By Paul Hof-Mahoney
November 18, 2024
The 2024 NCAA DI Cross Country Championships are finally here! The races kick off Saturday morning from a chilly Madison (okay, technically Verona), Wisconsin, at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course. CITIUS MAG will have a team on-site bringing you a preview show, interviews with the stars of the meet, and all the coverage across our website, YouTube, Instagram, X, Threads, and BlueSky you could ever want.
The meet will be broadcast on ESPNU for two-and-a-half uninterrupted hours, starting with a preview show at 9:30 a.m. ET before the women’s race at 10:20 and the men’s at 11:10. If you want to impress your watch party with your depth of historic collegiate cross country knowledge, here’s a quick rundown of some of the most important stats to know:
Who has won the most individual titles?
Men - Four men have claimed three individual titles at this stage. Washington State’s Gerry Lindgren, Oregon’s Steve Prefontaine, and Washington State’s Henry Rono all accomplished this feat between 1966 (Lindgren’s first) and 1979 (Rono’s last). Edward Cheserek of Oregon is the true standout among this elite quartet, being the only man to win three consecutive titles, and the only one to do so in the last 45 years (2013, 2014, and 2015).
Harvard’s Graham Blanks, the 2023 champion, is the only man in Saturday’s field to already have an NCAA cross country title to his name.
Women - Texas Tech’s Sally Kipyego stands alone on the women’s side, having won three straight titles between 2006 and 2008. Five other women have won two individual titles.
There are zero women that will enter Saturday’s race with a cross country crown in their trophy case. The highest individual finish in the field belongs to Alabama’s Doris Lemngole, who was the runner-up last November.
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Paul Hof-Mahoney
Paul is currently a student at the University of Florida (Go Gators) and is incredibly excited to be making his way into the track and field scene. He loves getting the opportunity to showcase the fascinating storylines that build up year-over-year across all events (but especially the throws).
