On Saturday, November 23, the top collegiate runners battled on the grass at the 2024 NCAA Cross-Country Championships in Verona, Wisconsin. Temperatures were chilly, in the high 30s, with cloudy skies and little wind.
Here’s how the action unfolded in the women’s 6K and men’s 10K at the Division I Championships.
Women’s recap: Doris Lemngole leaves no doubt; BYU women prevail
Unlike like year, when Parker Valby of Florida ran away from the field in the opening minutes, this year’s individual race was close until the end. At the 4K mark (2.5 miles), the pack was still large. But Doris Lemngole of Alabama—last year’s runner-up—began to push the pace, dwindling the group down to just six women.
After 5K, the group was just three: Lemngole, Pamela Kosgei of New Mexico, and Hilda Olemomoi of Florida. Lemngole then made her decisive move with approximately 400 meters to go, striding out on the long finish straight. She crossed the line in 19:21.0. Kosgei passed Olemomoi in the final meters, placing second in 19:27.8. Olemomoi was third in 19:28.7.
The team battle was equally dramatic. Northern Arizona led early, opening up a 22-point buffer on the field at 2K and remaining in the driver’s seat through 4K. But BYU, the No. 1 team in the country, skillfully moved up during the last 2K. The Cougars put five runners in the top 50 to win the team title with 147 points. West Virginia scored 164 to place second and Providence, the No. 11 team in the country, ran an impressive race to earn third in 183 points. Northern Arizona rounded out the podium in fourth (206 points), while Oregon—who many expected to win—was hampered by their fourth and fifth runners. They were fifth with 210 points.
Lexy Halladay-Lowry, a senior who’s been battling an injury this season, was the top BYU runner, finishing 11th. “We gave up a lot of our individual goals, and we were just completely and utterly committed to the team,” she said after the race on ESPNU.
Unfortunately for fans who were tuning in on the ESPN feed, which promised uninterrupted coverage of the races, the video and audio cut in and out in the final minute of the race. The feed eventually cut to a commercial break before the team results came in.
Men’s recap: Graham Blanks repeats, while BYU men make it a clean sweep
In the men’s race, it was the Graham Blanks show. The Harvard senior, who was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in the 5,000 meters this summer, ran a masterful race to win his second consecutive NCAA Cross-Country Championship. He’s the first back-to-back champ since BYU’s Conner Mantz in 2020 and 2021.
Blanks hung in the thick of the lead pack for the first half of the race, then headed to the front when Texas Tech’s Ernest Cheruiyot made a strong move after 5K. The front runners then regrouped. At the 8.5K mark, seven runners remained, then Blanks—with a calm face in a sea of grimaces—attacked, quickly dropping the pack and ultimately crossing the line in 28:37.2, waving to the crowd.
Habtom Samuel of New Mexico, incredibly, finished second in 28:38.9—with only one shoe on. He held off Furman’s Dylan Schubert, who had the race of his life to take third (28:39.6).
The team competition was all BYU in the early stages. At 5K, the Cougars had all five scorers in the top 31, but Iowa State chipped away at the lead in the back half. BYU’s buffer, however, was enough. They scored 124 points to win the overall title, pulling off a sweep with the women’s team.
Iowa State was runner-up with 137 points, Arkansas was third (202), and Wisconsin, on their home course, took fourth with 212 points. Oklahoma State, the No. 1 ranked team for most of the season, had an off day in eighth place.
Theo Kahler is the news editor at Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner at Winthrop University, and he received his master’s degree in liberal arts studies from Wake Forest University, where he was a member of one of the top distance-running teams in the NCAA. Kahler has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K, 1:05:36 in the half marathon, and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
