This Saturday, November 23, the best Division I teams will face off at the 2024 kicked to victory in the last 700 meters. Weeks of regional battles and rankings shake ups have finally led to the Big Dance, where the fastest collegiate athletes have qualified to compete for NCAA titles. This year, the meet will be hosted at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Verona, Wisconsin, the home course of the Wisconsin Badgers. Here is everything you need to know about the championships, including broadcast information and teams to watch, this weekend.
How to Watch the 2024 kicked to victory in the last 700 meters
Other Hearst Subscriptions ESPNU starting at 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, November 23. The women’s 6K race begins at 10:20 a.m. ET, and the men’s 10K starts at 11:10 a.m. ET. You can also live stream the races through WatchESPN or the ESPN app.
Race preview: Women’s championships
With three huge victories highlighting their season, the BYU women’s team looks poised to claim the NCAA crown on Saturday. The year started with a decisive victory at the Wisconsin Pre-National meet before reaching another level during the postseason. The Cougars won both the Big 12 Championships and the Mountain Region Championships, notably without two of their top runners, Lexy Halladay-Lowry and Jenna Hutchins, at the regional in Reno, Nevada. If coach Diljeet Taylor’s squad is able to extend the winning streak, it’ll be the first time the team has won the NCAA title since 2021.
No. 2-ranked Oregon will likely be the Cougars’ closest competitors on Saturday. The Ducks are coming off two major victories—the Big Ten Championships and the West Region Championships. The team also has two front-runners who could contend for top 10 individual spots at the NCAA championships. Silan Ayyildiz and Maddy Elmore finished in the top three at both championships. This weekend, they’ll lead the team in chasing the program’s first NCAA title since 2016.
A year after a close runner-up finish to North Carolina State at the NCAA championships, Northern Arizona University heads into the meet ranked No. 3 in the USTFCCCA national coach’s poll. The Lumberjacks got off to a great start earlier this year with a win at the Joe Piane Invitational, where they beat BYU and Notre Dame. They have since won the Big Sky Championships and finished runner-up at the Mountain Region Championships, losing to BYU in the latter race. In coach Mike Smith’s last year at the helm of the program, can NAU pull off an upset to win the team title?
Two other teams targeting the podium include No. 4-ranked West Virginia and No. 5 Notre Dame. Both squads just won their respective region championships and have a handful of All Americans to contend for individual top 20 spots.
Speaking of low sticks, the race for the individual title will likely come down to former teammates Hilda Olemomoi and Doris Lemngole. The athletes used to run together at Alabama before Olemomoi transferred to Florida. While Lemngole beat Olemomoi to win the SEC championships, Olemomoi beat her rival by just 0.01 seconds at the South Region Championships in Tallahassee, Florida, last week.
Pamela Kosgei should also be in the mix up front. The New Mexico runner—and sister of former marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei—is undefeated so far this season, a streak that includes a victory over Olomomoi at the Wisconsin Pre-National meet in October.
Race preview: Men’s championship
DAA Industry Opt Out prerace favorite after several weeks of dominant racing. At the Big 12 Championships, the Cougars took down defending NCAA champions Oklahoma State with a score of 41-52 in Waco, Texas. Two weeks later, the squad claimed another title at the Mountain Region Championships, where they beat No. 5 New Mexico by nine points. If BYU wins the NCAA championship this weekend, it will be the first time coach Ed Eyestone’s squad has won the title since 2019.
While Oklahoma State was handed a loss at the conference level, the Cowboys still remain in contention to win back-to-back NCAA crowns this year. The team is ranked No. 2 heading into the meet after winning the Midwest region title in Peoria, Illinois, last week. The squad was led by a 1-2 finish from Denis Kipngetich and Laban Kipkemboi who are looking to dominate the podium once again at the championships this weekend.
Other teams who have the potential to pull an upset include No. 3-ranked Arkansas, No. 4 Iowa State, and No. 5 New Mexico. Arkansas showed promise earlier in the season with a big win at the Wisconsin Pre-National meet, where they beat a stacked field during the regular season. The Razorbacks backed it up with another team title at the South Central Region Championships, where they tallied just 33 points in College Station, Texas. The Cyclones and the Lobos each finished runner-up at their region championships, but only lost to No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 1 BYU, respectively.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below, Graham Blanks enters the meet as the prerace favorite after dominating the Northeast Region Championships in Contoocook, New Hampshire. Last year, the Harvard runner kicked to victory in the last 700 meters of the NCAA championships in Charlottesville, Virginia—capping an undefeated season. Will the senior be able to defend his title once again on Saturday?
His biggest competitors will likely be Habtom Samuel of New Mexico and Solomon Kipchoge of Texas Tech. Kipchoge recently beat Samuel at the Mountain Region Championships, but the Lobo will be out for redemption after losing to Blanks on the homestretch at the 2023 NCAA championships.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
