By: Garrett Zatlin
PAST RANKINGS THIS SEASON
PAST RANKINGS THIS SEASON
KEY
· Bold: Had performances that influenced a strong change in the rankings
· (#/#): First number indicates how much the team has moved in the rankings. A plus means they have improved in the rankings. A minus means they have regressed in the rankings. The second number indicates where they were ranked the week before
· (Wasn’t Ranked): Was not ranked the week before.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#25 Penn State Nittany Lions (-1/24)
#24 Dartmouth Big Green (Wasn't Ranked)
-The big story at Beantown was obviously Justyn Knight and the Syracuse domination that took place. However, there are some very interesting performances to look at and Dartmouth was one of those performances. Curtis King led Big Green to the runner-up title with his 8th place finish. Their pack stuck together extremely well and put all five of their scorers in the top 20. If I'm Coach Harwick, I'm pretty proud of that tight spread. A close pack usually means consistent success so hopefully that is the case with Dartmouth. Still, I'd like to see them take down some bigger names before I continue to let them progress in the rankings.
#23 Furman Paladins (-2/21)
-If we're being honest here, I actually picked the Paladins to upset UVA at the Panorama Farms Invite...that turned out to be a bad decision. While UVA took the title, Oklahoma surprised the nation by defeating Furman and bumping the Paladins to 3rd place overall. The great pack running that Furman is typically known for became very segmented throughout the race. Hinkle and Lara placed 9th and 11th while Reeder and Brickell finished 19th and 20th. Fifth man Kyle Polman ended the scoring at 31st place. Clearly, there were too many gaps between the scorers and it showed in the team standings. I still have a plenty of faith and hope in this squad and I believe they will succeed. They have the talent and Coach Gary knows what he's doing. Still, you have to wonder how much they can close the gaps between in their top five.
-The big story at Beantown was obviously Justyn Knight and the Syracuse domination that took place. However, there are some very interesting performances to look at and Dartmouth was one of those performances. Curtis King led Big Green to the runner-up title with his 8th place finish. Their pack stuck together extremely well and put all five of their scorers in the top 20. If I'm Coach Harwick, I'm pretty proud of that tight spread. A close pack usually means consistent success so hopefully that is the case with Dartmouth. Still, I'd like to see them take down some bigger names before I continue to let them progress in the rankings.
#23 Furman Paladins (-2/21)
-If we're being honest here, I actually picked the Paladins to upset UVA at the Panorama Farms Invite...that turned out to be a bad decision. While UVA took the title, Oklahoma surprised the nation by defeating Furman and bumping the Paladins to 3rd place overall. The great pack running that Furman is typically known for became very segmented throughout the race. Hinkle and Lara placed 9th and 11th while Reeder and Brickell finished 19th and 20th. Fifth man Kyle Polman ended the scoring at 31st place. Clearly, there were too many gaps between the scorers and it showed in the team standings. I still have a plenty of faith and hope in this squad and I believe they will succeed. They have the talent and Coach Gary knows what he's doing. Still, you have to wonder how much they can close the gaps between in their top five.
#22 Colorado State Rams (-3/19)
-The Rams had a disappointing 5th place finish at Roy Griak this past weekend despite Jefferson and Mock going 1-2. That's not a very encouraging sign with you think about their whole pack. However, it seems that they missing some experienced guys like Grant Fischer and Adam Hartman who were in my projected scoring five. The entire pack consisted of freshman so when you think about, a fifth place finish for the team is actually pretty solid. Still, it's unsure how much of an impact have Fischer and Hartman would have made. That uncertainty puts the Rams higher on the list, but not completely off.
-The Rams had a disappointing 5th place finish at Roy Griak this past weekend despite Jefferson and Mock going 1-2. That's not a very encouraging sign with you think about their whole pack. However, it seems that they missing some experienced guys like Grant Fischer and Adam Hartman who were in my projected scoring five. The entire pack consisted of freshman so when you think about, a fifth place finish for the team is actually pretty solid. Still, it's unsure how much of an impact have Fischer and Hartman would have made. That uncertainty puts the Rams higher on the list, but not completely off.
#21 Oklahoma Sooners (Wasn't Ranked)
-The Sooners earn a spot on this list for upsetting Furman and placing second overall at the Panorama Farms Invite. Brandon Doughty led the Sooners with his third place finish which was relatively expected from him. However, the real x-factor that made the Sooners a contender was the excellent running from Jacob Burcham who surprised everyone by placing 4th overall. Having two low-sticks is a huge plus for a team that was typically just relying on Doughty. The rest of the pack had a decent showing by going 13th, 18th, and 22nd. There was no one who really ran up the score which can typically be a major problem for teams throughout the season. However, those last three scorers are going to need to tighten it up a bit. I'll be interested to see how that pack responds in bigger meets with larger fields.
#20 Southern Utah Thunderbirds (Wasn't Ranked)
-I'm not at all surprised that the Thunderbirds quickly made it into the rankings. I overlooked them in my preseason rankings and I suppose I'm making up for my error now. The Thunderbirds placed 2nd overall at Roy Griak in a very deep field. Southern Utah was led by Hayden Hawks' 10th place and the rest of the pack stayed very close. The Thunderbirds took four spots throughout the 10th and 20th positions, and their fifth man ended the scoring in 28th place. I'm not surprised at all by the close-knit group that the Thunderbirds have. It's how they've succeeded without an elite low-stick (no disrespect to Hawks). The next thing I'll be watching from this team is if that pack can stay close together in a much faster race and it Hayden Hawks can become a consistent low-stick (I think he can). If all of these go right, then we could be the Thunderbirds in a much better position than 20th.
#19 Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (-1/18)
#18 NC State Wolfpack (-1/17)
#17 Penn Quakers (-1/16)
#16 Michigan State Spartans (Wasn't Ranked)
-Wow. Unbelievable performance from the Spartans that not only surprised, but shocked the nation by winning Roy Griak with a 74 point score. TJ Carey and Ryan Robinson let everyone know who they were by going 7th and 8th and giving the Spartans two low-sticks. Very close behind those two was another duo Sherod Hardt and Max Benoit who placed an outstanding 13th and 14th. The only down-side of the race for Michigan State was that their fifth man (Collier) dropped all the way to 32nd. Still, the top four were extremely close and it catapulted the Spartans to get the win. Now although the Spartans got a big win, how is ranking them at 16th justified? Caleb Rhynard. That's how. One of the top runners in the NCAA did not run for the Spartans this past weekend and they still took care of business. If you replace Collier with Rhynard and assume Rhynard could place 5th (which is very realistic), the score drops to an even more impressive 47 points. That's why Michigan State gets such a great ranking. Watch out Wisconsin. You might have your hands full...
-Wow. Unbelievable performance from the Spartans that not only surprised, but shocked the nation by winning Roy Griak with a 74 point score. TJ Carey and Ryan Robinson let everyone know who they were by going 7th and 8th and giving the Spartans two low-sticks. Very close behind those two was another duo Sherod Hardt and Max Benoit who placed an outstanding 13th and 14th. The only down-side of the race for Michigan State was that their fifth man (Collier) dropped all the way to 32nd. Still, the top four were extremely close and it catapulted the Spartans to get the win. Now although the Spartans got a big win, how is ranking them at 16th justified? Caleb Rhynard. That's how. One of the top runners in the NCAA did not run for the Spartans this past weekend and they still took care of business. If you replace Collier with Rhynard and assume Rhynard could place 5th (which is very realistic), the score drops to an even more impressive 47 points. That's why Michigan State gets such a great ranking. Watch out Wisconsin. You might have your hands full...
#15 Virginia Tech Hokies (0/15)
#14 UCLA Bruins (0/14)
#13 BYU Cougars (0/13)
#12 Louisville Cardinals (0/12)
#11 Michigan Wolverines (0/11)
#10 Virginia Cavaliers (0/10)
-The Cavaliers showed why they are ranked Top 10 in the nation by winning the Panorama Farms Invite that is hosted by UVA. The men packed nearly their entire team into the top 20 and not only won the title, but made an argument that they might have some of the best depth in the nation. They took spots 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th...but they didn't stop there. The Wahoo's crammed their 6th, 7th, and 8th men into the top 20. It was a dominant display of talent. However, I've lost a lot of hope on Kyle King. He was their 6th man at PF and it looks like he just can't seem to find the spark he had in 2013. UVA may need to find a new ace if they are going to contend for the podium. There are plenty of guys that can be the low-stick, but the question of who that will be remains up in the air.
-The Cavaliers showed why they are ranked Top 10 in the nation by winning the Panorama Farms Invite that is hosted by UVA. The men packed nearly their entire team into the top 20 and not only won the title, but made an argument that they might have some of the best depth in the nation. They took spots 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th...but they didn't stop there. The Wahoo's crammed their 6th, 7th, and 8th men into the top 20. It was a dominant display of talent. However, I've lost a lot of hope on Kyle King. He was their 6th man at PF and it looks like he just can't seem to find the spark he had in 2013. UVA may need to find a new ace if they are going to contend for the podium. There are plenty of guys that can be the low-stick, but the question of who that will be remains up in the air.
#09 Oregon Ducks (0/9)
#08 Oklahoma State Cowboys (0/8)
-The Cowboys started out their season at their annual Cowboy Jamboree they host each season. Although new names like Kentucky and NAU showed up, the Cowboys took care of business and grabbed the win without Fabian Clarkson and having Craig Nowak run unattached. There's not much to take away from this except that Cerake Geberkidane seems to be rounding into another top-tier talent for Coach Dave Smith and that the Cowboys will continue to be dangerous. It's just a shame that we probably won't see them race against top programs until the post-season.
#08 Oklahoma State Cowboys (0/8)
-The Cowboys started out their season at their annual Cowboy Jamboree they host each season. Although new names like Kentucky and NAU showed up, the Cowboys took care of business and grabbed the win without Fabian Clarkson and having Craig Nowak run unattached. There's not much to take away from this except that Cerake Geberkidane seems to be rounding into another top-tier talent for Coach Dave Smith and that the Cowboys will continue to be dangerous. It's just a shame that we probably won't see them race against top programs until the post-season.
#07 Iona Gaels (0/7)
#06 Mississippi Rebels (0/6)
#05 Villanova Wildcats (0/5)
*Keelan, Sweatt, Wharton, and the Rosa's did not run.
#01 Colorado Buffalos (0/1)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just Missed
California Golden Bears
California Golden Bears
Cornell Bears
Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorns
Who To Watch
Purdue Boilermakers
Kentucky Wildcats
Eastern Kentucky Colonels
Purdue Boilermakers
Kentucky Wildcats
Eastern Kentucky Colonels
Kicked Off
Eastern Michigan Eagles (Last ranked 25)
Minnesota Gophers (Last ranked 23)
Cornell Bears (Last ranked 22)
Florida State Seminoles (Last ranked 20)
Minnesota Gophers (Last ranked 23)
Cornell Bears (Last ranked 22)
Florida State Seminoles (Last ranked 20)
New Additions
Dartmouth Big Green
Oklahoma Sooners
Dartmouth Big Green
Oklahoma Sooners
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State Spartans
Biggest Surprise of the Week
Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State Spartans
Team of the Week
Syracuse Orange
Syracuse Orange
Notes
-Florida State gets knocked off the list after an extremely poor performance at Beantown. They placed 7th overall with their pack spread all over the place. They clearly were not prepared.
-Eastern Michigan gets bumped only because there were other teams that needed to get in the rankings. They have yet to race in a major meet, but I assume we will see them next week at Notre Dame Invite.
-Eastern Kentucky placed 6th overall at the Panorama Farms Invite, but that was because they were missing a heavy portion of their scorers. Watch for them to race a full squad soon.
-Texas is my sleeper pick right now. They cruised through the Texas A&M invite and although they don't have a star like Craig Lutz, they have a very underrated pack that could surprise a lot of people. Watch out for them.
-Eastern Michigan gets bumped only because there were other teams that needed to get in the rankings. They have yet to race in a major meet, but I assume we will see them next week at Notre Dame Invite.
-Eastern Kentucky placed 6th overall at the Panorama Farms Invite, but that was because they were missing a heavy portion of their scorers. Watch for them to race a full squad soon.
-Texas is my sleeper pick right now. They cruised through the Texas A&M invite and although they don't have a star like Craig Lutz, they have a very underrated pack that could surprise a lot of people. Watch out for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment