Photos by Spencer Allen/SportsImageWire.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Stanford cross country teams, owners of a combined nine NCAA titles, have a chance to add to their total when they take the line Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Stanford's No. 3-ranked men and No. 4 women are expected to be in the mix, though their expectations differ greatly. The gap between the Cardinal women and No. 1 Colorado appears too great, and because of the young nature of its squad, Stanford hopes for a top-10 finish.
However, the Stanford men have a different approach. Five of its seven runners have NCAA experience and three – Sean McGorty, Grant Fisher and Sam Wharton – are cross country All-Americans. There are no dominant teams in the field. Instead, there are a handful of outstanding teams that could win on any given day. That list includes defending champion Syracuse, No. 1 Northern Arizona, Pac-12 champion Colorado, and No. 4 BYU.
The race should be wide open.
This is the 23rd consecutive year that both the Stanford men's and women's teams have advanced to the NCAA Championships, an ongoing record.
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Meet Information:
NCAA Cross Country Championships
Where: Terre Haute, Ind.
Site: LaVern Gibson Championship Course
When: Saturday
Women:
Race time - 8 a.m. PT (11 a.m. ET)
Distance - 6 kilometers (3.73 miles)
Men:
Race time - 9 a.m. PT (Noon ET)
Distance - 10 kilometers (6.21 miles)
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Twitter: @stanfordxctf
Stanford in USTFCCCA rankings:
Men - No. 3
Women - No. 4
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Stanford entries
Men: Steven Fahy, Grant Fisher, Jack Keelan, Sean McGorty, Thomas Ratcliffe, Garrett Sweatt, Sam Wharton. Alternate: Alex Ostberg.
Women: Christina Aragon, Elise Cranny, Ella Donaghu, Vanessa Fraser, Danielle Katz, Abbie McNulty, Fiona O'Keeffe. Alternate: Sophie Chase.
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Men
Team overview:
After finishing second and third the past two years, Stanford seeks its first NCAA title since 2003. Stanford's lineup is experienced and has two key runners who are in their final year of eligibility, ace Sean McGorty and fifth-year senior Garrett Sweatt. This is Stanford's second race with freshman Thomas Ratcliffe, which gives the Cardinal its strongest lineup, though he will be racing the 10-kilometer distance for the first time. Ratcliffe placed eighth at Pac-12's over 8K in his first collegiate race and Stanford was a close runner-up to Colorado, 41-47. Stanford went on to win the West Regional easily without having to push too hard – McGorty, Fisher, Jack Keelan finished in a 9-10-11 pack. That economy of effort should benefit Stanford only eight days later.
Stanford has the luxury of not having to run perfectly to win. For instance, Ratcliffe doesn't have the pressure to repeat his Pac-12 effort because the entire Stanford lineup has the potential to place in the top 50. The question is whether the Cardinal can produce strong performances across the board on the same day. If Keelan runs like he did at regionals and Wharton runs like he did when he placed 39th at NCAA's in 2014, then Stanford should be in position to win.
Sweatt has finished in the 60's the past two years and has been one of Stanford's most consistent performers. Fisher, the Pac-12 runner-up, should be in position to improve upon his 17th place finish last year as a freshman. Though Fisher has beaten McGorty at both the Wisconsin Invitational and Pac-12 Championships, McGorty is the team's No. 1. At both races, he took a more aggressive approach than Fisher, though he paid for it down the stretch.
McGorty's strategy will be tough to predict. Should he run with Oregon's three-time champion Edward Cheserek and try to challenge for the victory? McGorty finished second to Cheserek in two NCAA track races and beat fellow contenders Syracuse's Justyn Knight and Villanova's Patrick Tiernan on the track last spring. But Cheserek and Knight have been unbeatable this fall. If McGorty pushes for the victory, he could be in danger of blowing up and costing his team. Or, should he lay back while Cheserek, Knight, Tiernan, and Northern Arizona's Futsum Zienasellassie duel and pick off the victims down the stretch?
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Women
Team overview:
Because Stanford has three freshmen in the its top seven, there is unpredictability. Can their consistency and improvement continue? Pre-Nationals on the same course did not offer much insight. Stanford did not perform well, finishing sixth, but that was the first race for freshmen Christina Aragon and Ella Donaghu, and freshman Fiona O'Keeffe had yet to race. Since then, O'Keeffe has emerged as the Cardinal's No. 2 behind Vanessa Fraser, and Aragon and Donaghu have been solid at Nos. 4-5.
The Cardinal gets a bonus with the addition of Elise Cranny, who has not raced since winning the Stanford Invitational on Oct. 1. Cranny, the 2016 NCAA 1,500-meter runner-up, has been sidelined with a foot injury. In normal circumstances, she would be a contender to win. In this case, she will hold back and run conservatively. Coach Elizabeth DeBole hopes for a finish between 50-70. If Cranny indeed runs that well, it will save the Cardinal about 50 points and could make the difference between a top-10 and a top-5 team placing.
The emergence of senior Danielle Katz at No. 3 has been a big reason for Stanford's success and its potential at Terre Haute. She was 150th in this meet last year, but should cut that finish at least in half.
Stanford is coming off a pair of 14th-place NCAA finishes. The Cardinal most likely won't win, but this will be a team to watch in the future, losing only Katz from its top seven.
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Stanford Team Honors:
Men
NCAA Titles: 4 (1996, 1997, 2002, 2003).
NCAA Top Individuals by Place:
2. Chris Derrick (2011), 10K, 28:57.5, Terre Haute, Ind.
Neftalem Araia (2006), 10K, 30:52.6, Terre Haute, Ind.
Ryan Hall (2003), 10K, 29:15.4, Waterloo, Iowa
Gary Stolz (1992), 10K, 30:56.1, Bloomington, Ind.
3. Chris Derrick (2009), 10K, 29:14.8, Terre Haute, Ind.
Grant Robison (2002), 10K, 29:36.7, Terre Haute, Ind.
Don Kardong (1970) 6M, 28:10, Williamsburg, Va.
Women
NCAA Titles: 5 (1996, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007).
NCAA Top Individuals by Place:
2. Regina Jacobs (1985), 5K, 16:29.20, Milwaukee, Wis.
3. Sara Bei (2003), 6K, 19:49.1. Waterloo, Iowa
Alicia Craig (2002), 6K, 19:48, Terre Haute, Ind.
Lauren Fleshman (2001), 6K, 20:35, Greenville, S.C.
Ceci Hopp (1982), 5K, 17:10.9, Bloomington, Ind.
Regina Jacobs (1984), 5K, 16:33.7, University Park, Pa.
Aisling Cuffe (2013), 6K, 20:09.3, Terre Haute, Ind.
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Stanford's top times at NCAA's in Terre Haute:
Men
1. Chris Derrick, 28:57.5 (2011)
2. Chris Derrick, 29:14.8 (2009)
3. Chris Derrick, 29:29.4 (2008)
4. Grant Robison, 29:36.7 (2002)
5. Louis Luchini, 29:41.0 (2002)
Women
1. Alicia Craig, 19:48.0 (2002)
2. Lauren Fleshman, 19:48.3 (2002)
3. Arianna Lambie, 19:59.1 (2005)
4. Malindi Elmore, 20:01.8 (2002)
5. Aisling Cuffe, 20:09.3 (2013)
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