lalang (Arizona) was 3rd in 28:51.8.  Anthony Rotich (UTEP) was 4th in 29:13.5 and Girma Mecheso (OK State) was 5th in 29:14.8.  Oklahoma State won the team title from the front the whole way with a total of 72 points.  Second place went to Wisconsin with 135 points, third went to Colorado with 158 points and Northern Arizona was 4th with 191 points.  The pace was fast in the men's race with a 4:32 opening mile, and Kithuka felt good enough to take off at halfway and test the fitness of Sambu and Lalang.  He continued to press through the late miles and the gap was never overcome.  Equally as dominate, Oklahoma State was aggressive early and at each kilometer mark they held a dominate lead over Wisconsin.  Over the last 1k the gap closed slightly, but the strategy paid off for Dave Smith and the Cowboys as their depth carried them to the national title that eluded them in 2011.

 

2012 DII National XC Championships

Men's Championship Race: Adams State has been a staple of D2 running for many years, but have they ever been this dominate.  They won the D2 national title with a measly 34 points.  34!! In addition to that, their team average of 29:29.4 was faster than Oklahome States 29:43.10 average.  Course distances aside, you have to give it to Adams State for running that fast.  Kevin Batt and Tabor Stevens led the way with a 2-3 finish in 29:12.1 and 29:12.2.  Micah Chelimo (Alaska Anchorage) won the individual title with a solid gap, running a time of 28:56.6.  

Women's Championship Race: Alicia Nelson (Adams State) won individually with a time of 20:03.3 over 6k, with a 9 second gap back to second place Susan Tanui (Alaska Anchorage), timed in 20:12.6.  Katie Spratford (Shippensburg) finished 3rd with a time of 20:22.4.  Grand Valley won a close team race over Augustana 101 to 104.  Also right in the mix was Adams State, finished 3rd with 109 points.

 

2012 DIII National XC Championships

Men's Championship Race: North Central College won the NCAA DIII men's cross country championship for the second-straight year while earning its schools' 15th title overall. North Central defeated Calvin College, 167-188. Haverford College placed third with 189 points while Wis. La Crosse took fourth (190). John Crain was the top finisher for North Central with a six-place finish in 24:43.5. Tim Nelson (Wis. Stout) won individually with a time of 24:26.8. Allegheny's Bobby Over was second at 24:34.8.

Women's Championship Race: John Hopkins dominated the women's race, winning convincely 158-221 over second-place Wartburg. Hannah Oneda led the way for John Hopkins, finishing 10th with a time of 21:26.3. Holly Clarke (21:48.9)  and Annie Monagle (21:56.2) earned All-American honors along with Oneda, placing 25th and 32nd. Christy Cazzola of Wis.-Oshkosh won the individual race with a time of 20:53.3. Alison Steinbrunner ( Ohio Northern) was second at 21:08.9.