CROSS COUNTRY 2024 pre and regular season season news and results

[AztecBuff]

Thought I'd start this thread earlier than normal for us to start noting anything related to the men's and women's cross country teams for the 2024 season. I'm doing this since the team announced their schedule a few days ago, and some of the squad actually participated at races in Wyoming yesterday. (See my next post for the article of what happened in Laramie.)

This thread will be used for pre-season and general news, as well as all regular season action. (Starting with the Big 12 Championships scheduled to be held in Waco November 1st, I will start individual threads for the different major competitions.)

That initial*** schedule (also available at https://cubuffs.com/sports/cross-country/schedule) is -





(***Don't know if it will be the same for new Coach Carlson, but I always like to note that it seems like the cross country and track and field teams, at least under Coach Wetmore, seemed to be the sport that most often changes parts of their regular season as the seasons develop.)

 

[AztecBuff]

As noted in my original post above, the team formally*** started its action yesterday at races hosted by Wyoming.

***As with Coach Wetmore, and I assume most if not all XC coaches including new Coach Carlson, these 1st races are considered necessary annoyances, and in almost all cases the coaches only run their young and other developmental runners, letting their top (AKA varsity) runners keep going in their intense base-building training. (I believe the only reason teams typically race in these late August races is that NCAA rules prohibit teams from beginning to practice as early as coaches want if they don't formally race by a certain (EARLY) date.)

Article on the races - https://cubuffs.com/news/2024/8/30/cross-country-buffs-wrap-up-first-invitational-in-wyoming

"

Buffs Wrap Up First Invitational in Wyoming​

By: Tanner Kay, Athletic Communication Associate

CHEYENNE, Wy. — The Colorado Buffaloes cross country team kicked off the 2024-25 season during the Wyoming Invite on Friday morning. Colorado State, Northern Colorado, and Wyoming all competed alongside the Buffs in a 5K race for both the men and women.

WOMEN
The Buffs had two women finish inside the top-15, Whitney Valenti and Caroline Mehlhorn, while Emma Hadley placed inside the top-25.

Valenti ran a time of 18:28.0, grabbing the highest Colorado finish at 11th overall. This marks just the second time that the southern California native has competed in a 5K event during her collegiate career. Her personal best time was recorded last year at the Virginia Invitational (17:29.4).

Mehlhorn ran the second best time of the day for CU, placing 13th with a time of 18:37.3. It was the first 5K race for Mehlhorn in her time as a Buff.

Finishing 23rd in the event with a time of 19:10.6, Emma Hadley rounded out the third top-25 finish for Colorado, contributing to their 3rd place finish as a team on the women's side.

MEN
Shortly after the conclusion of the women's race, the men from all four schools took off for their own 5K event. The Buffaloes were able to nab three top-20 finishes, including two inside the top-10.

Charles Robertson, the senior out of Oregon, boasted the top finish for CU. He finished with a time of 15:12.9, a personal record, and good enough for a 6th place finish.

Rounding out the top-10 was Wilson Georges, after running an impressive 15:20.7, also a personal record for the redshirt sophomore.

Conner Wingfield went on to finish 20th overall (15:36.7) in his first career 5K event. Also a newcomer to the event, Reese Kilbarger-Stumpf, finished just a few seconds behind Wingfield (15:39.3) for a 21st place finish.

RESULTS

WOMEN:

11th - Whitney Valenti (18:28.0)

13th - Caroline Mehlhorn (18:37.3)

23rd - Emma Hadley (19:10.6)

32nd - Sierra Parks (19:37.0)

44th - Helen Carlson (20:33.4)

MEN:

6th - Charles Robertson (15:12.9)

10th - Wilson Georges (15:20.7)

20th - Conner Wingfield (15:36.7)

21st - Reese Kilbarger-Stumpf (15:39.3)

27th - Tyler Scholl (15:50.9)

35th - Conner Wirth (16:29.5)

36th - Antonio Camacho-Bucks (16:32.0)

WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS
...
"


Full results - http://results.tfmeetpro.com/Big_Red_Running_LLC/2024_Wyoming_Invite/

 

[AztecBuff]

 

[AztecBuff]

Results after yesterday's racing. (Like the 1st races, believe this was not the current "varsity" Buffs who I believe will be racing, if healthy, for the 1st time this season at this coming Friday's Nuttycombe Invite in Madison Wisconsin. Although of course, all the Buffs racing yesterday could be in the running for varsity later in the year if they show they can contribute as a top 7 runner.)

 

[AztecBuff]

 

[AztecBuff]

Probably mainly of interest to running nerds, but wanted to mention Flotrack was evidently in Boulder recently and has released a couple videos on Youtube showing the Buffs training (with Coach Carlson miked up). The 1st video, in addition to showing a women's workout, also includes some interview time with Coach Carlson (as well as a little shoutout to the Village Cafe). The 2nd just shows a men's workout.

 

[AztecBuff]

The men**** will be in action this afternoon in the 1st big race of the season.
(***Interests me that there is ZERO mention of the women's team in the below preview both regarding this race, as well as the season in general. Is the new coach planning on making this mainly a (women's) team-wide redshirt year for their top runners? I'd almost GUESS so, since today is one of only three* opportunities during a typical season where teams look to earn qualifying (called KOLAS in cross country) points to possibly qualify for the NCAA Championships when it's not likely a team will auto-qualify with a top 2 finish at Regionals. (*The other main opportunities for KOLAS points this season look to be the Pre-Nationals (also in Madison) and the Big 12 Championships (in Waco).))

NOTE - The below preview says the men's "A" race begins at 2:00, and the below tweet says 1:00. Please note from what I can see it actually is scheduled to start at noon MT. (As noted in the preview, there are also many Buffs competing individually in the "B" race. that one is scheduled to start at 10:40 AM MT.)


_______________________________________________________________________

Preview - https://cubuffs.com/news/2024/9/26/mens-cross-country-set-for-nuttycombe-invite-friday

"

Men's Cross Country Set for Nuttycombe Invite Friday​

By: Herman Shelton, Associate Director/Athletic Communications

BOULDER, Colo. — The University of Colorado men's cross country team will compete in the Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday, Sept. 26, in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course.

The meet will feature 17 of the top 30 men's teams in the country, including No. 2 BYU, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 14 Eastern Kentucky, No. 15 Virginia, No. 16 Portland, No. 17 Villanova, No. 18 Princeton, No. 19 Syracuse, No. 20 Wake Forest, No. 23 Iona, No. 25 Montana State, No. 27 Washington, No. 29 Tulsa, and No. 30 Air Force.

This will be the first opportunity for Colorado's Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Sean Carlson to see his team compete against top competition this season. The men's 8k race will begin at 2 p.m., with live timing and streaming available.

Colorado's men's squad will feature Dean Casey, Christopher Cherry, Drew Costelow, Wilson Georges, Isaiah Givens, Lukas Haug, Simon Kelati, Kole Mathison, Anthony Monte, James Overberg, Grady Rauba, Charles Robertson, and Conner Wingfield. Ethan Edgeworth and Jake Liebert will run unattached in the 8k B race.

The Buffs will return to Wisconsin on Oct. 19 for a tune-up race before competing in the Big 12 Cross Country Championship on Nov. 1. Wisconsin's course will also serve as the host site for the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championship on Nov. 23, where the men's team will aim to make their 32nd consecutive NCAA Championship appearance, dating back to 1992.
"
___________________________________________________________________________

Direct link to live timing - https://live.pttiming.com/xc-ptt.html?mid=7442

Direct link to live video stream (Only available for those who have a premium ($) Runnerspace + account.) - https://nuttycombe-invitational.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=4311&do=videos&video_id=399447

 

[AztecBuff]

Some nice results in the men's 8K "B" race, with the 5 Buffs competing finishing 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th and 14th (in a race with 46 finishers).

Note - The 4th and 9th place finishers are true freshmen who were competing unattached, I assume so they can keep the option to redshirt this year.

 

[AztecBuff]

In the "A" race, the men finish 8th. After being in 5th at 6K, assume there may be a little disappointment with losing some spots in the last 2K of the race. However, they did still beat many teams that qualified for last year's NCAA's and beat last year's CU team (who finished 25th), namely Princeton, Villanova, Syracuse, Air Force, Portland, and Montana St.. Hopefully many or all those squads qualify again this season so the Buffs earn some nice potential Kolas points from today.
(Note- a couple of the Big 12's favorites definitely bared their teeth in this one, with national #2 ranked BYU dominating for an EASY win (by 66 points), while #5 ranked Iowa State finished the runners up (by 42 points). Last year's national champion and this year's #1 ranked team in the latest poll, OK State, didn't race in this one.).

 

[AztecBuff]

 

[AztecBuff]

Men's team up a few spots (believe from #21) to #17 in the latest national poll -

 

[AztecBuff]

Although they didn't compete this past week, the men's team has moved up one place (to #16) in this week's coaches' poll.

 

[AztecBuff]

Catching up on some news from last weekend for some of the Olympic sports, starting with XC.

Both the men and women (the later for the 1st time this season) were in action, either last Friday (W) or Saturday (M).



Direct link to articles:
Women's - https://cubuffs.com/news/2024/10/18...ish-fourth-at-the-arturo-barrios-invitational
Men's - https://cubuffs.com/news/2024/10/19/cross-country-colorado-wraps-up-pre-national-in-madison

Women's:
"

Buffaloes Finish Fourth at the Arturo Barrios Invitational​

Two Buffs Place Inside the Top-20

By: Tanner Kay, Athletic Communication Associate

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. -- The Colorado Buffaloes women's cross country team competed in the Arturo Barrios Invitational Friday afternoon, on the Dale Watts cross country course hosted by the Texas A&M Aggies.

Among the 41 schools that competed in the women's 6k event, the Buffs captured a fourth place finish as a team with 189 total points, while producing two runners that placed inside the top-20.

Minnesota native, Abbey Nechanicky, paced the group to rank 14th overall with a time of 19:42.4. This is the first 6k event for Nechanicky in her collegiate career, and she earns the top spot on her squad. Katja Bauerle finished shortly after to place 19th (19:54.9), marking the best two performances from CU on the day.

The pair of juniors, Natalie Cook and Elliot Pribramsky, clocked in at the 36th and 42nd spots on the 6k course for Colorado. Cook charted a time of 20:14.7, while Pribramsky records a personal best time of 20:18.1 in her seventh 6k event as a Buff.

Caroline Mehlhorn (84th - 20:50.9), Emma Hadley (96th - 20:56.9), and Louise Lounes (128th - 21:18.9) concluded the points scorers for the black and gold.
...
"

Full results - https://cubuffs.com/documents/2024/10/19/arturobarrios-24.pdf

Men:

"

Colorado Wraps Up Pre-Nationals in Madison​

By: Tanner Kay, Athletic Communication Associate

MADISON, Wis. -- The Colorado Buffaloes men's cross country team competed in the Pre-Nationals event Saturday morning on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, hosted by the Wisconsin Badgers.

Colorado placed 14th overall as a team in the men's 8k "A" race, with 418 total points and combined time of 1:58.52.7. Dean Casey led the Buffaloes, placing inside the top-30 (29th) with a time of 23.18.0, the second best time in Casey's collegiate career and a personal best as a Buff.

Kole Mathison (77th - 23:44.1) and Simon Kelati (78th - 23:44.4) were the next two finishers for CU, rounding out all Buffs to place inside the top-100. Isaiah Givens (114th - 24:02.0) and Grady Rauba (120th - 24:04.4) wrapped up as the final two points scorers.

The Buffs had three of their four individual runners finish inside the top-20 for the men's 8k "Open" race, including Wilson Georges, who placed 6th overall with a personal record time of 24:06.4. James Overberg (11th - 24:18.3) and Chris Cherry (18th - 24:28.6) were the next two to follow up Georges. Drew Costelow placed 52nd overall with a time of 25:24.3 to round out the scoring for the Buffs on the day.
....
"

Full results - https://wi.milesplit.com/meets/644153-wisconsin-pre-nationals-2024/results/1099489/formatted/