The GIST: After months of competition, the first Division I sports will crown their champions this weekend, with both men’s and women’s cross country and field hockey bestowing trophies. Welcome to confetti season.
👟 Women’s cross country: The last race of the year starts tomorrow morning in Stillwater, OK, with three true women’s team contenders: the defending national champ No. 1 NC State Wolfpack, No. 2 New Mexico Lobos and hosts No. 3 Oklahoma State Cowgirls.
- With arguably the best two runners in the country in Katelyn Tuohy and Kelsey Chmiel, it’s NC State’s trophy to lose.
👟 Men’s cross country: Less than an hour after the gals take off, the fellas hit the same start line. The men’s frontrunners include No. 1 Stanford, thanks to individual title favorite Charles Hicks and fastest-ever Nuttycombe racer Ky Robinson.
- All-they-do-is-win dynasty No. 2 Northern Arizona, led by Nico Young and Drew Bosley, could also take home the hardware.
🏑 Field hockey: Sunday’s 1:30 p.m. ET championship contest may decide whose sticks reign supreme, but fockey’s Final Four must first face off today.
- First up? A 12 p.m. ET David and Goliath semifinal between the No. 1 UNC Tar Heels, who have scored five goals in each game this tourney, and the unseeded Penn State Nittany Lions, who squeaked by Albany 1–0 in the quarter-finals.
- Then at 3 p.m. ET, the defending champ No. 2 Northwestern Wildcats face the No. 3 Maryland Terrapins in a battle between repeat glory and slow but steady pride. Pop that corn.