CU Buffs struggle at NCAA championships – Boulder Daily Camera

It was a down year for the Colorado cross country program, and that played out at the NCAA Championships.

The Buffaloes competed in the national final for the 29th time under head coach Mark Wetmore but had the lowest finish of the veteran coach’s tenure, with the women finishing 19th and the men placing 25th on Saturday at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Virginia.

It marked only the second time in Wetmore’s 29 seasons the Buffs failed to land either the men or the women in the top 10 of the team standings and in the other instance, 2008, the men finished 12th after the women did not qualify for the final out of regionals.

It also marked just the fourth time in that span the Buffs failed to land a single runner in the top 10 of either race (also 1996, 2008 and 2010). The total place score of 54 by CU’s two teams also was its highest of the Wetmore era, far outdistancing the combined 30th place score in 2007 (seventh for the men; 23rd for the women).

Ella Baran posted the top finish for CU, placing 27th in the women’s race with a time of 20 minutes, 0.1 seconds. That cut 9.1 seconds off Baran’s championship time a year ago, when she finished 30th. Austin Vancil was the top CU men’s finisher, placing 39th in 29:50.3.

Oklahoma State, soon to be a league rival of the Buffs in the Big 12, won the men’s team championship while North Carolina State claimed the women’s crown.

NCAA cross country championships

Charlottesville, Virginia

Men’s team standings: 1. Oklahoma State 49; 2. Northern Arizona 71; 3. BYU 196; 4. Arkansas 211; 5. Iowa State 230; 6. North Carolina 249; 7. Texas 262; 8. Stanford 291; 9. Syracuse 299; 10. Wisconsin 330; 11. Princeton 345; 12. Air Force 368; 13. Montana State 374; 14. Notre Dame 398; 15. Harvard 398; 16. California Baptist 430; 17. North Carolina State 435; 18. New Mexico 465; 19. Michigan 472; 20. Villanova 477; 21. Butler 484; 22. Virginia 512; 23. Portland 529; 24. Wake Forest 536; 25. Colorado 551; 26. Tennessee 556; 27. Florida State 620; 28. Gonzaga 647; 29. Iona 675; 30. Georgetown 686; 31. Eastern Kentucky 704.

Men’s top 10: 1. Graham Blanks, Harvard, 28:37.7; 2. Habtom Samuel, New Mexico, 28:40.7; 3. Ky Robinson, Stanford, 28:55.7; 4. Denis Kipngetich, Oklahoma State, 28:59.7; 5. Drew Bosley, Northern Arizona, 29:03.8; 6. Nico Young, Northern Arizona, 29:04.2; 7. Patrick Kiprop, Arkansas, 29:07.7; 8. Brian Musau, 29:11.0; 9. Parker Wolfe, North Carolina, 29:12.6; 10. Fouad Messaoudi, 29:13.3.

Colorado men’s results: 39. Austin Vancil, 29:50.3; 142. Noah Hibbard, 30:57.7; 152. Paul Stafford, 31:06.0; 164. Isaiah Givens, 31:12.6; 178. James Overberg, 31:21.3; 202. Jake Derouin, 31:46.3; 230. Caleb Niednagel, 32:56.1.

Women’s team standings: 1. North Carolina State 123; 2. Northern Arizona 124; 3. Oklahoma State 146; 4. Notre Dame 237; 5. Florida 268; 6. Tennessee 294; 7. Alabama 314; 8. Washington 323; 9. Arkansas 329; 10. Oregon 335; 11. Lipscomb 353; 12. Stanford 357; 13. Utah 375; 14. BYU 399; 15. Virginia 400; 16. Michigan State 410; 17. California Baptist 414; 18. Georgetown 419; 19. Colorado 446; 20. Iowa State 458; 21. Ole Miss 459; 22. Wisconsin 487; 23. Utah Valley 501; 24. Furman 503; 25. Harvard 504; 26. Boston College 567; 27. Syracuse 591; 28. Providence 619; 29. Colorado State 720; 30. Texas A&M 775; 31. Penn State 787.

Women’s top 10: 1. Parker Valby, Florida, 18:55.2; 2. Doris Lemngole, Alabama, 19:05.7; 3. Olivia Markezich, Notre Dame, 19:10.0; 4. Hilda Olemomoi, Alabama, 19:22.1; 5. Katelyn Touhy, North Carolina State, 19:23.0; 6. Flomena Asekol, Florida, 19:26.9; 7. Billah Jepkirui, 19:27.5; 8. Chloe Scrimgeour, Georgetown, 19:28.4; 9. Amina Maatoug, Duke, 19:29.9. 10. Maia Ramsden, Harvard, 19:30.8.

Colorado women’s results: 27. Ella Baran, 20:00.1; 50. Emily Covert, 20:12.6; 82. Karrie Baloga, 20:33.5; 175. Katie Doucette, 21:15.0; 218. Samree Dishon, 21:45.4; 232. Elliot Pribramsky, 22:07.6; 240. Whitney Valenti, 2:22.2.