MADISON, Wis. – No Stanford runner ever has won an NCAA individual cross-country title, but Grant Fisher is the Cardinal's best shot since Chris Derrick was second in 2011.
Stanford's men's and women's teams compete at the NCAA Championships together for the 25th consecutive year, racing Saturday on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in temperatures that are forecast to peak at 32 degrees with a 50 percent chance of light snow.
Fisher, the two-time Pac-12 champ, has experience on his side. He won his NCAA Pre-National race on the same course, and against much of the same competition, on Oct. 13. This is his fourth NCAA championship race, having placed fifth the past two years. And, as a Michigan native, he's familiar with cold-weather racing.
Stanford teams are owners of a combined nine national cross-country titles -- the women have won five and the men four – and 32 podium (top four) finishes.
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Meet Information:
NCAA Cross Country Championships
Where: Madison, Wis.
Site: Thomas Zimmer Championship Course.
When: Saturday
Women:
Race time – 8:45 a.m. PT (10:45 a.m. CT)
Distance - 6 kilometers (3.73 miles)
Men:
Race time – 9:45 a.m. PT (11:45 a.m. ET)
Distance - 10 kilometers (6.21 miles)
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Twitter: @stanfordxctf
Stanford in USTFCCCA rankings:
Men - No. 7
Women - No. 7
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Men
Team overview:
Stanford has finished among the top four as a team in each of the past four years – in order: second, third, second, and fourth. In each of the past five years, Stanford has had a top-six individual finisher. Grant Fisher, with fifth place in each of the past two years, is joined by Alex Ostberg (16th last year) as returning All-Americans, though redshirt sophomore Alek Parsons seems primed to become the program's 38th male All-American. Ostberg and Parsons were third and fourth at the Pac-12 Championships as Stanford captured its second consecutive title, at the Stanford Golf Course.
Fisher has raced three times this year, winning twice – at the Pre-Nationals and Pac-12 Championships. At the Pre-Nationals on the same Thomas Zimmer Course, Fisher kicked to victory over Northern Arizona's Tyler Day and the Cardinal was second as a team to the Lumberjacks. Though Wisconsin was in that race, two-time Big Ten cross country champion Morgan McDonald did not race that day, but the Australian will be among the contenders in this one.
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Women
Team overview:
The Cardinal was fourth last year and returns two All-Americans – two-time cross country All-America Fiona O'Keeffe and fifth-year senior Elise Cranny. This race closes the door on Cranny's collegiate career. Having already completed her indoor and outdoor track and field eligibility, the 11-time All-America races collegiately for the final time. Cranny has finished second twice in NCAA individual track events – the 2015 indoor 3,000 meters and the 2016 outdoor 1,500. She is a three-time NCAA 1,500 finalist, a three-time conference champion, and the school-record holder in the 1,500, mile, and distance medley relay.
In short, Cranny is among the greatest runners in Stanford history and her career ends Saturday. A onetime U.S. junior national cross country champion, Cranny was 12th as a freshman at NCAA's, which remains her highest national finish. She will leave a legacy in the classroom as well. She is the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for cross country and is a two-time Academic All-American, receiving first-team honors for 2017-18.
O'Keeffe, a junior, was 13th at NCAA's last year as the team's No. 1 runner, and was 37th as a freshman. Cranny and O'Keeffe were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the White Race at the Pre-Nationals, and third and fifth at the Pac-12 Championships.
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Stanford Team Honors:
Men
NCAA Titles: 4 (1996, 1997, 2002, 2003).
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).
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 all-time best times on championship course:
Men (10K)
This is the first 10K Stanford ever has run on this course.
Women (6K)
Time Name Year Meet Place
19:46 Kathy Kroeger 2012 Wisconsin Invite 5
19:53 Elise Cranny 2014 Wisconsin Invite 7
20:02 Cayla Hatton 2012 Wisconsin Invite 14
20:03.5 Fiona O'Keeffe 2017 Wisconsin Invite 12
20:05 Jessica Tonn 2012 Wisconsin Invite 18
