Nuttycombe Invite: A Sneak Peak Into the National Championship Course
Written by Sienna McEneaney, Lovesquad Athlete & TheRunAround Podcast host.
NCAA cross country season is never truly in full swing until Nuttycombe Weekend rolls around. On Friday, the 9th annual Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational was held at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Verona, Wisconsin. This meet is historically one of the most notable regular season college meets of the year, with so many top teams traveling from far and wide to see how they stack up against the best runners in the nation early in the season. This year, it was an especially exciting opportunity for teams that attended to get a feel for the course, as the NCAA Championships will be held there on November 23rd later this season. With ideal conditions, a beautiful course, and the best teams in the nation competing, it was an exciting day of racing!
The meet offered four races, with a B level and championship race for each gender. The racing got off to an electric start, with Molly Fitzpatrick of Boston College securing the win in the final 200 meter straightaway. In the Men’s B Race, BYU started off their dominant display that would continue in the championship race, with Berkley Nance and Lucas Bons taking the first two spots.
In the women’s championship race, Sadie Sigfstead of Villanova and Rosina Machu of Gonzaga led the race together until the 5th kilometer, when Sigfstead pulled away to win in 19:55. Florence Caron of Penn State made up the large gap that Sigfstead and Machu created mid-race to finish in second with a time of 20:03. Machu held on for third in 20:06. It should be noted that Sigfstead finished in 71st place last year at nationals, and Caron in 182nd. They have certainly had a solid year of training and are coming back with a vengeance this season.
In the women's team race, Washington came away with the victory with a score of 110. All five of their scoring runners finished in the top 35. Utah took the runner-up spot with 139 points, Georgetown placed 3rd with 145, Providence in 4th with 180, and with the advantage of being on their home course, the Wisconsin Badgers secured the 5th spot with 182 points. The split between Wisconsin’s top five runners was only 16 seconds, which is so impressive in a field as deep as this one.
In the men’s championship race, Robin Kwemoi Bera of Iowa State and Justine Kipkoech of Eastern Kentucky got out to a fast start, leading until about the 4 kilometer mark when a large group of men got back in touch with them. Bera pulled away again and created another demanding gap until the final kilometer. The chase pack that was on Bera’s tail at this point consisted of North Carolina’s Parker Wolfe, BYU’s Casey Clinger, Wake Forest’s Rocky Hansen, and Villanova’s Liam Murphy. In the end, Wolfe’s patience early in the race paid off when he passed Bera in the last half kilometer. He finished with a new course and meet record time of 23:04. Hansen and Murphy followed closely behind in 23:06 and 23:08 respectively. After an extremely successful summer of racing for Wolfe, including winning the USATF Championship in the 5,000 meter, it is obvious he has his sights set on a national cross country championship this season.
In the men's team competition, BYU made a clear statement by putting 5 of their runners in the top 20. Their team score came out to 44, which is an impressive 64 points ahead of the runner-up team, Iowa State, who finished with 108. Wake Forest took third with 150, North Carolina came in 4th with 196, and Washington rounded out the top five with 246. If anything can be taken away from Friday, it is that BYU is more than on their way to being ready to contend for a team title in November.
The 2024 Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational certainly did not disappoint. The course has been tested, miles will continue to be put in, and there is no doubt that athletes will show up ready to compete in November. The question that remains: will they be willing to put it all on the line and risk heartbreak when it truly counts?