The much anticipated Pre National meet is here. Teams from all over the country will make their way to Terre Haute, Indiana to experience Cross Country Town USA. This will be the first time D3 Nationals has been in Terre Haute since 2012.

A few weeks ago, many teams got their look at the dedicated cross country course. The John McNichols Invitational gave us the first look at a lot of teams and got us excited for what's to come in November. Until then, let’s get ready for this weekend.

The women will get things started on Friday at 9:00pm, with the men to follow at 9:45pm. Cross country will get the Friday Night Lights treatment!

Men’s Preview

The big team matchup will be between UW-Whitewater vs. Pomona-Pitzer. The defending champs come into the competition potentially being overlooked. Despite losing All-Americans Colin Kirkpatrick, Derek Fearon, and Lucas Florsheim, they potentially look better than they did last year. We take data very seriously here at D3 Glory Days so let’s examine the last four UC Riverside Invites to figure out what to expect from Pomona-Pitzer this year.

Looking back at the last four years at UCR, PP has their fastest avg and total time. While time doesn’t prove a lot in cross country, look at their spread. They have a better 1-5 spread than the years they won in 2021 and 2023. They also return three from last year’s team including All American, Cameron Halter. He’ll be supported by Jack Stein and Owen Kobett. Throw in Quinn White who had a strong first year plus he has already improved in cross country from last year and Pomona is looking prime to get back on the podium.

UW-Whitewater will make sure to give Pomona-Pitzer a fight. The presumed national title favorite, Christian Patzka will lead the Warhawks with his friend by his side. UWW boasts one of, if not, the best duos in the country right now with Patzka and Gunner Schlender. Their resumes show they can go 1-2 at the National meet, which would be a huge boost in getting them to the podium. 

Whitewater has yet to show their full hand in a meet so the question of how they fare from 3-5 still remains. Assuming a calculated effort was had at their home meet, Dan Anderson was able to run with Schlender and Patzka. If he can translate that into the real race and be within striking distance of the duo, the Warhawks could have a storm brewing. Having Schlender and Patzka be in the top 5 at the big races gives their 3-5 some grace, but they are going to need two of Chris Allen, Alex Metko, Tucker Johnson or Conner Murphy to have a big day when it counts.

We’re looking forward to seeing what George Fox has in store this weekend. The program has been on the rise the last few years and features a handful of guys who made big jumps last track season. How will it translate to the grass?

Aidan Arthur started the track season as a 4:00 1500m runner and ended at the National meet after running 3:47. Similarly, Austin Gapp went from 9:21 in the steeple to 8:58 to make Nationals. Alls to say something is in the water that is improving this program. They lose their XC All-American, Peter Weiss, from last year’s 11th place team, but they return the rest of their top five and will lean on their experience to guide them this season. Look for Adam Peterson and Alex Mills to play a big role for George Fox this season.

MIT is an interesting team to figure out. They lost Sam Acquaviva, Henry Hardart, Vedang Lad, and Lowell Hensgen from last season. However, Coach Riley Macon went out and got six first years that ran under 9:20 in high school.

Pair those quick youngsters with three returners from the national meet and they could have the experience to figure it out. Their only race so far was a dual meet with Dartmouth so we’ll get our first full look at the Engineers.

From an individual perspective, look for Noah Tobin of Wilmington, Peter LaRochelle of Haverford, Evan Markelz of Lewis & Clark and Anthony Rodriguez of Babson to make a push towards the front. Tobin coming off an All-Ohio win and looking to further cement his status amongst the nations best.

The rare D3DG prediction: Pomona over UW-Whitewater. Patzka takes the W.

Ranked teams via D3GD Rankings:

#3 Pomona-Pitzer

#6 UW-Whitewater

#12 MIT

#14 George Fox 

#23 WashU 

#28 Haverford 

#29 UC Santa Cruz 

#30 UChicago

#31 Loras

Women’s Preview

With young talent moving in and impressive returner progressions, the women’s race this Friday is sure to be, dare we say, spicy? 

UChicago returns to Terre Haute after racing at the John McNichols Invite just two weekends ago and will be the team to watch. They are led by Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel, who took fourth in a stacked field at John McNichols and will look to contend for the win this week. With loads of course familiarity ahead of nationals, Battleson-Gunkel may enter the meet in November with an upper hand. 

Her biggest challengers this weekend include Wilmington 5k national champion Faith Duncan, who hasn’t lost a college race since the beginning of May, Gordon’s Rachel Brennan, who comes off of almost a two-minute victory in Massachusetts three weeks ago, Lewis and Clark’s Riley Buese, who took a convincing runner-up finish at PLU two weeks ago, Wesleyan’s Stephanie Ager, who appears to have had a good summer of training following her 15th place finish in the 10k last spring, and Aurora’s Deyanneira Colon-Maldanado, who just won Gil Dodds and posted her first cross country All-American finish last year. 

UChicago suffered somewhat of a shocking upset to Colorado College two weeks ago, but ran without several of their nationals team members from last season. Only Battleson-Gunkel and Estelle Snider toed the line, while Sophie Tedesco was listed as a DNS and Elisabeth Camic, Emma Kelly, Cat Wimmer, and Claudia Harnett, all of whom have nationals meet experience, sat out. Given this detail, Chicago’s finish ahead of NYU is impressive, and makes them a sure threat this weekend regardless of who they run. 

Perhaps their biggest competition comes from up and coming MIT, who has only raced once so far this season. Led by cross country All-American Kate Sanderson, the Engineers posted a 32-second split at the Maribel Sanchez Souther Invite three weeks ago. Not only was their pack tight through five, but newcomers Ava Hartman and Kate Friedman waited in the wings along with a trio of sophomore returners in Erin Hovendon, Megan Diulus, and Heather Jensen, indicating an impressive team depth. 

With holes in the Chicago roster, the depth of MIT could just be enough to cinch victory. Regardless of the outcome, one acknowledgement is certain: MIT is loaded with young talent, indicating their names will be in the national conversation for many years to come. 

The team from WashU will also take the starting line this weekend to see how they stack up to some of the nation’s best and get more valuable experience tackling the rolling hills of Terre Haute. Two weeks ago, they placed fifth of competing D3 teams at John McNichols, just behind Great Lakes school Calvin and ahead of North team La Crosse. Led by Jillian Heth, the Bears allowed 57 seconds from their first to fifth scorer, a pack time that will have to tighten up should they shoot for a top-10 finish in November. In a smaller meet, however, there should be several green and red Bears up front. 

In the middle, ranked teams DePauw, Central College, and George Fox will get a first sniff at one another. DePauw has steadily risen as a top team out of the Great Lakes this year (this is coming from Emily and not Stu!). They are undefeated after posting victories at Franklin and Gil Dodds. Duo Sophie Porter and Lily Monnett have been running stride for stride every weekend, and will likely look to help each other in the front pack this week. 

Similarly, both Central College and George Fox have a strong front-running duo. Central College is led by Peyton Steffen and Addy Parrott, but will need a strong performance from a fifth runner to do damage. Breanna Schmitt and Ellie Rising lead the way for George Fox, and will rely on the rest of their team’s pack to round out a score. Part of the beauty in cross country is that it takes every athlete to make a difference, and such will certainly be the case for DePauw, Central College, and George Fox, as their fourth and fifth likely race each other for glory in the final kilometer. 

Other ranked teams traveling to preview the course and what will hopefully be a chance at nationals include Washington & Lee and Connecticut College. With teams uniting from across the country for a pre-national rally, national rankings are about to experience some serious shake up. 

Ranked teams via D3GD:

#2 UChicago

#4 MIT

#10 WashU

#15 DePauw

#20 Wesleyan

#21 George Fox

#22 Central

#24 Conn College

#25 Washington and Lee