Like last year, BYU has contenders for individual wins in both races. Mantz has to be the favorite, but others are really good too.

The women are crazy good and have to be considered contenders to win. But so is NC State this year. It should come down to who has a better day at nationals and as we’ve seen lately, there are always top teams that just have an off day. NC State women and BYU men both had really bad days last year, for example, as did NAU when BYU won. It happens surprisingly often.

The men are good enough at 1-4 for a winning team if they all run well. Someone will have to really step up at no. 5 though. Until we see that performance from someone, it looks like a podium is a good result to be proud of. Marsing ran well recently, but I can’t tell if that is good enough to be a better 5 than other contenders will have. Bons and Creed Thompson both seem like they could be the no. 5 too. Maybe others are looking good in practice too.