Cross country and soccer NCAA conference tourney recaps

The GIST: November may not start until midnight(s), but the postseason is already underway with cross country conference meets in the books and, as we mentioned on Friday, women’s soccer conference tourneys kicking off yesterday. Tighten those laces and catch up on the race toward the nattys.

👟 Cross country: On the gals course, defending national champ No. 1 NC State nabbed top honors for the seventh straight year in the ACC, with four Top 10 finishers including Katelyn Tuohy and Kelsey Chmiel, who raced into first and second, respectively.

• New Mexico, Oklahoma State, Northern Arizona and BYU, the national Nos. 2 through 5, also dominated their respective conference meets, with all but Oklahoma State running away with both team and individual top trophies.

• Haunting the top of the podium? No. 1 Stanford, who had five fellas place in the Pac-12’s top seven, making their repeat title appear prophetic. Nos. 2 through 5 — BYU, reigning national champs Northern Arizona, Oklahoma State and Air Force, in order — also swept their team and individual conference championships.

• Next up? Regionals on November 11th, which will determine who receives an automatic berth to the national meet and whose fates rest with the NCAA selection committee. *bites nails*

⚽️ Women’s soccer: Yesterday’s first rounds did not disappoint. Most of the Big 12’s play was predictable, with three of the top four seeds — No. 17 Texas, No. 15 TCU and West Virginia — all clinching semifinal berths. Bucking the trend? Six-seed Oklahoma, who ousted three-seed Texas Tech 1–0 on a buzzer beater goal from midfielder Michelle Pak last night.

• As for the SEC, the bottom four seeds battled it out for a shot at the quarter-finals, with Ole Miss and Mississippi State knocking out LSU and Texas A&M, respectively.

• And moving on to Thursday’s Big Ten semis? Top-seeded No. 6 Michigan State, who will face Nebraska, and Penn State, who just shocked Wisconsin and will battle second-seed No. 12 Northwestern.

• In the NCAA’s most competitive women’s soccer conference, No. 4 Notre Dame advances to the ACC semis after their penalty shot win over No. 19 Pitt, and No. 11 Duke bested No. 8 Virginia 2–1 to punch their round two ticket.