By: Garrett Zatlin
As always, the ACC will be stacked teams full of depth. Syracuse is entering this meet as the biggest threat to Colorado's three-peat, Virginia is arguably one of the deepest teams in the nation, NC State is probably the most consistent squad, Virginia Tech is probably one of the most underrated squads in the nation, and Louisville is a decent 5th man away from being a contender.
I'm expecting ACC's to be the most tightly contended battle for an individual title this weekend. Knight has been on fire and has molded his raw talent to become one of the best in the nation. Curtin on the other hand just upset the King against a very good field. Then you have the defending ACC champion, Martin Hehir who will have to deal with those two and Shaun Thompson who has been this years breakout runner. Throw in a very underrated Colin Bennie and you end up with an entertaining 23+ minutes. Knight has become one of the best tactical runners in the nation which is evident by his near win at Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Curtin has embraced his role as a 'grind-it-out' type of runner who charges out hard from gate and forces his competition to catch up (which also suits Thompson and Martin). So how will this race play out? Curtin will go out hard as expected and Thompson will follow. Meanwhile, the Syracuse trio will hold back waiting to make their move but still keeping within striking distance. By 2k to go, all five will be tight and Knight will begin to pull away with Curtin and Thompson trying to stay close. Hehir will make his move too early and suffer for it later as Bennie overtakes him for the 4th spot. Behind those five, I'm expecting Parsons to do well. He has had great success at ACC's (placed 4th last season) and has been very solid in the post season. I'm not sure how teammate Simon will do though. He's not familiar with this competition since he transferred from out west. I'll be curious to see how he handles the field.
The team battle is a bit more predictable. There is no doubt that Syracuse will take this title. They are just too good at every area and have one of the best top three in the nation. Add in solid contribution form experienced veterans like Hubbard and Lennon, and this team will cruise to the win. My predictions have them winning with 40 points. Behind them, I have to give it to UVA. They are simply too deep of a squad which is a crucial factor in a field that is packed with solid talent. Keeping a tight pack will allow the score to stay low. 3rd place will go to either NC State or Virginia Tech. Typically, I would give this to NC State who has a strong top four. However, in a deep field, their weak fifth man could drastically run up the score. Virginia Tech on the other hand has no true-weak point, but their pack is a bit spread out and leaves a lot of gaps that could raise their score. So which team structure will prevail? I believe NC State will barely hold on (by less than five points) to take the third place spot over Virginia Tech. Louisville, however, will be seriously hurt by their 5th man situation and be over taken by a UNC squad that historically does well at ACC's thanks to great depth.
Individuals
1. Justyn Knight, Sophomore, Syracuse
2. Thomas Curtin, Senior, Virginia Tech
3. Shaun Thompson, Senior, Duke
4. Colin Bennie, Sophomore, Syracuse
5. Martin Hehir, Senior, Syracuse
6. Sam Parsons, Junior, NC State
7. Edwin Kibichiy, Junior, Louisville
8. Connor Rog, Junior, Virginia
9. Zach Herriot, Junior, Virginia
10. Japhet Kipkoech, Senior, Louisville
11. Meron Simon, Junior, NC State
12. Ernest Kibet, Senior, Louisville
13. Henry Wynne, Junior, Virginia
14. Joel Hubbard, Junior, Syracuse
15. Jack Goodwin, Senior, Florida State
16. Dan Lennon, Senior, Syracuse
17. Sebastian Hanson, Sophomore, NC State
18. Mark Derrick, Junior, UNC
19. Zak Seddon, Senior, Florida State
20. Stuart Robertson, Rs. Senior, Virginia Tech
Teams
1. Syraucse
2. Virginia
3. NC State
4. Virginia Tech
5. UNC
6. Louisville
7. Notre Dame
8. Florida State
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