By: Garrett Zatlin
Reminder of the list so far...
21. Furman
Paladins
Flotrack’s #21: California
Bruins
Coach: Robert Gary
Notable Departues:
Tripp Hurt
Notable Additions: Ryan Adams
Notable Additions: Ryan Adams
Projected Scoring
Five: Tanner Hinkle (JR), Aaron Templeton (SO), Troy Reeder (JR), Frank
Lara (SO), Ryan Adams (FR)
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My first thought when seeing Furman in so many different
results was “who the hell is Furman and why have I never heard of them”? Furman
has been doing some great work and is full of potential. Their depth is
outstanding and may be one of the very few teams that can cover the loss of
their now-graduated number one man. An established coach and a young, promising
squad make them a threat on the national level.
Furman started off last season unsure of what to expect.
Tripp Hurt led a group of young guys on a team that didn’t have much history.
It would be tough to say what Furman had until they got deeper into their
season. The Paladins would start off at a couple of tune-up meets before going
to the Panorama Farms Invite. It was there that they would battle teams like
Iona and UVA and get an idea of where their fitness was. Furman battled strong
and used excellent pack running to pile guys in the front. When the dust
cleared and the totals were added, Virginia was the winner, but Furman was
only four small points away from a win while Iona was three points behind them.
Just who were these guys from Furman? Fans and competitors would have to wait
another three weeks to get that answer. When Pre-Nats came around, Furman was
there ready to go back to work. The Paladins went in focused, and attacked the
course. With the top individuals exchanging places and the team scores
being crunched, Furman was ignored as they quietly gathered themselves and
moved up. When the scores were totaled, no one could quite believe it. Furman
University placed 4th overall only losing to powerhouses Colorado,
Oregon, and Georgetown. Coach Gary’s team used that outstanding pack running to
fill spots in the 41st to 65th range. Other teams like
Tulsa, Colorado St, Texas Mississippi, and Penn State couldn’t keep up and all
fell to the unknown university. After easily cruising through their conference
meet, Furman stepped into a Southeast regionals meet filled with tons of tough
competition like UVA, UNC, and EKU. Could Furman even get to nationals with
this field? Well not only did Furman get to nationals, but they also got an
auto-qualifying spot by placing second. But once again, UVA kept Furman away
from the title by another four-point difference. The Paladins put four men in
the top 20, but missed out on the title due to their fifth man placing 38th.
The small South Carolina school that is home to 2700 undergraduates, would now
make the trip to the biggest meet of the year. After dominating at Pre-Nats and
barely missing the regional title, it was very realistic to expect a top 10
finish from the men in purple. Of course, expectations and results are two very
different things… The youngsters from Furman caved under the pressure and ended
up finishing 30th overall out of 31 teams. Lead man, Tripp Hurt, who
was supposed to guide the young guys, broke down and became their 6th
man. Only Hinkle broke 150th placing 146th. Furman’s
Cinderella-season had come to an end.
For Furman, the slate has been swept clean in 2015. They
come into the season with new energy and vigor. Although they do lose their
leader in Tripp Hurt, they are now experienced. The guys that were once
freshman and sophomores are now another year older with huge amounts of
experience under their belt. I also love the way that Coach Gary has taken this
team to the next level. His success at Ohio State has translated very well to
Furman. The successful younger team is clearly a result of his excellent
recruiting efforts. That knack for recruiting top talent is evident this year
in the 4:07 miler Ryan Adams, that will be joining the team next season.
Furman is also the first team on the Etrain Rankings that
Flotrack also has on their rankings. Flotrack put Furman at 31 and that just
seemed unreasonable to me. I know the team did not have a good day at NCAA’s
and they lose Tripp Hurt, but this team is still so deep and they did so well
last year (especially at regionals). While they still have plenty to prove, I
see them making the return to NCAA’s this year and improving on their NCAA
finish.
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