Four Big 12 men’s programs and three women’s squads will compete at the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships at Panorama Farms Cross Country Course in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, November 18. The Conference also had eight student-athletes qualify individually that will represent an additional seven Big 12 teams. BYU, Iowa State and Oklahoma State qualified both their men’s and women’s programs.
BYU’s men’s team advanced to the NCAA National Championship with a second-place, 89-point result in the 10k Mountain Regional. Four Cougars placed in the top 18 as James Corrigan (12
th), Kenneth Rooks (16
th), Lucas Bons (17
th) and Joey Nokes (18
th) led the way. BYU last won the team title in 2019 and has produced two individual titles since 2020.
The 2023 Big 12 women’s championship team also finished in second place with 59 points in the Mountain Regional as the BYU women earned an automatic bid to the NCAA championships. The Cougars placed three in the top 10 with Carmen Alder (4
th), Aubrey Frentheway (5
th) and Lexy Halladay-Lowry (9
th) all recording personal-best times. It will be the ninth straight year the program has qualified for the national meet and the first year as a Big 12 member.
Iowa State’s men’s program cultivated its 29
th NCAA Championship appearance after a runner-up outcome in the Midwest Regional. The Cyclones finished behind only No. 2-ranked Oklahoma State with 56 points and planted five student-athletes in the top 18.
The Cyclones’ women’s program earned another automatic bid for the Conference with a runner-up finish to book its 26
th trip to the national meet in school history. Madelynn Hill highlighted a group of three Cyclones in the top 14 with a fourth-place finish followed by Dana Feyen at No. 11 and Maelle Porcher at No. 14.
The four-time reigning Big 12 men’s cross country champion, Oklahoma State, will compete in Charlottesville, Virginia after winning the Midwest Regional with 19 points. The Cowboys put six racers in the top 20 and five in the top eight including Denis Kipngetich (first), Brian Musau (second) and Fouad Messaoudi (third) recording the three fastest times. Adisu Guadia (fifth), Alex Maier (eighth) and Alex Stitt (19
th) rounded out the finishers for Oklahoma State.
The Cowgirls defended their 2022 Midwest Regional title with a 30-point showing to move on to the NCAA Championships. It was their fifth title in program history as all seven participants placed inside the top 20, including five in the top 12. Billah Jepkirui and Taylor Roe finished 1-2 followed by Molly Born (fifth), Cayden Dawson (10
th), Gabija Galvydyte (12
th), Sivan Auerbach (17
th) and Heidi Demeo (19
th). Jepkirui became the third Cowgirl in school history to earn the regional title while Roe, the 2023 Big 12 champion, has collected two second-place finishes and a third in the regional round.
Texas’ men’s program secured its spot in the NCAA championships for the 15
th straight season by winning the South Central Regional title with 33 points. The Longhorns were led by the group of Devin Hart, Rodger Rivera and Isaac Alonzo who finished 3-4-5 while Haftu Knight (9
th), Nathanael Berhane (13
th), and Abraham Avila-Martinez (17
th) were also named to the All-Region team.
Cincinnati’s Tyler Wirth, Kansas’ Chandler Gibbens and Texas Tech’s Gideon Kiplimo will represent the Conference in the men’s 10k after qualifying individually while Kansas’ Lona Latema, TCU’s Gracie Morris, Texas’ Beth Ramos and Texas Tech’s duo of Juliet Cherubet and Anastasia Chepkorir will compete in the women’s 6k to bring the total to 14 programs represented.
The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will open with the Women’s 6k race at 9:20 a.m. CT followed by the men’s 10k race at 10:10 a.m. CT on Saturday, November 18. Tickets are sold out with no tickets being sold on site. Parking is only available at Fashion Square Mall with shuttles beginning at 6:45 am - 9:30 am and returning 11:00 am - 1:30 pm. Ticket and parking information can be found
here.
NCAA cross country fans not in attendance can
catch all the action live on ESPNU and ESPN+ with coverage starting at 8:30 a.m. CT on Saturday, November 18.
Live results can be found
here.
Men’s Teams Qualified
BYU
Iowa State
Oklahoma State
Texas
Men’s Individuals Qualified
Tyler Wirth, Cincinnati
Chandler Gibbens, Kansas
Gideon Kiplimo, Texas Tech
Women’s Teams Qualified
BYU
Iowa State
Oklahoma State
Women’s Individuals Qualified
Lona Latema, Kansas
Gracie Morris, TCU
Beth Ramos, Texas
Anastasia Chepkorir, Texas Tech
Juliet Cherubet, Texas Tech