NAU, NC State take wins at NCAA XC
BYU's Whittni Orton and Conner Mantz took home the individual titles
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NC State Twitter
The 2021 Division 1 NCAA Cross Country Championships took place this Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla., and Northern Arizona University’s men’s team continued to assert its dominance, taking home its fifth title in the last six years. On the women’s side, North Carolina State won its first cross country team title with a total of 84 points.
.@PackXC Women , @NAUTrackFieldXC Men Take #NCAAXC Titles In Convincing Style; @BYUTFXC Sweep Individual Titles@d9monti #RRW ? https://t.co/o13QCEJEfI pic.twitter.com/3CuYw7yr3b
— RunnerSpace (@runnerspace) November 21, 2021
The men’s race
BYU’s Conner Mantz won the individual men’s title for the second time this year (the previous NCAA XC champs were held in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic), making him the first American male to win multiple NCAA titles since Bob Kennedy won in 1988 and 1992. He covered the 10K course in 28:33.1. The team from NAU were also repeat winners from last year’s championships, with a total of 92 points, Abdihamid Nur of Somalia, who ran 28:52.9 for sixth place.
BACK-TO-BACK FOR MANTZ!!!
The 2021 National Champion in the Men's 10K is Conner Mantz who finished in 28:33.1!
? ESPNU#NCAAXC x @BYUTFXC pic.twitter.com/YBdjXZC6pH
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) November 20, 2021
Iowa State followed in second place with a total of 137 points, led by Wesley Kiptoo of Kenya, who finished second individually in 28:38.7. This is an excellent result for the team, who were only ranked sixth coming into the race on Saturday. Oklahoma State was third with 186 points, followed by Arkansas in fourth with 195 points. Athanas Kioko rounded out the individual podium, running 28:40.9 for third place.
The women’s race
Pack Champions ?#GoPack | #PackXC | #NCAAXC pic.twitter.com/yTv9U5UVxR
— Wolfpack XC (@PackXC) November 20, 2021
Led by individual champion Whittni Orton, who won the women’s 6K in 19:25.4, BYU was looking to become repeat team champions as well this Saturday, but was bested by the depth of NC State. Sophomore Kelsey Chmiel led the Wolfpack with her sixth-place finish, followed by freshman and former high school superstar, Katelyn Tuohy, in 15th. The team’s next three runners were close together in 22nd, 24th and 32nd, for a team total of 84 points for their first-ever NCAA XC title.
BYU took second place with 122 points, and the University of New Mexico Lobos came third with the help of two Canadians. Gracelyn Larkin of Rosseau, Ont., finished 21st, and Guelph, Ont.’s Stefanie Parsons finished 36th, adding to the team’s overall points total of 130 points. The University of Colorado finished fourth with 187 points.
Whittni Orton finishes first with a 19:25.4 mark to be the 2021 National Champion in the Women's 6K!
? ESPNU#NCAAXC x @BYUTFXC pic.twitter.com/rmBXoiLzH8
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) November 20, 2021
Canada’s Ceili McCabe takes third place at NCAA XC Championships
Alabama University’s Mercy Chelangat, who won the individual title at the NCAA Championships last spring, had to settle for second place behind Orton, and Canada’s Ceili McCabe from Vancouver, B.C., took third place, only two seconds behind Chelangat.
For a full list of results, click here.
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