Etrain Team Power Rankings: #7 Iona Gaels

By: Garrett Zatlin

Reminder of the list so far...

#25 Eastern Michigan Eagles

#24 Penn State Nittany Lions

#23 Minnesota Gophers

#22 Cornell Bears
#21 Furman Paladins
#20 Florida State Seminoles

#19 Colorado State Rams

#18 Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

#17 NC State Wolfpack

#16 Penn Quakers

#15 Virginia Tech Hokies

#14 UCLA Bruins

#13 BYU Cougars

#12 Louisville Cardinals

#11 Michigan Wolverines

#10 Virginia Cavaliers

#09 Oregon Ducks

#08 Oklahoma State Cowboys

#07 Iona Gaels

#06 Mississippi Rebels

#05 Villanova Wildcats

#04 Wisconsin Badgers

#03 Syracuse Orange 

#02 Stanford Cardinals
#01 Colorado Buffalos

7. Iona Gaels

Flotrack’s #7: Iona Gaels

Coach: Ricardo Santos

Notable Departures: Andrew Kowalsky, Jake Byrne
Notable Additions: Jac Hopkins 

Projected Scoring Five: Gilbert Kirui (SO), Mike O’Dowd (SR) [ET#40], Chartt Miller (JR) [ET#44], Kieran Clements (JR), Otis Ubriaco (SR)

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Yes, I know what everyone is thinking…why on earth is their mascot a Gael? As in, someone who speaks Gaelic? I don’t know either, but when you’re as successful as them, you really can't argue. Iona will continue to be a strong squad this season (as they are every season) despite losing some key scorers.

Iona kicked off last fall by opening up their season with a small meet at Marist and then hosting a meet of their own known as Iona Paddy Day Meet of Champions. Iona sent the B-team in for those venues and let their younger guys get some action. However, the true scorers would step into the Panorama Farms Invite to deal with UVA and an on-the-rise Furman team. It was there that Kirui would lead the Gaels with a second place finish. Senior Jack Byrne would finish 4^th. However, the rest of the pack failed to stick and the rest of the squads took advantage of that. Virginia piled four guys in front of Iona’s third while Furman put three of their guys ahead of Iona's third. Overall, the scores were close, but UVA and Furman would break away from Iona. UVA won with 47 while Furman was at 51 and Iona at 54. It was a bit discouraging to start the season that way, but no matter. There was still plenty of time to improve. Iona would then visit neighboring state Pennsylvania and attend the Paul Short invite. However, only some of the guys from Iona's top scorers would race while the rest would take it easy. Chartt Miller finished a very impressive third overall while Andrew Kowalsky placed 15^th. Overall, the signs were positive. The small meets were nice, but Iona was itching for a real challenge, and they would finally get their challenge at the Wisconsin Adidas Invite. The eye-opening field included Syracuse, Wisconsin, Portland, Stanford, NAU, UCLA, and many, many, more. Iona needed a confidence booster and this was the place to do it. Individually, the race was fast with Korolev and Futsum taking it hard from the gun. With so many top individuals in the field, close packs were separated and most pack-running teams struggled. Iona, was not one of those teams. Jake Byrne led the team placing 11^th overall while his teammate Chart Miller finished 22^nd. The rest of the guys stood their ground. Kirui was 28^th and O’Dowd was 36^th. The only iffy performance came from Kowalsky who had an off day falling to 61^st. Still, the team score held together and Iona finished 2^nd as a team. It was an outstanding performance from the Gaels who were more than 20 points better than third place Wisconsin. Confidence was on their side, and honestly, who could blame them? They had just taken down one of the best fields in the NCAA and the guys seemed to be rounding into form at the right time. After the non-scorers took on the Princeton Invite, it was time for the post-season. The MAAC championships were a walk in the park for the highly talented squad, where the Gaels took the first eight spots and a team title. The real effort would have to come at Northeast regionals where Iona would meet back up with Syracuse and have to deal with an underrated Providence team as well. Jake Byrne surprised everyone by taking the individual title and it gave the Gaels a huge low stick in a race that would definitely have a close score. Still, Cuse would pull away by taking spots 6 though 9 as well as 15. They secured the regional title. Iona was able to add spots 10, 11, and 12  to Byrne, but somehow, Providence would upset the Gaels. Providence took 2, 4, 5, 14, and 23. So what was the deciding factor in the scoring? Iona’s fifth man (Brandon Allen) dropped to the 26^th spot and put the Gaels 12 points out from Providence. Although they were kicked out of the top two, Iona still got an at-large bid and packed their things for Terre Haute. It was tough to say exactly where Iona would place at nationals. Iona had dominated a prestigious field at Wisconsin, but had an underwhelming performance at regionals. At NCAA’s Iona would fall into the middle of those two extremes. The Gaels stuck close at NCAA’s which is extremely tough to do in such a large field. They took spots 49, 61, 62, 74, and 76 with Jake Byrne leading the charge. Still, the lack of a low stick took away any chance of Iona making the podium and put them back at 8^th overall. Not terrible, not amazing. Coach Santos would take his team back home, knowing they would be just as competitive in 2015, if not more.

If I’m being honest, I’m not a fan of Iona. They don’t have a solidified front-runner and their best chance of having said front-runner just graduated. Even so, Iona (somehow) is able to be competitive every single year and honestly, I don’t know how. They constantly make NCAA’s…no really. They constantly make it. The last time Iona didn’t make nationals was 2001. In that 13 year streak, Iona has made the top 10 at NCAA’s TWELVE times! Yes, you read that right. History say’s there is no reason for Iona to place outside of the top 10. Although the Gaels do lose their #1 and #5 men from last season, there is still plenty of depth for this squad. Miller, Kirui, and O’Dowd are arguably one the best top three out there. Why? My reasoning is because they are so consistent. Either of those three can be the top guy on any given day, and rarely do any of those guys have a bad day. I also believe that Miller and Kirui have shown glimpses of being a potential ace (Miller @ Paul Short; Kirui @ Panoram Farms/Wisconsin/Northeast)*. If I had to guess, I’m expecting Kirui to be that guy. Outside of those three, Kieran Clements is another huge asset. Clements had his breakout race in 2013 when he placed 18^th at Pre-Nats. His 12^th place at regionals indicates that he still has the talent, but his NCAA performances haven’t been up to par. Iona is a team that can make the podium in 2015 if Clements can replicate that Pre-Nats performance and get back to the fitness level he was once at. My guess for the fifth man is Otis Ubriaco who has been unexciting during XC with some high placement finishes at Wisconsin and regionals. His 7:59 3k and 14:17 5k indicate that he has talent, but he will need to transfer that to the grass if this team is going to succeed. So what do I need to see from Iona? An established ace, a reliable fifth man, and a more consistent Kieran Clements. If Iona can do all of those things, then there is no question in my mind that they can make the podium.

*Apologies to Kirui who got unfairly left out of the top 50 list. I probably would've had him over one of his teammates.

I wasn't surprised at all when I saw Iona was Flotrack’s #7 team as well. Considering the rest of the teams that are left to be ranked, it’s becoming more predictable and the possibilities are beginning to dwindle. They lose some key guys, but with history on their side and a strong core, they find themselves ranked at #7.