By: Garrett Zatlin
I have said it from the beginning of the season, the BIG 10 is going to be the most entertaining conference in the NCAA this season. There is no clear cut favorite on the individual side and the same goes for the teams. Still, the league is loaded and very underrated.
Yes, that's right, I took McClintock at first. Schrobilgen ran very well in his one race that he took at full effort (Wisconsin Adidas Invite...5th overall). Yet, when you look at McClintock's performances, he barely got outkicked by Justyn Knight at Beantown and barely lost to super-star steeplechaser, Anthony Rotich. He had an off-day at Pre-Nats, but I'm glad he got that out of the way. He's due for a win. Ferlic looked a little hesitant at Wisconsin, but he's still very talented. Others like McDonald and Lafond have quietly done very well and I'm expecting them to keep things a lot closer than many expect. Rorey Hunter has really stepped up this season and become a big scorer for a team that needeed another low-stick to be competitive. Jason Crist on the other hand, is typically pretty solid in the post season so I expect him to step up. Finally, we haven't seen the best of Joe Hardy yet. He will finish in the top-10. That's a guarantee.
Remember when Wisconsin was the heavy favorite to win? After a catastrophic race in their own backyard, the Badgers will try to rally and come back strong at BIG 10's. This time they will (at least I'd assume) have more than five scorers and actually have some back up incase things go south again. The Badgers will be better...but by how much? Michigan has been very good this season and very consistent. They've got a great ace upfront and a solid 2-3 in Flanagan and Mora. Can their 4-5 show up though? The last question we need to answer is for Indiana. They were excellent at the Princeton Interregional, but faltered at Wisconsin. Which Indiana team will we see? My guess is that the top three spots are decided by 10-15 points.
Individuals
1. Matt McClintock, Senior, Purdue
2. Malachy Schrobilgen, Junior, Wisconsin
3. Mason Ferlic, Senior, Michigan
4. Morgan McDonald, Sophomore, Wisconsin
5. Dylan Lafond, Junior, Illinois
6. Rorey Hunter, Senior, Indiana
7. Jason Crist, Junior, Indiana
8. Ben Flanagan, Junior, Michigan
9. Joe Hardy, Sophomore, Wisconsin
10. Aaron Bartnik, Senior, Minnesota
11. Kyle Duvall, Sophomore, Indiana
12. Caleb Rhynard, Senior, Michigan State
13. Connor Mora, Junior, Michigan
14. Tony Smoragiewicz, Senior, Michigan
15. Carl Hirsch, Sophomore, Wisconsin
16. Wade Endress, Senior, Penn State
17. TJ Carey, Junior, Michigan State
18. Ian Barnett, Senior, Illinois
19. Owen Skeete, Senior, Indiana
20. Colin Abert, Freshman, Penn State
Teams
1. Michigan
2. Wisconsin
3. Indiana
4. Michigan State
5. Illinois
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