Fastest finish in NCAA DI Cross Country Championships history

Cross country finishing times are difficult to quantify. Comparing results to other years and different courses makes it nearly impossible to determine the fastest time in NCAA DI Cross Country history. With the help of our record books (men’s | women’s), 25 men’s and women’s cross country races have been documented as the fastest times in the history of the NCAA DI Cross Country Championships.

We’ve identified the dates and places that radically changed the record books for both men’s and women’s cross country.

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Fastest men’s cross-country finishes

November 22, 1976. This was the day cross country was turned on its head. Three days before Thanksgiving, nine of the top 25 all-time championship times were recorded at the 1976 National Cross Country Championships in North Texas. The 38th Annual NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country Championships included an average Temperature 45 degrees and clear visibility – excellent weather for a 10 km race. Topographically, the terrain in Denton, Texas is flat.

Kenyan native Henry Rono of Washington State led the historic 10K with the fastest time ever recorded in the history of the NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Championships with a finish time of 28 minutes, 6.6 seconds. About 10 seconds behind him (28:16.8), his WSU teammate Samson Kimombwa crossed the finish line to become sole owner of the second-fastest championship finish of all time. And 10 seconds after Kimombwa (28:26.5), Illinois’ Craig Virgin rounded out the podium in third place, the third-fastest finish in the championship at the time.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: The Complete Men’s History Since 1938 | A complete history of women since 1981.

Three years later, Rono bettered Virgin’s time by finishing in 28:19.6 at the 1979 National Championships—his third individual title (1976, 1977, 1979). He became only the third man in history to win three titles, making Rono one of the greatest distance runners in NCAA history.

At the 2021 National Championships held on November 20, 2021, BYU’s Conner Mantz set the seventh fastest time with a winning time of 28:33.1, beating his opponent by more than five seconds and beating Rono’s 1977 win of 28:33.5. Five competitors placed in the top 25 at the 83rd annual championship, held at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.

At the 2024 National Championships, held on November 23, 2024, Harvard’s Graham Blanks posted a 10th-place finish in 28:37.2, winning his second straight title. The top six finishers at the 86th annual championship, held at the Thomas Zimmer Cross Country Course in Madison, Wisconsin, placed in the top 30.

Top 30 fastest finishes in the history of men’s cross-country skiing championships:

All the time	Year	Place	Master	Time	Name	School
1	1976	1	North Texas	28:06.6	Henry Rono	Washington st.
2	1976	2	North Texas	28:16.8	Samson Kimombwa	Washington st.
3	1979	1	Lehigh	28:19.6	Henry Rono	Washington st.
4	1976	3	North Texas	28:26.5	Craig Virgin	Illinois
5	1976	4	North Texas	28:30.7	Herb Lindsay	Michigan st.
6	2012	1	Louisville	28:31.3	Kennedy Kituka	Texas Tech
7	2021	1	Florida st.	28:33.1	Conner Mantz	BYU
8	1977	1	Washington st.	28:33.5	Henry Rono	Washington st.
9	1976	5	North Texas	28:34.8	John Tracy	Providence
10	2024	1	Wisconsin	28:37.2	Graham Blanks	Harvard
11	1979	2	Lehigh	28:37.4	Alberto Salazar	Oregon
12	2023	1	Virginia	28:37.7	Graham Blanks	Harvard
13	2012	2	Louisville	28:38.6	Stephen Sambu	Arizona
14	2021	2	Florida st.	28:38.7	Wesley Kiptoo	Iowa st.
15	2024	2	Wisconsin	28:38..9	Habtom Samuel	New Mexico
16	1976	6	North Texas	28:39.0	Wilson Waigwa	UTEP
17	2024	3	Wisconsin	28:39.6	Dylan Schubert	Furman
18	2023	2	Virginia	28:40.7	Habtom Samuel	New Mexico
19	2021	3	Florida st.	28:40.9	Atanas Kioko	Campbell
20	2024	4	Wisconsin	28:41.5	Yassin Abdallah	Arkansas
21	1976	7	North Texas	28:43.1	Niall O’Shaughnessy	Arkansas
22	2022	1	Oklahoma State	28:43.6	Charles Hicks	Stanford
23	2011	1	Indiana St.	28:44.1	Lavi Lalang	Arizona
24	2022	1	Oklahoma State	28:44.5	Nico Young	Northern Arizona
25	2024	5	Wisconsin	28:44.9	Brian Musau	Oklahoma State
26	2024	6	Wisconsin	28:45.1	Casey Klinger	BYU
27	1981	1	Wichita st.	28:45.6	Matthews Motshwaratehu	UTEP
28	2015	1	Louisville	28:45.8	Edward Cheserek	Oregon
29	1976	8	North Texas	28:46.4	Sammy Maritim	Texas-El Paso
30	2001	1	Furman	28:47.0	Boaz Cheboyvo	Oriental Michigan

Fastest finish among women in cross-country

The fastest NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country Championship race in history took place on November 18, 2023. The race featured three of the best times in NCAA Championships history, led by Florida’s Parker Welby, and her record finish of 18:55.2 was the only finish to break the 19-minute mark at the Championships. 2023 added seven of the top 10 finishes in DI Women’s Championship history and 10 of the top 25.

Alabama freshman Doris Lemngole finished second in the 2023 race. As a sophomore in the 2024 season, Lemngole did not top her second all-time position, but she still ranked in the top five all-time with a win in the individual championship. Three runners placed in the top 21 all-time

The 37th annual NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country Championships, held on November 18, 2017, tied the 1976 record for men. The 6K race hosted by Louisville at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park set the stage for the seven fastest championship finishes in NCAA DI women’s cross country history.

The clouds contributed to winds of 20 mph and a temperature of 66 degrees. for the morning race. Louisville’s mostly flat region created ideal running conditions.

New Mexico’s Edna Kurgat crossed the finish line in 19:19.5, finishing about eight seconds ahead of Washington’s Amy-Eloise Neal (19:27.0). The pair finished first and second that day and became the top two in women’s cross country championship history.

At the time, in 2017, Louisville was home to 13 of the fastest finishes in women’s cross country championship history, including seven of the 10 fastest finishes ever recorded, although the school has only hosted the event three times in the program’s history (2012 , 2015). , 2017).

On November 20, 2021, BYU’s Whitney Orton posted the second-fastest time to date, finishing in 19:25.4 to win the 41st annual Women’s National Championships held at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida. The 2021 championship was very similar to 2017, finishing in the top 25 six times.

Top 25 fastest finishes in women’s cross-country skiing history:

All the time	Year	Place	Master	Time	Name	School
1	2023	1	Virginia	18:55.2	Parker Welby	Florida
2	2023	2	Virginia	19:05.7	Doris Lemngole	Alabama
3	2023	3	Virginia	19:10.0	Olivia Markesic	Notre Dame
4	2017	1	Louisville	19:19.5	Edna Kurgat	New Mexico
5	2024	1	Wisconsin	19:21.0	Doris Lemngole	Alabama
6	2023	4	Virginia	19:22.1	Hilda Olemomoy	Alabama
7	2023	5	Virginia	19:23.0	Caitlin Tuohy	North Carolina State
8	2021	1	Florida st.	19:25.4	Whitney Orton	BYU
9	2023	6	Virginia	19:26.9	Flomena Asekol	Florida
10	2017	2	Louisville	19:27.0	Amy-Eloise Neal	Washington
11	2023	7	Virginia	19:27.5	Billah Jepkirui	Oklahoma State
12	2022	1	Oklahoma State	19:27.7	Caitlin Tuohy	North Carolina State
13	2024	2	Wisconsin	19:27.8	Pamela Kosgei	New Mexico
14	2012	1	Louisville	19:27.9	Betsy Saina	Iowa st.
15	2008	1	Indiana St.	19:28.1	Sally Kipyego	Texas Tech
16	2023	8	Virginia	19:28.4	Chloe Scrimgeour	Georgetown
T-17	2017	3	Louisville	19:28.6	Charlotte Taylor	San Francisco
T-17	2015	1	Louisville	19:28.6	Molly Seidel	Notre Dame
T-17	2012	2	Louisville	19:28.6	Abbey of D’Agostina	Dartmouth
T-17	2012	2	Louisville	19:28.6	Jordan Hasay	Oregon
21	2024	3	Wisconsin	19:28.7	Hilda Olemomoy	Florida
22	2021	2	Florida st.	19:29.3	Mercy Chelanghat	Alabama
23	2021	3	Florida st.	19:29.5	Ceili McCabe	West Virginia
24	2021	4	Florida st.	19:29.8	Kaylee Logue	Iowa st.
25	2023	9	Virginia	19:29.9	Amina Maatug	Duke
26	2003	1	UNI	19:30.4	Shalane Flanagan	North Carolina
27	2023	10	Virginia	19:30.8	Maya Ramsden	Harvard
T-28	2007	1	Indiana St.	19:30.9	Sally Kipyego	Texas Tech
T-28	2022	2	Oklahoma State	19:30.9	Parker Welby	Florida