The case for the top 3 men’s and women’s team cross country title contenders

One of the things that make collegiate running beautiful is the mixture of head-to-head individual running and the team competition. We already broke down the individual contenders; now it’s time to look at the team title contenders for the men and women getting ready to race at the 2025 DI cross country championships in Missouri.

Top women’s team title contenders

• NC State
• BYU
• New Mexico

Entering the women’s team competition, there are two top dogs at the top: BYU and NC State. The schools have combined for the last five national championships, with BYU the defending champion and NC State three-peating before that. 

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The Cougars are led by freshman superstar Jane Hedengren as an individual title contender and Riley Chamberlain as another low stick. Those two appear primed for a top-10 finish at nationals, but it'll be the remaining three runners that will determine the team success. Women like Taylor Rohatinsky, Lexi Goff-Thompson, Carmen Alder, Jacey Harkins-Farmer, Nelah Roberts and others will have to perform better than they did in a second-place Mountain Regional finish, because this one may come down to the fifth runner.

Similarly, NC State has elite runners at the top in the individual race. Grace Hartman won the Nuttycombe, Angelina Napoleon won ACCs and Hannah Gapes finished second in the Southeast Regional. It would be no surprise if those three cross the line first for the Wolfpack. However, will runners like Bethany Michalak, Sadie Engelhardt and Brooke Rauber be able to close the spread and cross the line ahead of BYU runners?

There were a lot of teams to consider for the third women’s team title contender spot in this article. Notre Dame had a dominant showing in the Great Lakes regional, Florida could have three runners in the top 15 after their showing in the South Regional and we can’t forget about Stanford and Oregon, either. However, none of those are my picks for the third team title contender. The team I’d go with is New Mexico.

The Lobos beat BYU in the Mountain Regional, proving they can hang with the nation’s best. New Mexico also has an individual title contender in Pamela Kosgei. A near first place finish from her is a low stick that I don’t see any of the other teams I had in my team title discussion matching. Judy Rono, Marion Jepngetich and Jasmine Wood have also improved as the season has progressed. New Mexico’s top four runners can compete for a podium finish.

FINISHING FIRST: 2025's top individual cross country championship contenders to know

Top men’s team title contenders

• Oklahoma State
• Iowa State
• New Mexico

Oklahoma State is the favorite entering the men’s team race. This is a team that put five runners in the top seven of the Big 12 championships and four runners in the top nine of the Midwest Regional. It’s important to note that in the Midwest Regional, star runner Brian Musau dropped from third place at 4114m to a 17th place finish. I wouldn’t expect Musau to have a collapse like that again; he’s one of the best in the sport. Oklahoma State is an elite group that has already beat Iowa State twice in the last two meets. The Cowboys are the frontrunners entering Missouri.

Iowa State was once the nation’s top-ranked team, but it has faltered a bit. The Cyclones have rebounded from a 27th place finish at the Nuttycombe with a pair of runner-up finishes to Oklahoma State, but Iowa State still hasn’t won a race since September. Luckily for Iowa State, that September race — the Gans Creek Classic — was run at the same course the national championship race will be run at in Columbia, Missouri. Iowa State had four runners in the top 10 at the Midwest Regional and should remain in title contention by the time we get to the 8000m mark. How the Cyclones finish will determine if they can break through and win their first title since 1994.

REGIONALS: 2025 DI cross country regional championships recap

New Mexico and Syracuse are the two teams I think are in the third title contender discussion after regionals. Syracuse’s strength comes from a tight spread between its first and fifth runner, but New Mexico is my pick here because the Lobos have the potential to do the same with their second to fourth runner, with the ultimate low stick in Habtom Samuel offsetting the fifth runner. That balance could have New Mexico on the podium.