NCAA DI Cross Country Championship 2024 Highlights

On November 24, 2024By Littum

At the NCAA DI Cross Country Championships, the best runners in the NCAA met for one last dance. Alabama’s Doris Lemngole took the women’s individual title, while Harvard’s Graham Blanks repeated as the men’s individual winner. BYU took the team titles for both the men’s and women’s races.

Check out FloTrack’s instant updates and analysis of the big day below.

10:41 a.m. ET:

There are a few more runners still finishing, but nothing changes. BYU placed all five runners in the top 50 to hold off Iowa State 124-137. The broadcast mentioned that Cylcone’s typical front runner, Robin Kwemoi Bera, was potentially the athlete to go down around 5k.

Defending champion Oklahoma State finished eighth, just over 40 points off the podium.

10:40 a.m. ET:

BYU will do it! Led by Casey Clinger, Ed Eyestone’s Cougars are National Champions again! Iowa State and Arkansas finish second and third, while host Wisconsin rounds out the podium with 212 points.

10:39 a.m. ET:

Graham Blanks! He is inevitable! The Harvard star runs a ‘Wicked smart’ race, breaking the record in 28:37. Samuel is second again, while Furman’s Dylan Schubert, Arkansas’ Yaseen Abdalla and Oklahoma State’s Brian Musau round out the top five.

10:36 a.m. ET:

Graham Blanks has made the biggest move of the day! With 1k to go, the defending champion is about three seconds ahead of New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel.

His lead continues to grow, and BYU is just a few hundred yards away from a potential collection of national titles.

10:35 a.m. ET:

Through 8k, only 13 men remain in the front group as Clinger continues to keep his foot on the gas while Villanova’s Liam Murphy tracks from behind. At some point, some of these programs will run out of time to make the necessary moves.

Oklahoma State’s Brian Musau made an 8.5k move, and defending champion Graham Blanks is tied with him. It’s still anyone’s race and there are still seven guys in the mix.

10:31 a.m. ET:

With 3k to go, the front group is starting to thin out, but still a contingent of men at the front. Casey Clinger still leads the way, but the move hasn’t been enough to drop anyone or open up the race.

It is also worth noting that 2023 runner-up Habtom Samuel runs with only his right shoe and runs barefoot on the left.

10:28 a.m. ET:

BYU’s Casey Clinger is the new front runner, but there is still a 15+ pack dictating the race. BYU, Arkansas and Iowa State continue to sit atop the team standings, while Oklahoma State closes the gap, currently in fourth place.

10:24 a.m. ET:

Just before the 5k there was a runner going down and a lot of back and forth between Oklahoma State’s Brian Musau and New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel. A few minutes later, Texas Tech’s Ernest Cheruiyot made a dash to the front, and Harvard’s Graham Blanks was the first to respond.

It looks like it was an Iowa State running back who fell, but both Robin Kwemoi Bera and Said Mechaal remain in the top 15.

10:21 a.m. ET:

It was just announced on the ESPN broadcast that Texas Tech’s Solomon Kipchoge was a DNS. Kipchoge was the mountain region champion in 28:55.9 and one of the top contenders for the individual crown.

10:18 a.m. ET:

Washington State’s Evans Kurui appeared to make a move, but he quickly fell back into the pack. Several runners from Iowa State, Arkansas and BYU are scattered throughout the top 10.

10:16 a.m. ET:

Through 2k, it looks like BYU has an early lead on the field in the team scorers, but with 12 seconds separating the first 200 runners, it’s impossible.

10:13 a.m. ET:

Nothing out of the ordinary has happened, as all the candidates are early.

10:10 a.m. ET:

The men’s race is off and we have 30 minutes of non-stop racing ahead of us.

9:49 a.m. ET:

Here’s what the podium looks like as the results continue to be finalized. Both Oregon and Stanford totaled 210 and 213, just four and seven points behind NAU.

1. BYU – 147

2. West Virginia – 164

3. Providence – 183

4. Northern Arizona – 206

This is BYU’s second title and fifth top-two finish under Taylor.

9:45 a.m. ET:

The results are still trickling in, but barring anything crazy, the BYU Cougars are the NCAA Champions! For the first time since 2020. Lexy Halladay-Lowry was 14th for the Cougars in 19:48, while Riley Chamberlain and Carmen Alder finished 31st and 39th, respectively.

In a wild final mile, West Virginia and Providence moved past Northern Arizona to finish second and third, while the Lumberjacks finished fourth in Mike Smith’s final year at the helm.

Three-time defending champions NC State finished eighth overall, bringing their unprecedented run at the top to an end.

9:39 a.m. ET:

Alabama’s Doris Lemngole breaks the streak to win her first cross country title as New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei and Florida’s Hilda Olemomoi take second and third. The trio clocked 19:21, 19:27 and 19:28 respectively. The top 31 women all broke 20:00 for 6k, and it took a performance of 20:04.6 or faster to earn All-American honors.

9:37 a.m. ET:

With a mile to go, the BYU Cougars took a big step, establishing a nearly 30-point gap on the Lumberjacks and West Virginia Mountaineers, who sit tied at 177 points apiece. Lemngole, Kosgei and Olemomoi have turned this into a three-woman race and are even with about 400m to go.

9:35 a.m. ET:

Alabama’s Doris Lemngole and New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei both moved ahead, while Florida’s Hilda Olemomoi responded to the move and went with the pair. West Virgina’s McCabe, Stanford’s Amy Bunnage and NC State’s Grace Hartman are about a meter or two back in the front three. NAU and BYU are only separated by nine points as it remains far too close to call.

9:32 a.m. ET:

There is still a large pack of 15+ women at the front as no one has chosen to open the race. Northern Arizona and BYU come through first and second in the team standings, totaling 146 and 165, respectively.

9:30 a.m. ET:

All the candidates are where they should be at one third. Connecticut’s Chloe Tomas, Stanford’s Amy Bunnage and West Virginia’s Ceili McCabe run amid a huge pack chasing the gator. Northern Arizona’s lead has grown to 22 points at the 2k mark, with New Mexico, BYU and Stanford right on its heels.

9:24 a.m. ET:

Through the first mile, Northern Arizona (159), BYU (166), Alabama (188) and Stanford (192) are the top four teams, and the pack has caught up and surrounded Florida’s Olemomoi.

9:20 a.m. ET:

The women’s race is underway and a few women have made waves towards the front. Florida’s Hilda Olemomoi has taken the pace hard and leads the race by about 5-10 meters.

Action is set to get underway – 9:00 AM ET

Action is scheduled to start at 10:20 a.m. EDT with the women’s race leading the day. The men’s race will follow at 11:00 a.m. EDT.

When are the 2024 NCAA D1 Cross Country Championships; NCAA XC Championship Schedule

The cross-country championships are at 10.20 (women’s 6000 m) and 11.10 (men’s 10,000 m) on 23 November. The Division II and Division III championships are held on the same day.

Where are the 2024 NCAA D1 Cross Country Championships?

The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Division I National Championships are at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Verona, Washington. They will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin.

Division I: Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Verona, Wisconsin
Division II: Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, California
Division III: LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.

FloTrack is streaming the Cross Country High School State Meets throughout November

November is also the month of high school cross country championship meets. Check the FloTrack schedule for a list of all state championships streamed on FloTrack