Could the Ivy League be a Power Conference?

By Alex Fox

​Over the past several years, collegiate cross country has been dominated by programs on the Midwest and on the West Coast; teams from Colorado, Northern Arizona, Oregon, Stanford, Oklahoma State, Portland, and Wisconsin are consistently top teams in cross country. That’s not to say the East Coast doesn’t have its teams, as Villanova, Penn State, and Syracuse are solid programs as well, but the depth on the Atlantic is nowhere near comparable to out west. There is some logic behind this: programs like Oregon and Stanford are historic, and the weather of the northeast makes training somewhat difficult (no person in their right mind prefers running on an indoor track as opposed to an outdoor track). Regardless of what program a runner joins, their chances of making a living based on their athletic ability is slim; not many athletes can become pro runners, and even if an individual does become a professional runner, the money isn’t always enough. This makes academics for D1 runners that much more important. So, based on this, it makes sense that Stanford has a dominant team, but what about the Ivies on the East Coast? Why can’t schools like Princeton, Penn, and Columbia rise to the top on the thin Eastern Seaborg? Well, not only do I think these schools CAN, I think these schools ARE on their way towards building strong programs that can contend on the national level.

​Any strong program starts with a head coach who knows what they are doing; not only are they responsible for training athletes to keep them healthy and making them faster, but head coaches also have to be able to recruit the best athletes to build and maintain a program’s dominance. Teams like Oregon and OKST both have notable coaches in Andy Powell and Dave Smith respectively. If the Ivy League is to be a force, then coaching will have to play a major part. As of late, coaching in the Ivies has been outstanding. In my opinion, coaches like Steve Dolan (Penn), Jason Vigilante (Princeton), and Barry Harwick (Dartmouth) have done a fantastic job, as their respective programs have continuously produced quality athletes, Recently, athletes like Will Geoghegan and Makism Korolev have a made for themselves on the national level as part of Ivy League programs. The best example of outstanding coaching however is Tommy Awad. The sub 4 miler from Penn is vital to the success of Ivy League programs. After his success, who wouldn’t want to be the next Tom Awad? Awad wasn’t always this dominant. In high school, one of my friends Brian Crimmins was extremely competitive with Awad. In fact, Crimmins was about 4 seconds faster in the 800 and faster in the 1600. Since high school, Awad has become one of the best runners in the country, both in cross country and on the track. Meanwhile, Crimmins is an unknown at Buffalo. I think a major reason for this difference in fortune has been the coaching Awad has received at Penn. 

​Another piece of the puzzle is recruits; if the coaching is there, all a program needs is talent. There’s been some talent among the Ivies in recent years in guys like Awad, Garrett O’Toole, and Dominic DeLuca, who quietly had an outstanding freshman campaign, Ned Willig, Sam Pons, James Gowans, and the like. However, this year’s incoming class is something else; some of the Ivy League schools have top recruiting classes after a loaded class of 2015: Columbia brings in not only PA stud Sam Ritz, but Ithaca standout Dan Dracup, who has fantastic range, 800-5k. Princeton welcomes 1:53 man Patrick Anderson and NY stud Jeremy Spiezio, who was far too often ignored due to Mikey Brannigan’s dominance. Not only does Penn welcome PA stars Sam Webb and Elias Graca, but also Luke Peleta (4:11/8:58), Ryan Finch (1:53), and Kurt Convey. Dartmouth adds Marco Pompilj and Eli Moskowitz will join Brown. Clearly, there are some real gems in the bunch. The good news continues for the Ivies though. Many of the best runners are coming from the Northeast (PA, NY, NJ, MA, Conn.), and if they have any desire to stay close to home, going to an Ivy League school is a real option. The addition of substantial talent combined with strong coaching could make the Ivies a force to be reckoned with…soon. 

​One of my initial arguments for why the Ivies WILL be powerhouse programs is based on their academic reputation, but the academics act as a double-edged sword. Sure, not many runners will go pro so they need to go to college thinking about a future job outside of running, but they are still D1 athletes. This can mean weeks with a hundred miles AND the workload of a non-student athlete. I’ve been a collegiate runner, dedicating hours to 80 mile weeks, core, strength training, a healthy diet, and getting adequate rest. I’ve also been an Ivy League student, staying up late to complete work and prepare for exams. I’ve never done both at the same time. My first few weeks at Cornell, I tried to continue my training program from the following year and keep up with my work. This quickly resulted in burnout. I had to prioritize my classes, but I wasn’t on the team. D1 athletes on scholarship don’t necessarily have the option to do that. If a senior in high school really wants to be a serious runner, selecting an Ivy League school can be incredibly intimidating, as it seems balancing academics and training is impossible in just 24 hours a day. This isn’t to knock the academics at schools like Oregon, Villanova, Syracuse, or Penn State, but there does seem to be a difference. What it comes down to priorities for guys picking colleges. As of late, many seem to be selecting the academics and established coaching of Ivy League schools. This makes me excited, as one day in the near future, I truly believe, the Ivies will be a force to be reckoned with.