Canadians to watch for at the NCAA D1 Cross-Country Championships

UPDATE (Nov. 18): See Canadian results here.

One of the most competitive cross-country races in the world goes off on Saturday.

The NCAA Division One Cross-Country Championships brings together the top distance runners from United States-based universities. There will be athletes from around the world, competing for their schools, including a number from Canada, including men’s 10K favourite Justyn Knight. The Syracuse senior has not won an NCAA individual title in his collegiate career but is undefeated on the cross-country course this fall. He made the finals in the 5,000m at the 2017 IAAF World Championships.

Knight is coming off a win at regionals where he lost a shoe early in the race, stopped to put his spike back on, and made up a deficit that saw him as far back in the pack as fifth from last. Knight, who hails from Toronto, finished second at the cross-country championships in 2016. BYU’s Rory Linkletter should contend for a podium spot too.

? from #NCAAXC practice day pic.twitter.com/bYlzJaG2X9

— Syracuse XC/Track (@CuseXCTF) November 17, 2017

On the women’s side, the top contender (among Canadians) is expected to be London, Ont.’s Charlotte Prouse, who attends New Mexico. The Lobos are one of the favourites to win the women’s 6K team title.

The division one championships – there are three divisions in the NCAA with D1 being the most competitive tier – go off from Louisville, Ken., specifically E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park, beginning at 9 a.m. EST (6K) and concluding at 10 a.m. EST with the 10K. (Times have been pushed ahead from the original schedule.) FloTrack will be streaming the events.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaXaW7blCIU/

Below are some of the Canadians in Saturday’s fields.

Canadians to watch for at NCAA (D1) XC

Women

Charlotte Prouse (New Mexico)
Martha Macdonald (Georgetown)
Alexandra Lucki (Maryland)
Evelyne Guay (Iowa State)
Nicole Hutchinson (Villanova)
Katie Fisher (Villanova)
Frederique LaTraverse (San Francisco)
Megan Rempel (North Carolina State)
Erinn Stenman-Fahey (Iowa State)
Bridget O’Neill (Dartmouth)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZHSDP-Ftk5/

Men

Justyn Knight (Syracuse)
Ben Flanagan (Michigan)
Rory Linkletter (BYU)
Mike Tate (Southern Utah)
Ehab El-Sandali (Iona)
Nathan Wadhwani (Washington State)
Ryan Smeeton (Oklahoma State)
Brandon Allen (Iona)
Nathan Tadesse (Washington State)
Grant Fisher (Stanford) *dual-citizen who competes for the U.S.
Melika Ghali (Boise State)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbVI_hbACJv/

Names were pulled from this entry list (.PDF).