Nuttycombe XC Women — Hartman Leads Wolfpack Runaway

Racing with “absolutely no plans,†NC Stateâ€s Grace Hartman, mostly grateful to be healthy, steadily edged away from the best of the rest over the final 2K. (SEAN HARTNETT)

VERONA, WISCONSIN, October 17 — Nuttycombe Invite winner Grace Hartman didnâ€t have a race plan. Heck, 3 weeks earlier, the North Carolina State senior wasnâ€t even sure if sheâ€d run.

She just wanted to race. And that she did, sans race plan, and quite well, with her 19:30 over the 6K Zimmer course not only the third best in Nutty history but also more than enough to pace her team to a 41-point team win.

Not a bad season debut, to be sure, for the 8-time XC and track all-American from Oakwood, Ohio, who was 5th in the 2024 NCAA championship. It was, needless to say, the kind of season opener Hartman not only wanted but probably needed, and one that was even more meaningful because she had been laboring under such uncertainty.

“I had absolutely no plans going into this,†Hartman said. “I was in a lot of pain 8 weeks ago and each week Iâ€ve kind of been working back from that on a day-to-day basis. And I didnâ€t even know if I was going to be lining up here today.

“So, to do this, I was just running. First of all, there was a lot of anxiety going into this race but also a lot of joy, because I didnâ€t even know if I was going to have a cross country season.

“Iâ€m just so grateful — I feel like Iâ€m a freshman again,†she said. “Every day I get to run is a blessing. Sometimes you need that kind of perspective to break through. Having the support of my team and coaches has really helped. Itâ€s so motivating to compete against so many women at such a high level.â€

NC State, ranked second nationally, scored its 41 points off a 1-2-9-11-18 finish. After trailing Notre Dame 73–112 at 2K, the Wolfpack took a healthy lead the squad would never relinquish (nearly identical to its final victory margin) by the 3½ mark.

Adding some icing on the cake, soph Angelina Napoleon made it a 1-2 finish for the Wolfpack, closing like gangbusters up the long uphill finishing straight to overtake Washington State frosh Rosemary Longisa, 19:34.6 to 19:39.2. Notre Dame soph Mary Bonner Dalton (19:40.3) and Iowa State freshman Mercyline Kirwa (19:44.8) rounded out the top 5 in the 236-runner field.

Sophomore Bethany Michalak in 9th, junior Hannah Gapes in 11th and frosh Sadie Engelhardt in 18th completed NC Stateâ€s top 5.

It was hardly ever in doubt, team-wise, even with 17 of the eventual top-18 teams ranked nationally in a hugely competitive field. No. 7 Notre Dameâ€s solid 1-2 punch pushed the Irish to a runner-up finish with 125 points, followed by No. 16 Iowa State (176), No. 9 West Virginia (190) and a well-balanced 18th-ranked Northwestern squad with 225.

Georgetown (243), Penn State (247), Stanford (250), New Mexico (312) and Utah (316) filled out the rest of the top 10 in the 30-team field.

By the mid-point of the race, NC Stateâ€s dominance was established with the rest of the multitude of ranked teams jockeying for places (and, ultimately, for points possibly needed for an at-large selection).

Individually, however, it was no runaway for eventual champ Hartman or anyone else as the field remained bunched. The leaders, really, a group of 12-15 including Hartman, Longisa and Napoleon, went through 2K in 6:33, with some 20 more runners within a second of them. The field had thinned only slightly as they went through 3K in 9:47 with a dozen or so within striking distance.

Finally, by 4K there was some action, as Hartman, Longisa and Napoleon were 1-2-3 at 13:12 with Gapes and North Carolinaâ€s Vera Sjöberg lurking nearby.

Hartman, seeing daylight, steadily and almost stealthily moved to the fore, and all of a sudden, it seemed, a once neck-and-neck race was hers alone. The top 3 all closed well although Napoleon outran Longisa in the final 200 meters.

NUTTYCOMBE WOMENâ€S RESULTS

Teams: 1. NC State 41; 2. Notre Dame 125; 3. Iowa State 176; 4. West Virginia 190; 5. Northwestern 225; 6. Georgetown 243.

Individuals (6K): 1. *Grace Hartman (NCSt) 19:30.1; 2. **Angelina Napoleon (NCSt) 19:34.6; 3. ***Rosemary Longisa’ (WaSt-Ken) 19:39.2; 4. **Mary Bonner Dalton (NDm) 19:40.3; 5. ***Mercyline Kirwa’ (IaSt-Ken) 19:44.8; 6. Vera Sjoberg (NC) 19:45.5; 7. *Sophia Kennedy (Stan) 19:48.8; 8. ***Amaya Aramini (NDm) 19:50.0; 9. **Bethany Michalak (NCSt) 19:50.7; 10. **Joy Naukot’ (WV-Ken) 19:56.1;

11. *Hannah Gapes’ (NCSt-NZ) 19:57.4; 12. *Erin Vringer’ (Ut-Can) 20:03.6; 13. Maelle Porcher’ (IaSt-Fra) 20:04.4; 14. ***Betty Kipkore’ (IaSt-Ken) 20:05.0; 15. Florence Caron’ (PennSt-Can) 20:07.3; 16. ***Marion Jepngetich’ (NM-Ken) 20:10.6; 17. **Mercy Kinyanjui’ (WV-Ken) 20:11.3; 18. ***Sadie Engelhardt (NCSt) 20:11.8;

19. Melissa Riggins (Gtn) 20:13.9; 20. **Rachel Forsyth’ (MiSt-Can) 20:14.6; 21. **Zenah Cheptoo’ (WaSt-Ken) 20:17.8; 22. Emily Bryce’ (WV-Can) 20:19.1; 23. **Ava Criniti (NWn) 20:21.1; 24. *Annastasia Peters (Ut) 20:21.5; 25. *Stephanie Moss (Duke) 20:22.0; 26. **Arianne Olson (NDm) 20:22.8; 27. *Hayley Burns (NnAz) 20:23.0; 28. *Mia Cochran (Wa) 20:23.6; 29. ***Mercy Kibet (IaSt) 20:26.9; 30. Almi Nerurkar (Gtn) 20:27.6;

31. **Ava Mitchell (NnAz) 20:28.3; 32. ***Tessa Walter (Furm) 20:28.4; 33. **Logan Hofstee (Gonz) 20:29.2; 34. Leane Willemse (Wi) 20:29.9;

35. ***Hanne Thomsen (Stan) 20:30.2; 36. *Barrett Justema (Gtn) 20:30.5; 37. ***Judy Rono’ (NM-Ken) 20:30.9; 38. ***Mia Larochelle’ (Co-Can) 20:31.0;

39. Holly Smith (NWn) 20:31.2; 40. Charlotte Tomkinson (Gtn) 20:31.3;… dnf—**Pamela Kosgei’ (NM-Ken), Tilly Simpson’ (NM-GB).

Veteran editor, writer and author Don Kopriva has been writing for Track & Field News since 1970, primarily covering the Midwest, the Big Ten and major cross country meets. His coverage stats: 2 Olympic Games, 6 Olympic Trials, 55 Drake Relays, 165 Big Ten XC and track championships and more than 110 NCAA and USA championships, including 50 in NCAA Div. I cross country. He lives in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

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