By: Garrett Zatlin
Reminder of the list so far...
1. Colorado
Buffalos
Flotrack’s #1: Colorado Buffalos
Coach: Mark
Wetmore
Notable Departures: Blake
Theroux, Jake Hurysz,
Notable Additions: John Dressel, Joe Klecker
Notable Additions: John Dressel, Joe Klecker
Projected Scoring
Five: Ben Saarel (JR) [ET#5],
Ammar Moussa (SR) [ET#8], Connor
Winter (SR) [ET#15], Pierce Murphy
(SR) [ET#20], Morgan Pearson (SR) [ET#24]
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When you think about franchises and teams that have
absolutely dominated in their respective sports, there are obvious ones that
pop up. The Yankees, the Patriots, UCLA backetball, are all examples of teams
that have had unprecedented success on the biggest stages of competition. Some
call them all-time greats. Others call them dynasties.
The Colorado Buffalos might just be a dynasty.
Everyone knew who the Colorado Buffalos were and everyone
knew what they were capable of. Every team in the nation is always taught not to fear
any team and that they are capable of pulling off the greatest upsets out there.
Of course when Colorado was discussed, there seemed to be a massive sense of
respect that the name held. It was almost as if there was an unsaid agreement
that the conversation had to become serious whenever the Buffalos were
mentioned. The 2013 champions entered 2014 with the same goal. Get to NCAA’s
and win another title. Simple right? The Buffalos started their season off with
a couple of small meets that involved many of their guys outside of their top
seven getting a chance to race. After traveling all over Colorado and often
racing against CSU, the Buffalos finally came out of hiding and put their best seven
at the starting line of Pre-Nats. With Oregon on a hot streak and not showing
any sign of stopping, some at least thought that the Ducks could get close to
Buffalo. Those fans would end up being right…if they thought 56 points was
close. Colorado ran all over some of the top teams in the nation with
Theroux getting a surprise second place and Saarel finishing right behind him in 4th.
Moussa and Hursyz would both finish in the top 10 by placing 8th and
9th. Murphy would close the scoring in a scary good 12th
place. Colorado didn’t just beat the competition, they crushed the competition.
Only Oregon had more than one guy in the top 10 (Ches and Jenkins) and three in
the top 20. Colorado had four in the top 10 and six in the top 20. The thought
of an upset was completely forgotten about. Now it was the post-season and
while PAC-12’s would still include powerhouse teams like Oregon and Stanford,
Colorado didn’t flinch and executed their race plan to perfection with an amazing pack that
took spots 4-8. The Buffs would put together another 30-point performance like
it was nothing and defeated Oregon by a convincing 27 points. Colorado took the
title, but continued their laser-sharp focus on the final prize and the
obstacles that stood in the way. That next obstacle would be regionals where
NAU and BYU would attempt to at least chip away at the Goliath’s of the NCAA.
Still, very little impact was made and Colorado put five in the top 15
(Winter-4th, Hursyz-7th, Moussa-9th, Murphy-12th,
Saarel-13th). NAU made their best effort, but they were still 23
points behind. NCAA’s had finally arrived. Some teams entered the meet with
hopes of making the podium, cracking the top 10, or just being happy to even race. Colorado
on the other hand wanted to repeat. Their demeanor was serious beyond belief
and their focus was so strong that even the thought of dethroning the 2013
champs seemed impossible…and that was because it was impossible. Colorado tore
apart the Terre Haute course. Ammar Moussa showed the haters (including me) why
he was one of the best in the NCAA with his 5th place finish. Saarel
continued his domination of the Indiana course by placing 7th as just a
sophomore. Senior Blake Theroux was behind him in 8th. The three
guys in the top 10 essentially secured the title. Winter (24th) and
Murphy (35th) ended the scoring. It was over and everyone knew it. Colorado
had repeated as the NCAA champions. However, it wasn’t just that they repeated,
but it was the sheer control they had of the field. Colorado scored a
mind-blowing 65 points to win the title. The last team to go lower than that was
Wisconsin in 2005 (37 points). The Buffalo’s stood at the top of the podium, gold
medals around their necks, and the trophy high in the air.
Everyone knows what this team has. They have become so
dominant that they almost don’t make the rankings fun because everyone knows
who the best team is going to be. There is no question of who it is. There is
no debate. There is just the acceptance that it will take a miracle race for
someone to upset Colorado. When you look at the team, it’s simply unreal to
think that anyone could beat them. Saarel has established himself as one the best
XC runners in the nation throughout his freshman and sophomore seasons. 8th
as a freshman in 2013 was something not at all expected out of Saarel.
Many who thought it was a fluke would turn out to be wrong when Saarel placed 7th
in 2014. He is arguably one of the best post-season runners in the nation who
steps up to the plate when he is needed the most. Ammar Moussa struggled with
injuries and inconsistencies throughout his first two years at Colorado and
some thought that he would never end up as “the guy” like he was expected to be
coming out of high school. But in his junior year, he turned that around by
never once placing higher than 9th and recording a monumental
5th place finish at nationals. Connor Winter, in my mind, is one of
the best Buffalos you’ve never heard of. He constantly gets under looked by
the massive pack of talent around him. However, his steeplechase this past
spring (8:48) gave some indication that he was ready to take it the next level
and was more than just his All-American performance of 24th at
NCAA’s. Winter has been the guy to step up and be a consistent, reliable scorer
that continues to improve year in and year out. Look for that progression to
continue this season. Speaking of being consistent and reliable, Pierce
Murphy seems to fit that role. Since the day he put on a Colorado uniform,
Murphy has grown and become a leader on a team that could have had any talented
individual lead them. His improvement hasn't been a lot, but he continues to be
excellent every year and never hurting the team score. In every race that I’ve
ever watched him, he seems cool, calm, and collected. Of course, if there is
any one else like that, I feel like it has to be the returning redshirt senior,
Moragan Pierson. Pierson redshirted last season to stay for the fall of 2015
which in retrospect, was an amazing move by Coach Wetmore. Wetmore knew he would
be losing a big low-stick in Blake Theroux and didn’t want to have to rely on
developing more front-runners from his depth. Instead, he sidelined the star
Buffalo, kept him ready to replace Theroux, and keep the top five intact. When
the discussion turns to depth on this team, there will of course be plenty to
talk about. Adam Peterman is one of the biggest guys that everyone will have
their eye on this year. His post-season wasn’t exactly stellar (202nd
at NCAA’s), but he’s shown glimpses of success at PAC-12’s and in his
steeplechase this past spring. If he’s going to be the 6th man on
this team, then I’m going to want to see more from him. I can’t count on
Klecker or Dressel to play a part this year because I imagine they’ll be
redshirted (but that's just speculation). If anyone in that top five is to go down with an injury or someone
has an off day at nationals, it could open up a large hole for an upset if Peterman
is still way back in 202nd.
It’s obviously no surprise that Colorado is #1 Flotrack’s too. You had to be living under a rock to think that they weren’t number
one. Colorado is a powerhouse that continues find guys in their depth and
make them a super-star every year. That’s just how it goes. Now Colorado will
enter 2015 looking to do the same thing they did last year: repeat. However, winning another
title might mean more than just that. It will be a three-peat for Coach Wetmore
and the Colorado Buffalos. It will make Colorado the 5th
three-peat school ever in NCAA XC history* (dating back from 1938). The status
that lies with a three-peat is staggering. In my mind, it makes you a dynasty.
If you can capture three-straight national titles, then you can be considered a
dynasty. So tell me Colorado Buffalos, are you going to be a dynasty?
*Arkansas had 2 three-peats
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