Updated Etrain Top 50 List: Week 2 (9/28)

By: Garrett Zatlin

PAST RANKINGS THIS SEASON

Preseason

Week 1 (9/21)

KEY

·      Bold: Had performances that influenced a strong change in the rankings

·      (#/#): First number indicates how much the individual 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.

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50. Amos Bowen, Senior, Wyoming (-18/32)

-Bowen gets the ‘surprise of the week’ title due to his disappointing finish at Roy Griak. The man that was once ranked 32^nd in our rankings, finished 52^nd overall in the race. There is no doubt that this was an off day for him (which is why he barely stays on the list) but you have to think that there was something more going on there. Like Kevin Dooney, Bowen does prosper more in the post-season so if he does go off the list, he could be back on it come November.

49. Nick Tuck, Senior, Penn (0/49)

48. Jordy Williamsz, Senior, Villanova (0/48)

47. Wes Gallagher, Senior, Mississippi (0/47)

46. Jacob Burcham, Junior, Oklahoma (Wasn’t Ranked)

-Oklahoma surprised a lot of people when they beat out Furman at the Panorama Farms Invite and it seems like Burcham was a big reason for that. Burcham stepped up to finish 4^th overall and get another low-stick for the Sooners. With such a deep field, you had to know that someone was going to step up. That said, Burcham wasn’t on my watch list and he showed me why that was a mistake. Hopefully he can stay consistent. I’m interested to see how he handles his next race.

45. Jake Leingang, Junior, Oregon (+1/46)

44. Michael Vennard, Sophomore, Boise State (Wasn’t Ranked)

-With teammate Andrew Rafla now gone, Boise State needed a new front-runner and it seems like they found that front-runner in Vennard. He placed 3rd overall in a very deep field full of experienced runners at Roy Griak. While it’s encouraging, I want to see how he performs in the pressure of a faster race rather than a tactical race (where the pace was above 5 minutes).

43. Dan Lennon, Senior, Syracuse (-4/39)

-I’m a big fan of Lennon, although I was hoping he could stay a little closer to his teammates at Beantown. He placed 10^th overall which is still a solid performance, but I thought he could’ve been closer to Hubbard. I’m not looking too heavily into this result, but like Hubbard, I may have slightly over-ranked Lennon.

42. Sam Wharton, Junior, Stanford (+1/43)

-Did not run with team this weekend.

41. Matthew Schwartzer, Senior, Indiana (+1/42)

40. Mike O’Dowd, Senior, Iona (+1/41)

39. Joel Hubbard, Junior, Syracuse (-6/33)

-There is no doubt that Hubbard is talented. However, I think I over-ranked him a bit. He placed 7^th at Beantown which is a great performance, but not for someone ranked 33^rd in the nation. He’ll keep moving around the list until I can find the right spot for him.

38. Brian Barraza, Junior, Houston (-1/38)
-Nice win for him at the Texas A&M Invite. He won a fast race by four seconds and seems to be in great fitness. There wasn't any truly notable names he beat, so that's why he stays where he's at. Still, I'm eager to see him race against the some of the best in the NCAA. He could be the individual sleeper of 2015.

37. Kevin Dooney, Senior, Yale (-11/26)

-Tough race for Dooney. The Yale Bulldog placed a disappointing 16^th at the Panorama Farms invite. While it was a deep field, I expected more from the senior. However, I will say that he typically prospers in the post-season so I won’t drop him completely off the list. Hopefully he can rebound.

36. George Parsons, Junior, NC State (-1/35)

35. Joe Hardy, Sophomore, Wisconsin (-6/29)

34. Brandon Doughty, Senior, Oklahoma (+2/36)

-Doughty made me look smart by placing third at the Panorama Farms Invite. It wasn’t a flashy race by any means, but it’s consistent with his ranking and continues to make him a threat for the regional race. After just missing out on NCAA’s last year, you have to think that he’s hungry to prove himself this season.

33. Fabian Clarkson, Senior, Oklahoma St. (-5/28)

32. MJ Erb, Junior, Mississippi (-1/31)

31. Grant Fisher, Freshman, Stanford (+15/46)

-My apologies Grant Fisher. I’m sorry I ever doubted you. The freshman star ran his first race at the Stanford invite unattached and crushed a fast pace to place second behind McGorty. He’s clearly in excellent shape and you have to expect him to get better as he continues to adjust to the collegiate scene. The catch is that he ran unattached and mentioned in an interview how he still has to talk with his coach about whether or not he will be redshirting this season. If I’m Coach Milt, I’m not redshirting this guy…but that’s just me.

30. Colin Bennie, Sophomore, Syracuse (+12/42)

-It’s only been two races for this guy so far this season, but he has been killing it so far. His win at Harry Groves was no fluke and it showed with his 3^rd place finish at Beantown. He beat out his teammate Hehir and was close behind McClintock and Knight who are some of the best in the nation. It looks like Bennie could be the piece of the puzzle for one of the best top three in the nation.   

29. Craig Nowak, Junior, Oklahoma St. (-2/27)

-Ran unattached at the Cowboy Jamboree. Seemed to be using the race as a workout as he placed 18^th overall.

28. Chris Walden, Senior, California (-5/23)

-Slightly off day for Walden who dropped to 6^th overall at Roy Griak. I feel like this is a guy who thrives off a quicker pace and it doesn’t look like that tactical racing upfront played much to his advantage. He won’t get penalized too hard in the rankings, but he’ll need to step it up next meet.  

27. Jerrell Mock, Sophomore, Colorado St. (+7/34)

26. Jefferson Abbey, Junior, Colorado St. (+4/30)

-What a race for these two! The Colorado St. Rams duo ran an excellent tactical race at Roy Griak by sitting back and letting others do the work. They made their move around 2k to go and started to thin out the pack. Well done by these two on a hot day over some rolling hills. Now I want to see them hold onto a faster pace and see how they do with that.

25. Caleb Rhynard, Senior, Michigan St. (0/25)

-Did not race with his team this weekend.

24. Morgan Pearson, Senior, Colorado (0/24)

23. Lawrence Kipkoech, (Rs.) Freshman, Campbell (Wasn’t Ranked)

Well I have to say, props to one our twitter followers for calling me out. He was adamant about having Kipkoech in the top 50 and sure enough he was right. Kipkoech had an outstanding performance in his XC opener by placing second at the Panorama Farm Invite. He gave top-ranked Peterson a run for his money and finished only a second behind him. Look for Kipkoech to improve in the rankings as the season goes on.

22. Marc Scott, Senior, Tulsa (0/22)

21. Thomas Curtin, Senior, Virginia Tech (Wasn’t Ranked)

-Futsum redshirting opens a spot for the guy I missed in my rankings. Curtin is more of a correction pick.

20. Pierce Murphy, Senior, Colorado (0/20)

19. Joe Rosa, Senior, Stanford (0/19)

-Did not race with his team this weekend.

18. Thomas Awad, Senior, Penn (0/18)

17. Martin Hehir, Senior, Syracuse (-3/14)

-Hehir placed 4^th overall behind Knight, McClintock, Bennie at Beantown. He still ran very well, but he moves back a bit considering he wasn’t closer. Maybe his teammates are just that good…

16. Ernest Kibet, Senior, Louisville (+1/17)

15. Edwin Kibichy, Junior, Louisville (+1/16)

14. Connor Winter, Senior, Colorado (+1/15)

13. Erik Peterson, Senior, Butler (0/13)

-While everyone was focused on Kyle King to take the win at Panorama Farms, Peterson sat back and did his thing. He ran an excellent race and was able to hold off a strong Lawrence Kipkoech. Great win for him over a very quality field.

12. Matt McClintock, Senior, Perdue (0/12)

-McClintock had an awesome performance at Beantown by placing second to Knight. I’m not looking too much into that loss because of how dominant Knight looked. Great running overall, but now I want to see him get a win over a big name in his region (Great Lakes) before he moves up or down in the rankings.

11. Justyn Knight, Sophomore, Syracuse (+10/21)

-Knight had an outstanding performance at Beantown where he beat out established All-Americans Martin Hehir and Matt McClintock to get the win. He’s in outstanding shape right now and this was a good indicator for what’s to come. 

10. Jim Rosa, Senior, Stanford (+1/11)

-Did not race with his team this weekend.

9. Mason Ferlic, Senior, Michigan (+1/10)

8. Sean McGorty, Junior, Stanford (+1/9)

-Won the Stanford Invite in a wicked fast time of 23:07. Great running overall and clearly he’s in shape. He essentially stays where he was last week but I’m eager to see him race the top guys in the nation.

7. Ammar Moussa, Senior, Colorado (+1/8)

6. John Mascari, Senior, Indiana State (+1/7)

5. Malachy Schrobilgen, Junior, Wisconsin (+1/6)

4. Ben Saarel, Junior, Colorado (+1/5)

3. Patrick Tiernan, Junior, Villanova (+1/4)

2. Anthony Rotich, Senior, UTEP (+1/3)

1. Edward Cheserek, Junior, Oregon (0/1)

-With Futsum now redshirting this season, is there anyone that could challenge Ches for the title? My gut says no…

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Just Missed

Ben Rainero, Sophomore, Cornell

Jack Goodwin, Florida State

Cerake Geberkidane, Sophomore, Oklahoma State

Jacob Thomson, Sophomore, Kentucky

Who To Watch

-Andrew Marston, Freshman, Villanova*

-Casey Comber, Freshman, Villanova*

-Stanley Linton, Sophomore, Florida State

-Myles Smith, Sophomore, UCLA

-Frankline Tonui, Junior, Arkansas

-Trevor Hopper, Sophomore, Virginia

-Tanner Hinkle, Junior, Furman

*Both are currently running unattached. It is unclear as to whether or not they are redshirting or not.

Kicked Off

Graham Crawford, Senior, NC State (Last ranked 50)

Chartt Miller, Junior, Iona (Last ranked 44)

Kyle King, Senior, Virginia (Last ranked 40)

New Additions

Jacob Burcham, Junior, Oklahoma

Michael Vennard, Sophomore, Boise State

Lawrence Kipkoech, (Rs.) Freshman, Campbell

Thomas Curtin, Senior, Virginia Tech

Biggest Surprise of the Week

Amos Bowen, Senior, Wyoming

MVP of the Week

Justyn Knight, Sophomore, Syracuse

Notes

- It’s being reported that Futsum Zienasellassie (NAU) will be redshirting this season. That is why there were a lot of small shifts throughout the rankings. Those small shifts are simply making up for Futsum’s absence.

- Although these three didn’t run this week, Hardy, Clarkson, and Miller got moved in the rankings just because I believe I over-ranked them a bit. There is nothing truly notable there.