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Cross Country

Big Weekend for Card XC

The biggest regular-season weekend in collegiate cross country takes place with Stanford sending teams to the Wisconsin Invitational and the Pre-Nationals. For both the Cardinal men’s and women’s teams, the meets could enhance their standing when NCAA at-large berths are considered.

The Stanford men compete at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational in Madison on Friday, and the Cardinal women race at the Pre-National Invitational at Louisville, Kentucky. These will be Stanford’s final meets before the Pac-12 Championships on Oct. 30.

Here are the details:

Wisconsin adidas Invitational
When: Friday
Course: Thomas Zimmer Championship Course
City: Madison, Wis.
Time: Men (8K; 4.97 miles), 9:45 a.m. PT
Live Results: Click here
Premium Webcast: Click here
Meet Central: Click here

Pre-National Invitational
When: Saturday
Course: E.P. Tom Sawyer Park
City: Louisville, Ky.
Time: Women (6K; 3.73 miles), 7:15 a.m. PT
Live Results: Click here

USTFCCCA Weekend Results Wall: Click here

USTFCCCA Rankings:
    Stanford men: No. 4
    Stanford women: No. 9

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Wisconsin Adidas Invitational

Men’s Preview: Of the top 30 teams in the country, 17 are in the men’s race, including seven of the top 11. Justyn Knight, who set a Canadian junior 5,000-meter record at Stanford’s Payton Jordan Invitational last spring, leads No. 2 Syracuse, the top-ranked team in the field and the 2014 team winner. Stanford is next at No. 4 and Iona is No. 5. Among Pac-12 schools, No. 20 UCLA also will compete.

Stanford Breakdown: This is a Cardinal lineup that should look very different from the one that will run at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 21. The NCAA team should include All-America twins Jim and Joe Rosa, freshman Grant Fisher, and perhaps graduate transfer Collin Leibold – each of whom is withheld from Wisconsin for different reasons. However, one asset of Stanford is its’ depth. Sean McGorty, a three-time All-American and 2015 Stanford Invitational winner, is the Cardinal ace. He is among four runners competing who were part of Stanford’s NCAA runner-up team of last year. Junior Sam Wharton, a cross-country All-America, is making his season debut. Sub-14ers in the 5,000, Jack Keelan and Garrett Sweatt also are among the Cardinal’s top runners.

Stanford’s Meet History: Maksim Korolev, who competed one season for Stanford as a graduate transfer from Harvard, won the 2014 individual race, running 23:43 to help Stanford finish fifth as a team. Before that, Stanford excelled in its previous appearance at the 7th annual meet, in 2012, winning the men and finishing second among the women. This is Stanford’s fourth appearance overall. In 2011, Chris Derrick’s sixth-place (23:33) led the Stanford men to third as a team.

Stanford’s Lineup:

Jack Bordoni, sr.
Steven Fahy, so.
Jack Keelan, jr.
Sean McGorty, jr.
Cameron Miller, sr.
Patrick Perrier, so.
Garrett Sweatt, sr.
Sam Wharton, jr.

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Pre-Nationals

Women’s Preview: The Pre-Nationals annually is held on the NCAA championship course of that year, which is why the meet moves to Louisville’s E.P. Tom Sawyer Park, home of the NCAA meet on Nov. 21. The meet features five of the nation’s top nine teams, led by No. 2 Colorado, No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Michigan, and No. 7 Georgetown, in addition to No. 9 Stanford. A victory over any of those schools would greatly boost Stanford’s NCAA at-large chances.

Stanford Breakdown: The Stanford lineup is led by track All-America Vanessa Fraser. Aisling Cuffe, who won the Washington Invitational on Oct. 2, will not run as an injury precaution, but is expected to race in every other meet to come. Elise Cranny, the top freshman in the NCAA last year, is working through an injury and is hoping to return by the end of the season. Cuffe hadn’t run a competitive race in 15 months before winning the Washington Invitational on Oct. 2. Stanford will field basically the same team that was third at the Washington Invite, with its top six runners competing again, including freshman Hannah Long who ran No. 3 for the Cardinal in Seattle.

Stanford’s Meet History: The Stanford women have never raced at Pre-Nats while it’s been held in Louisville. However, the Cardinal twice won, in 2006 and 2007, correctly predicting the NCAA championship results both years. Stanford’s last Pre-Nats appearance was in 2013 when  Aisling Cuffe was second to Boise State’s Emma Bates and the team placed ninth in Terre Haute, Indiana. Cuffe’s second place matched Stanford’s best in the meet, with Teresa McWalters placing second in 2007 and Arianna Lambie in 2006.

Stanford’s Lineup:

Sophie Chase, jr.
Vanessa Fraser, jr.
Danielle Katz, jr.
Hannah Long, fr.
Julia Maxwell, so.
Molly McNamara, sr.
Abbie McNulty, so.

* * *
Stanford also will send a men’s ‘B’ team to the Bronco Invitational at Sunnyvale’s Baylands Park on Saturday.

Bronco Invitational
When: Saturday
Course: Baylands Regional Park
City: Sunnyvale, Calif.
Time: Men (8K; 4.97 miles), 9 a.m.
Live Results: Click here

Stanford’s Lineup:

Justin Brinkley, sr.
Scott Buttinger, jr.
Thomas Coyle, jr.
Tai Dinger, so.
Will Drinkwater, sr.
Patrick Gibson, jr.
Blair Hurlock, so.
Ryan Silva, jr.