NCAA Cross Country Championships Monday

BOULDER — Colorado Head Cross Country Coach Mark Wetmore has been bringing his teams to the NCAA meet since he took over the reins on November 6, 1995.

A few weeks later, his women's team finished as the runner-up, while the men placed fourth. Fast-forward to March 2021. After a season unlike one before that saw half of the nation run in the fall, while the other half, including CU and the rest of the Pac-12, began racing after the calendar switched to the year 2021. Yet still, this is the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championship and Wetmore is returning to nationals with both the men's and women's teams, his 49^th and 50^th teams to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

While Wetmore has been a constant at these championships, this year the races will be held on the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma for the first time in NCAA history as the Cowboys of Oklahoma State host the meet on March 15. In accordance with COVID-19 protocols, spectators will not be permitted to attend the NCAA Cross Country Championships

"Stillwater has a beautiful, purposeful, built course; hilly, difficult," Wetmore said. "Good for us, particularly if the weather forecasted for Boulder works its way to Stillwater by Monday."

The women's race will be first and like they do all season, they will run a 6-kilometer course. The gun will sound at 10:50 a.m. MT. The men will follow with a 10k race, moving up from their 8k run, with an 11:40 a.m. MT start. Both races will be televised live on ESPNU and the ESPN App with coverage beginning at 10:30 a.m.

The Buffaloes are also known as being a top-10 program and this year is no different. The women enter nationals as the No. 6 team in the USTFCCCA Poll, while the men are ranked eighth.

"We're going into the NCAAs ranked eighth for the men and sixth for the women and honestly those are pretty optimistic rankings for us," Wetmore said. "We'll have to run well to equal those. I like to go the NCAA and outrun our ranking but those are pretty fair."

Racing has been limited this season. CU ran its first race in Tallahassee, Fla., the FSU Winter Cross Country Classic on Feb. 4, before competing at the Battle Born Collegiate Cross Country Challenge on Feb. 19 in Las Vegas. The women won at FSU, while the men ended up third there after losing the tie-breaker to Iowa State. At the Battle Born Challenge, the men placed third again, and this time the women were fifth.

The third time the Buffaloes toed the line was for the Pac-12 Championships on March 5, which saw CU record a runner-up finishes in the men's and women's races.

Colorado did have one Pac-12 Champion though as senior Eduardo Herrera became the second straight CU male to win the individual title, finishing in 22:30.9. He defeated the runner-up by 11 seconds and was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week for his performance.

Herrera has been running well all season, leading CU at every meet. He was second at the FSU Classic and placed third at the Battle Born Challenge. He seems to be refocused this season and when asked about NCAAs following his Pac-12 win, said, "I'm confident. I know I can give them a fight. I'm willing to do it. I'm not scared, but those guys are strong. Those guys are tough. They're on a different level and I feel like I can give them a little challenge."

He won't have to do it on his own. Alec Hornecker has been a solid No. 2 for the Buffs this season and the duo are CU's returning All-Americans. Finishing behind those two at conference were (in order): Austin Vancil, Ethan Powell, Hunter Appleton, Paxton Smith, Jace Aschbrenner, Josh Torres and Caleb Niednagel, although only eight will travel to Stillwater and only seven will race.

This season Rachel McArthur has led the Buffs in both races she's competed in, placing fifth at the FSU Classic and Pac-12s. Abby Nichols was the top performer for CU at the Battle Born Challenge, where she placed eighth and she also took eighth at Pac-12s. Other scorers for the Buffs this season have been Madie Boreman, Micaela Degenero, Elizabeth Constien and Emily Covert. Others who could line-up at NCAAs for CU include Camille Jackson and Annie Hill.

The forecast for March 15 in Stillwater, Okla., is currently mostly sunny with a high of 63 degrees. But before race day, there is heavy rain/thunderstorms predicted for Saturday and Sunday.

2020 NCAA DIVISION I CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, March 15
Stillwater, Okla. (OSU Cross Country Course)
10:50 a.m. (MT) - Women's 6k Race
11:40 a.m. (MT) - Men's 10k Race
TV: ESPNU
APP: ESPN APP
Link: https://es.pn/3chO8oc
Results: https://live.pttiming.com/XC-PTT.html?mid=2124

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Players Mentioned

Hunter Appleton

Jace Aschbrenner

Madie Boreman

Elizabeth Constien

Emily Covert

Eduardo Herrera

Annie Hill

Alec Hornecker

Camille Jackson

Rachel McArthur

Abby Nichols

Caleb Niednagel

Ethan Powell

Paxton Smith

Josh Torres

Austin Vancil