Pac-12 Championships Could be a Preview for the NCAA meet

Published by Adam Schneider/DyeStatCOLLEGE.com editor on October 27th, 2016

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Last year I watched the Pac-12 meet in person and it was a tremendous meet. This year should be as good if not better. As far as top level competition there will be no conference championship meet close to the quality. #1 Colorado and #2 Washington will battle as the Buffaloes would like to repeat and the Huskies want their first win since 2009. #6 Oregon will attempt to win its third title in the last five years. Colorado and Washington are likely to trophy at the NCAA championships and Oregon and Stanford could make it a sweep if they have a little luck. 

#1 Colorado has been impressive all season long, even though they have only run once outside of Colorado. Senior Erin Clark was second at Pre-Nationals to NCAA co-favorite Erin Finn of Michigan. Junior Kaitlyn Benner was 12th at ISU Pre-Nationals and should lead two sophomores, Dani Jones and Makena Morley, and a freshman, Sage Hurta to solid races. This lack of experience, although Jones and Morley ran at the 2015 NCAA meet, may hurt the Buffaloes. Veteran juniors Melanie Nun and McKenzie Caldwell and senior Carrie Verdon may step up to help in championships season. 

Three years ago the #2 Washington Huskies recruited in-state stars, and friends, Amy-Eloise Neale and Katie Knight. Katie won a Pac-12 10,000m title last year and both ran at the NCAA outdoor championships. This year Neale returned to the trails after a three year break. Sophomore Charlotte Prouse has made this a formidible threesome after her win at the Washington Invitational. Neale (fourth) and Prouse (fifth) led the Huskies to a win at the Wisconsin Invitational even with an unexpected performance by Knight. They have a mixture of youth and experience behind them. It would not be a surprise to see the Huskies win at the Pac-12 meet.

#6 Oregon has been gradually putting the pieces together for a trophy-contending team. Freshman Katie Rainsberger is probably the top freshman in the country after a runner-up finish at the Washington Invitational and a sixth place finish at Pre-Nationals. Former Georgetown all-american Samantha Nadel had her best performance at Indiana State by finishing 13th. Top returner junior Allie Cash had her best finish so far. This team is peaking at the right time.

#7 Stanford is ranked this high based on the expected returner of star sophomore Elise Cranny. Senior Vanessa Fraser was 24th at Wisconsin and the team finished sixth with freshmen stars Christina Aragon and Ella Donaghu debuting for the Cardinal. #15 Utah was 7th at the Wisconsin Invitational and Cal-Berkeley was eighth at the ISU Pre-Nationals. 

The Big 10 is always tough. #8 Michigan is led by NCAA co-favorite senior Erin Finn. The Wolverines have a deep but inconsistent team. They were fifth at Roy Griak and third at ISU Pre-Nationals. The closest any of her teammates has been to her was 1:15 by junior Avery Evenson. Michigan will try to win their first title since 2012. Defending champion #12 Penn State is led by sophomore Tessa Barrett and junior Elizabeth Chikotas. They looked solid in winning the Penn State National Open after finishing third at Roy Griak. Michigan State has been ranked but they have had trouble. The Spartans return four from their 2014 NCAA title team led by 2014 4th place finisher senior Rachele Schulist. If Wisconsin’s top runners are healthy enough to run they could challenge for this title. 2014 runner-up Sarah Disanza did not run last year. 

#10 Portland and #18 BYU were the other half of a big weekend sweep when the Pilots won the Roy Griak Invitational and BYU won Virginia Panorama Farms Invitational. Finally these two rivals will meet. Portland was fourth at Pre-Nationals. Junior Lauren Larocco once again led the Pilots by finishing 9th. #14 San Francisco was sixth at Wisconsin led by senior Charlotte Taylor (10th). With senior Helene Thambet transferring from New Mexico, the Dons have 8 returners from last years NCAA championships team. San Francisco has won five of the last seven conference titles. BYU did not run all of their top runners at Wisconsin and finished 10th. This could be a great battle but Portland is poised to win the title. 

The Big 12 is the deepest it has been in the last few years. #9 Baylor ran at the NCAA meet in 2014 and they seem to be using that as motivation for this year. Senior Maggie Montoya and Freshman Lindsay Bradley have led this resurgent team. The Bears were fifth at Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. #16 Iowa State won a trophy in 2014 and hopes were high for this year. Most of their top runners are starting to race at the end of this season. Junior Erin Hooker finished 14th at Wisconsin to lead the team to an 8th place finish. Oklahoma State made the NCAA meet last year but injuries have stripped their depth this year. 

#3 North Carolina State was second at the Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational and Wisconsin Invitational. They are improving and may win their first ACC title since 2006. Senior Erica Kemp has led the Wolfpack all season long (seventh at Wisconsin) and she has an experienced group behind her. #17 Notre Dame was led by sophomores Anna Rohrer (third) and Annie Heffernan (22nd) and the Irish finished ninth at the Wisconsin Invitational.

#4 Providence in the Big East, #5 New Mexico in the Mountain West, and #11 Arkansas in the SEC could have easy routes to win counference titles. They could run a hard tempo run over 6000m and easily win their team titles.