Iowa State's Wesley Kiptoo, Stanford's Ella Donaghu Secure Individual Victories In Tallahassee

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos courtesy Florida State University

Iowa State showcased again that it boasts two of the country’s top distance runners.

Stanford finally had an opportunity to validate why it might have the nation’s top freshman duo to accompany a veteran supporting cast.

And Colorado demonstrated the depth of its transfers and how impactful they could be Friday at the Florida State Winter XC Classic.

RESULTS

Cyclones junior Wesley Kiptoo relied on a strong surge midway through the race and never looked back, covering the 8-kilometer course at Apalachee Regional Park in 22 minutes, 48.8 seconds to secure victory in the Garnet men’s race, with Stanford placing three freshmen in the top 30 to triumph with 67 points.

Stanford senior Ella Donaghu rallied in the final kilometer to prevail in the Garnet women’s 6-kilometer race in 20:07, just ahead of Iowa State senior Cailie Logue (20:09.1), Cardinal freshman Zofia Dudek (20:09.2) and Oklahoma State sophomore Taylor Roe (20:10).

But Colorado placed five scorers in the top 25, including offseason transfers Micaela Degenero and Abby Nichols, to edge Pac-12 rival Stanford, 72-77.

Junior Rachel McArthur, a previous transfer from Villanova, led the Buffaloes by finishing fifth in 20:20. McArthur led through the 5-kilometer mark, before being surpassed by the impressive closing speed of the top quartet.

Degenero, a Michigan transfer, was 12th in 20:38.9 for Colorado, with freshman Emily Covert (20:41.3) and sophomore Elizabeth Constien (20:42.3) placing 17th and 18th. Nichols, an Ohio State transfer, was 24th in 20:52.7, securing the victory for the Buffaloes.

Stanford had Julia Heymach (20:36.5) support Donaghu and Dudek, but an uncharacteristic 32nd-place performance from returning senior All-American Jessica Lawson (21:03.3) – 11th at the 2019 NCAA Championships – and a 34th-place effort from freshman Grace Connolly (21:05.9) allowed Colorado to hold on for the win in the first official cross country race for both teams in 441 days, since the Division 1 final at the  LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute, Ind.

Alabama junior Esther Gitahi (20:23.9), Syracuse senior Amanda Vestri (20:25.7), West Virginia sophomore Ceili McCabe (20:31.2) and Tennessee junior Sydney Seymour (20:33.4) placed sixth through ninth, finishing in between McArthur and Heymach.

Duke relied on five athletes finishing from 20th to 30th place, with a 15-second spread, to finish third overall with 128 points. Oklahoma State edged Big 12 rival Iowa State by a 181-189 margin in a rematch of the Oct. 30 conference championship race.

The men’s competition was much more spread out than the women’s battle, with Stanford aggressively pushing the pace in the first half of the race and never relinquishing control.

Freshmen Cole Sprout (23:31.7) and Charles Hicks (23:36) were fifth and sixth for the Cardinal, with support from senior Alek Parsons (23:50.2) finishing 12th, junior D.J. Principe (23:57) taking 18th and freshman Devin Hart (24:11.9) placing 29th.

Eduardo “Lalo” Herrera was runner-up in 23:03.5 for Colorado, which lost the second-place tiebreaker to Iowa State after both teams accumulated 98 points. Iowa State edged the Buffaloes with their first, third and fifth scorers to earn the head-to-head victory.

Florida State junior Adriaan Wildschutt, a Coastal Carolina transfer, took third in 23:16.7, with Wake Forest junior Zach Facioni running 23:25 to finish fourth.

Southeastern Louisiana junior Shea Foster (23:40.6), Colorado senior Alec Hornecker (23:45.6), Tennessee junior Karl Thiessen (23:47.1) and Eastern Kentucky sophomore James Sugira (23:48.6) rounded out the top 10. Utah State freshman Camren Todd showcased a strong effort to place 11th in 23:49.3, helping the Aggies finish fourth overall with 160 points.

Colorado also showcased the strength of its entire roster by also winning the Gold women’s 6-kilometer race, placing seven athletes in the top 12 to score 18 points, led by senior Madison Boreman, who rallied in the final stretch to prevail in 21:05.1, just ahead of Jacksonville junior Hayleigh Palotti (21:06.1).

Stanford freshman Lucy Jenks, the leader at the 5-kilometer mark, was third in 21:09.4.

Colorado senior Ethan Powell won the Gold men’s 8-kilometer race in 24:51.8, just ahead of Southeastern Louisiana senior Grant O’Callaghan (24:55.9) and Syracuse senior Dominic Hockenbury (24:59.1).

New Orleans, with five scorers in the top 30, edged Southeastern Louisiana by a 46.-48 margin. Sophomore Kolyn Saltzman finished 12th in 25:22.8 to lead the Privateers.