By: Garrett Zatlin
As my fellow writer Alex Fox had mentioned in his article this past summer, the Ivy league is growing in talent and prestige. We are seeing more and more top performers come out of this league every year which is a great sign of growth. Four of the names listed below are/were on the Etrain Top 50 List at one point or another.
Individually, there seems to have been a shift in power for the 'top dog' title. Thomas Awad hasn't found the same magic he had last season while Rainero has put together some great performances at Beantown and Pre-Nats (5th and 11th respectively). He has really broke out this season and just seems so strong at every race. I also like how he's not afraid to push the pace like he did at Beantown. I see Rainero pulling away from the field with Awad halfway through the race and grinding a tough pace for the win. After those two, I'm picking Dooney for my third spot. Dooney has not had a great regular season, BUT he is an absolute monster in the post season. Last fall, Dooney was an All-American and placed top-5 at both Heps and regionals. Even in 2013 he placed 8th and 11th at Heps and regionals respectively. He comes up big in the post-season and I expect him to do the same this time around. After that, I have Nick Tuck at 4th who seems to have taken over the role as Penn's top guy. Tuck has run well, but hasn't raced in a truly big time meet yet and I think Awad gets the best of him for that. Meanwhile, King, Purnell, and Sublette will fight it out for that 5th spot. My x-factor of this race is Steve Sum of Princeton. He reminds me a lot of Deluca during his freshman year so watch out for him.
As for the teams, I believe it will be a very close battle between the trio of Penn, Columbia, and Dartmouth. Penn has shown that they have a potent scoring five by defeating Villanova at the Princeton Invite. Tuck has stepped up to become a reliable low stick while Wilson and Shearn have solidified themselves as consistent scorers. Hally is their 5th man, and while he hasn't been perfect, he has yet to have a truly bad race. Columbia has outstanding depth and will ride the momentum of Myjer and Rutherford into this race. If Sam Ritz can have a big race, then the Lions could get the title. Dartmouth is the final team I'm looking at. They've got some really solid pieces with a leader in King and a solid 2-3 combo with Joey Chapin and Brian Masterson. Big Green didn't do so well at Wisconsin, but that was because one of their guys lost his shoe while another two fell all before the miler marker. Right now, Penn has shown that they are superior when it comes to the smaller racing fields and close races. I'm picking them to get the title.
Individuals
1. Ben Rainero, Senior, Cornell
2. Thomas Awad, Senior, Penn
3. Kevin Dooney, Senior, Yale
4. Nick Tuck, Junior, Penn
5. Curtin King, Senior, Dartmouth
6. Tom Purnell, Senior, Harvard
7. Michael Sublette, Senior, Princeton
8. Tait Rutherford, Senior, Columbia
9. Steve Sum, Princeton, Freshman
10. Aubrey Myjer, Senior, Columbia
11. Dominic Deluca, Sophomore, Cornell
12. Brenden Shearn, Junior, Penn
13. Joey Chapin, Junior, Dartmouth
14. James Randon, Junior, Yale
15. Jack Boyle, Junior, Columbia
Teams
1. Penn
2. Columbia
3. Dartmouth
4. Cornell
5. Princeton
6. Harvard
7. Brown
8. Yale
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