By: Garrett Zatlin
Reminder of the list so far...
#24 Penn State Nittany Lions
24. Penn State Nittany Lions
Flotrack’s #24: New Mexico Lobos
Coach: John Gondak
Notable Departures: Matt Fischer, Tony Russell
Notable Additions: Colin Abert (PA Alum), Timothy McGowan (transfer), John McGowan (transfer)
Projected Scoring Five: Glen Burkhardt (SR), Wade Endress (SR), Robby Creese (SR), Ean DiSilvio (SO), Connor Quinn (JR)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Penn State grabs the 24th spot after moving on and off list. I tried not let my PA bias sneak in, but in this case I guess it did. I'm not the biggest Penn State fan out there and they originally weren't even going to be an honorable mention. However, after some review and looking over their roster, I was pleasantly surprised about what they could bring to the table this season.
Penn State started their season off at the Dolan Duels which is essentially a head-to-head race with Lock Haven. Penn State easily cruised through the 6k and finished the shakeout meet on top. It would be the next week at Harry Groves that Penn State would have some real talent to go up against. The Nittany Lions toed the line next to top caliber teams like Georgetown and Syracuse. It would be a very entertaining race no doubt. Penn State and Syracuse would fight for the top four spots with Fischer taking the win while Burkhardt finished fourth. When the dust settled and the scores were added, Penn State came out on top. PSU finished with 41 points, just edging out Syracuse (47) and Georgetown (48). Despite knowing that Syracuse was missing top guys Hehir and Erb, the win was still very encouraging. The next challenge would be Notre Dame and while the teams would be much more competitive, PSU was still in the conversation for a top five team finish. Unfortunately, Fischer would have an off day falling to 68th place and Burkhardt's 35th place would not be nearly strong enough to lead the squad. Penn State would fall to 11th overall and return to State College hungry to prove themselves once again. The next stop for coach Gondak's squad would be the even more stacked ISU Pre-Nats Invite. With a deeper field and more top-tier teams, could Penn State even think about a top 10 team finish? That answer would be yes. The blue and white rallied back from a tough Notre Dame showing and surprised the nation by tying Mississippi for 8th (but lost the tie breaker and settled for 9th). Burkhardt once again led PSU with a 36th place finish while Fischer had a slightly better race placing 59th. It wasn't perfect, but Penn State left happy knowing they were still as fit as they expected. BIG 10's would be the next test. It was not going to be a walk in the park with a field that included Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. Still, PSU kept their cool and attacked the race head on. Despite putting all five in the top 30, they fell to conference powerhouses Wisconsin and Michigan. Still, they were still able to hold off a surging Indiana squad and steal the 3rd place spot by three points. Their third place finish was where they were expected to place, but the uncertainty of how they perform would be at the Mid-Atlantic regional race. Villanova was entering the race as the heavy favorites and Princeton was looking very strong the later the season went on. Meanwhile, Georgetown would once again meet up with Penn State and fight for the last auto-qualifying spot. It was gonna be a good one. As expected, Villanova won the title with a comfy 41 points. But who would grab the second qualifying spot? Sadly, that would be Georgetown. Penn State would not get the last auto spot even with Fischer grabbing the individual title. However, Penn State would hold off Princeton by one small point and put themselves in consideration for an 'at large' bid. The Lions waited patiently for a week to see what their future would hold. When November 15th came around, it was not a good day to be a Nittany Lion. PSU was left out off the nationals list and told to stay home. Although the absence from NCAA's sparked a debate, it didn't change the decision, and Penn State's season came to a close.
Now the Nittany Lions return to prove that they can still be great. The departure of Matt Fischer will be a massive hit to the squad who thrived off of the low-stick. However, Burkhardt has proven that he can lead a team. He qualified for the 10k at NCAA's this past spring which should be an encouraging sign of what he's capable of. His wingman will be Wade Endress, who is poised to cover the second spot that Burkhardt held last year. The third spot will most likely go to Creese who has been a solid and consistent scorer. It wasn't often that he had an off race, but there are questions as to whether or not he can take the next step to consistently cut off 15 points in the scoring. If he can, then this team could be even more dangerous than last season. Of course, that is assuming that that the fourth and fifth spots will be filled properly. The last two scoring spots will most likely be bouncing around between Quinn and DiSilvio. Both have had decent post-season races, but have also been extremely inconsistent. Can they step up and fill the needed spots? DiSilvio just finished his first cross country last fall so I'm eager to see if he can make the sophomore jump. Even if Quinn and/or DiSilvio can't fulfill their role, there is plenty of depth and young talent that could make a difference for the blue and white and accommodate for any injuries (McGowan twins, Abert, Pondel). This team is extremely talented and they have plenty of pieces to make a difference and make nationals. Of course, a lot of this is dependent on if these individuals actually fill their roles. There are plenty of things to consider when talking about PSU, but the potential is endless. Watch the Lions to be surprise contenders this season.
Penn State grabs the 24th spot after moving on and off list. I tried not let my PA bias sneak in, but in this case I guess it did. I'm not the biggest Penn State fan out there and they originally weren't even going to be an honorable mention. However, after some review and looking over their roster, I was pleasantly surprised about what they could bring to the table this season.
Penn State started their season off at the Dolan Duels which is essentially a head-to-head race with Lock Haven. Penn State easily cruised through the 6k and finished the shakeout meet on top. It would be the next week at Harry Groves that Penn State would have some real talent to go up against. The Nittany Lions toed the line next to top caliber teams like Georgetown and Syracuse. It would be a very entertaining race no doubt. Penn State and Syracuse would fight for the top four spots with Fischer taking the win while Burkhardt finished fourth. When the dust settled and the scores were added, Penn State came out on top. PSU finished with 41 points, just edging out Syracuse (47) and Georgetown (48). Despite knowing that Syracuse was missing top guys Hehir and Erb, the win was still very encouraging. The next challenge would be Notre Dame and while the teams would be much more competitive, PSU was still in the conversation for a top five team finish. Unfortunately, Fischer would have an off day falling to 68th place and Burkhardt's 35th place would not be nearly strong enough to lead the squad. Penn State would fall to 11th overall and return to State College hungry to prove themselves once again. The next stop for coach Gondak's squad would be the even more stacked ISU Pre-Nats Invite. With a deeper field and more top-tier teams, could Penn State even think about a top 10 team finish? That answer would be yes. The blue and white rallied back from a tough Notre Dame showing and surprised the nation by tying Mississippi for 8th (but lost the tie breaker and settled for 9th). Burkhardt once again led PSU with a 36th place finish while Fischer had a slightly better race placing 59th. It wasn't perfect, but Penn State left happy knowing they were still as fit as they expected. BIG 10's would be the next test. It was not going to be a walk in the park with a field that included Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. Still, PSU kept their cool and attacked the race head on. Despite putting all five in the top 30, they fell to conference powerhouses Wisconsin and Michigan. Still, they were still able to hold off a surging Indiana squad and steal the 3rd place spot by three points. Their third place finish was where they were expected to place, but the uncertainty of how they perform would be at the Mid-Atlantic regional race. Villanova was entering the race as the heavy favorites and Princeton was looking very strong the later the season went on. Meanwhile, Georgetown would once again meet up with Penn State and fight for the last auto-qualifying spot. It was gonna be a good one. As expected, Villanova won the title with a comfy 41 points. But who would grab the second qualifying spot? Sadly, that would be Georgetown. Penn State would not get the last auto spot even with Fischer grabbing the individual title. However, Penn State would hold off Princeton by one small point and put themselves in consideration for an 'at large' bid. The Lions waited patiently for a week to see what their future would hold. When November 15th came around, it was not a good day to be a Nittany Lion. PSU was left out off the nationals list and told to stay home. Although the absence from NCAA's sparked a debate, it didn't change the decision, and Penn State's season came to a close.
Now the Nittany Lions return to prove that they can still be great. The departure of Matt Fischer will be a massive hit to the squad who thrived off of the low-stick. However, Burkhardt has proven that he can lead a team. He qualified for the 10k at NCAA's this past spring which should be an encouraging sign of what he's capable of. His wingman will be Wade Endress, who is poised to cover the second spot that Burkhardt held last year. The third spot will most likely go to Creese who has been a solid and consistent scorer. It wasn't often that he had an off race, but there are questions as to whether or not he can take the next step to consistently cut off 15 points in the scoring. If he can, then this team could be even more dangerous than last season. Of course, that is assuming that that the fourth and fifth spots will be filled properly. The last two scoring spots will most likely be bouncing around between Quinn and DiSilvio. Both have had decent post-season races, but have also been extremely inconsistent. Can they step up and fill the needed spots? DiSilvio just finished his first cross country last fall so I'm eager to see if he can make the sophomore jump. Even if Quinn and/or DiSilvio can't fulfill their role, there is plenty of depth and young talent that could make a difference for the blue and white and accommodate for any injuries (McGowan twins, Abert, Pondel). This team is extremely talented and they have plenty of pieces to make a difference and make nationals. Of course, a lot of this is dependent on if these individuals actually fill their roles. There are plenty of things to consider when talking about PSU, but the potential is endless. Watch the Lions to be surprise contenders this season.
What happened to Russell?
ReplyDeleteI have the same question about Russell? Has he left PSU to run elsewhere?
ReplyDeletekick off ,team violations
ReplyDeleteYes severe team violations, ending his collegiate running career. He is still attending Penn State. Damn shame.
ReplyDeleteWow. That is a shame and a shocker.
ReplyDeleteWhy not transfer and start over somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteOne of his violations would follow him everywhere. Sometimes athletes need to make a choice between their sport and XYZ. Unfortunately sometimes they can't resist XYZ even though it's self destructive.
ReplyDeleteBummer
ReplyDeleteSee Josh Gordon & Martavis Bryant.
ReplyDeletexc guy but big 800 guy watkins arrested for punching gerlich and i think burkhart HAPPY VALLEY
ReplyDeleteToo much partying in the Happy Valley. Some just can't handle it.
ReplyDelete