Seminoles, Badgers Assert Control

Most of the top college men's and women's cross country teams were at either the Wisconsin adidas Invitational or the Indiana State Pre-Nationals this weekend and as the post-season draws closer, the women of Florida State and the men of Wisconsin might be emerging as national favorites.

The third-ranked Seminoles simply dominated the competition in Indiana, scoring 46 points. That far outdistanced No. 5 Georgetown (99) and No. 4 Colorado (160).

Earlier this season, FSU coach Karen Harvey had called 2011 a "rebuilding year," but she is going to have to reassess after placing five runners in the top 14. Led by junior co-captain Amanda Winslow and Bernard Lagat's youngest sister Violah, the Seminoles' average scorer was 20 seconds ahead of Georgetown's average scorer. And the top five FSU runners were separated by just 19 seconds.

"They took a one-on-one race with a great Georgetown team and were really determined to win the meet," Harvey said. "That determination really showed."

UTEP's Risper Kimaiyo was the individual winner in 20:19, four seconds ahead of Dartmouth super soph Abbey D'Agostino.

On the men's side, No. 8 Colorado and No. 12 Portland used a huge fifth-runner advantage to defeat No. 5 Iona. The Gaels were very strong one-through-four, including an individual victory from Leonard Korir in 23:55, but they allowed about 30 points each on the final scorer. If someone steps up in that position, Iona might have enough for a top-five finish at the NCAA Championships.

Former Iona coach Mick Byrne might be in the driver's seat for a national title at Wisconsin after his host Badgers ran as an impressive pack at the adidas Invitational. The five Badgers came in within two seconds of one another, finishing with a big win over the likes of BYU, Stanford, Princeton and Indiana.

"We ran pretty much perfect," said junior Reed Connor said. "We got out, kept going nice and relaxed and all of the sudden there's a huge gap and we had five (runners) together."

Byrne, who spent 24 years at Iona, praised his team for its unselfishness. "They put aside their individual goals out there today and said let's all do this as a team," he said.

Yet it may have been Arizona freshman Lawi Lalang who impressed the most. He set a new meet and course record in 23:10, 19 seconds ahead of the previous mark set last year by Princeton's Donn Cabral, who finished fourth this year both individually and with his team.

The adidas women's race was an odd one. Two of the nation's premier runners — Villanova's Sheila Reid and Oregon's Jordan Hasay — finished one-two, but the women's battle was a head-scratcher. No. 24 Washington was the winner, followed by unranked (not for long) Vanderbilt. That left five top 10 teams — Reid's No. 1 Wildcats, No. 6 Stanford, No. 8 Syracuse, No. 9 Iowa State and No. 10 Cal — looking less ready than expected.

Indiana State Pre-Nationals
Women's Top 10 Teams
1. (3) Florida State, 46
2. (5) Georgetown, 99
3. (18) Michigan, 158
4. (4) Colorado, 160
5. Cornell, 161
6. UC Davis, 221
7. Dartmouth, 273
8. Iona, 304
9. Central Michigan, 329
10. Tulsa, 336

Women's Top 10 Individuals
1. Risper Kimaiyo (UTEP), 20:19
2. Abbey D'Agostino (Dartmouth), 20:23
3. Tara Erdmann (Loyola Marymount), 20:41
4. Amanda Winslow (Florida State), 20:44
5. Emily Infeld (Georgetown), 20:44
6. Hollie Rowland (Iona), 20:46
7. Violah Lagat (Florida State), 20:47
8. Hannah Brooks (Florida State), 20:48
9. Shalaya Kipp (Colorado), 20:51
10. Lydia Kosgei (Eastern Kentucky), 20:56

Men's Top 10 Teams
1. (8) Colorado, 82
2. (12) Portland, 104
3. (5) Iona, 109
4. (29) Eastern Kentucky, 186
5. (11) Florida State, 186
6. Tulsa, 197
7. Louisville, 232
8. (7) Indiana, 259
9. Virginia Tech, 322
10. Dartmouth, 343

Men's Top 10 Individuals
1. Leonard Korir (Iona), 23:55
2. Andrew Wacker (Colorado), 23:58
3. Eric Finan (Cincinnati), 24:04
4. Richard Medina (Colorado), 24:04
5. David Forrester (Florida State), 24:09
6. Michael Fout (Florida State), 24:14
7. Soufiane Bouchikhi (Eastern Kentucky), 24:15
8. Trevor Dunbar (Portland), 24:15
9. Matthew Bayley (Iona), 24:22
10. Andrew Bayer (Indiana), 24:27

Wisconsin adidas Invitational
Women's Top 10 Teams
1. (24) Washington, 199
2. Vanderbilt, 211
3. (14) Arizona, 230
4. (1) Villanova, 232
5. (6) Stanford, 256
6. (8) Syracuse, 273
7. (10) California, 331
8. (12) Oregon, 350
9. (9) Iowa State, 362
9. (15) Michigan State, 362

Women's Top 10 Individuals
1. Sheila Reid (Villanova), 19:59.4
2. Jordan Hasay (Oregon), 20:01.9
3. Deborah Maier (California), 20:07.1
4. Alex Banfich (Princeton), 20:10.1
5. Morgan Haws (BYU), 20:11.7
6. Bogdana Mimic (Villanova), 20:11.7
7. Katie Flood (Washington), 20:13.6
8. Kendra Schaaf (North Carolina), 20:14.8
9. Meaghan Nelson (Iowa State), 20:15.2
10. Kathy Kroeger (Stanford), 20:16.3

Men's Top 10 Teams
1. (2) Wisconsin, 66
2. (6) BYU, 120
3. (4) Stanford, 125
4. (14) Princeton, 227
5. (7) Indiana, 271
6. Texas, 300
7. (17) Minnesota, 309
8. (13) Northern Arizona, 332
9. (24) Providence, 343
10. (19) Villanova, 367

Men's Top 10 Individuals
1. Lawi Lalang (Arizona), 23:10.8
2. Ryan Hill (N.C. State), 23:25.9
3. Diego Estrada (Northern Arizona), 23:26.1
4. Donn Cabral (Princeton), 23:30.1
5. Hassan Mead (Minnesota), 23:30.6
6. Chris Derrick (Stanford), 23:32.1
7. Miles Batty (BYU), 23:35.1
8. Jake Riley (Stanford), 23:38.6
9. Luke Puskedra (Oregon), 23:42.8
10. Rex Shields (BYU), 23:44.3