Robinson and Co to Make Waves in Stillwater | NCAA Cross Country Preview
Published Sat 19 Nov 2022
The cross country spirit is alive and well both home and abroad ahead of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, with Ky Robinson and Amelia Mazza-Downie set to lead a contingent of 16 Australians into battle at Saturday’s NCAA Cross Country Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The championships bring together the most talented rosters in the collegiate system and a number of individual qualifiers after a series of preliminary rounds, culminating in intense races of over 250 athletes charging for glory over 10km and 6km for men and women respectively.
At only 20-years-old, Ky Robinson has enjoyed a stellar year to date with appearances at the World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games, but the Stanford student is quick to amplify the importance of the event in which he finds himself an individual and team title contender.
“This is right alongside the World Championships for me. This is what I am here to train for and this the next step in my journey, so it’s really important,” Robinson said.
“There is a quote that my high school coach would always say which is ‘individual commitment to a group effort is what makes teamwork’. I feel like the team title is honestly more important to us because I train with these guys every day, they are my best friends and to win alongside them would be even bigger than winning alone.”
The format sees the top five placings in each team of seven combined for a team total score (the lowest of which wins), with Robinson one of three Australians on teams considered challengers alongside New Mexico’s Amelia Mazza-Downie and Oklahoma State’s Heidi Demeo.
Robinson’s team-oriented focus will inevitably place him at the front of the race in this year’s NCAA Cross Country Championships after finishing 14th in the field of 252 last year, the second best result by an Australian behind Villanova’s Haftu Strintzos in ninth. Strintzos returns in 2022 and will run freely near the front of the field.
“I raced this course two years ago in my freshman year, so I am expecting the front group to go out hard and I think that if you want to contend, you have to go with them. I want to go to the front and stick with it to run the tangents and have clear sight of the hills,” Robinson said.
“The first kilometre is going to be ridiculous. I am expecting a 2:30-35 first split, it’s a full-out sprint to get to the front and establish a good position at the front of the race, and everyone has the same idea. The course is wide so we can take our time but it’s still not easy running that fast at the start of a 10km race.”
While unlikely to make it home for the selection trail for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst this February, Robinson and his team at Stanford will sit down off the back of his NCAA result this weekend and assess the rare opportunity to run a championship on home soil if the opportunity arises.
Mazza-Downie will be looking to improve again on her impressive result at the Mountain Championships last week when leading New Mexico to the women’s title, joined by Oregon’s Izzy Thornton-Bott who was equally impressive with fourth at the PAC-12’s. San Francisco’s Ruby Smee was the second best Australian woman at last year’s championships with 34th, made all the more impressive by virtue of being an individual qualifier – a feat she will be looking to repeat in Stillwater.
The 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships will be streamed live via Flosports from 3:00am AEDT, Sunday November 20. A full list of Australian competitors can be found below.
Women’s 10:20am Saturday / 2:20am Sunday
Amelia Mazza Downie (New Mexico), Izzy Thornton-Bott (Oregon), Ruby Smee (San Francisco), Lucinda Crouch (Wisconsin), Heidi Demeo (Oklahoma State), Katherine Dowie (West Virginia).
Men’s 11:20am Saturday / 3:20am Sunday
Ky Robinson (Stanford), Haftu Stintzos/Josh Phillips (Villanova), Ed Trippas (Washington), Zach Facioni (Wake Forest), Alex Stitt (Oklahoma State), Duncan Miller (Princeton), Adam Spencer and Jackson Sharp (Wisconsin), Oli Raimond (Michigan).
For more information about the NCAA and to log your declaration, please visit the Pathways page on our website, or CLICK HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 19/11/2022
