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 California Golden Bears (Wasn't Ranked)-The Bears 7th place at Pre-Nats was enough to beat out Penn for the last open spot on the list. Walden hasn't been ideal so far this season, but they Bears have been holding their own with what they've got. They've been a little inconsistent, but this past weekend puts them back on the list. They had some excellent pack running and a time spread that was scary good (22 seconds). They even had a bit of back up in Thomas Joyce who was close by as their 6th man. This team has a lot of good about them, but that inconsistency and Walden not being his 2014 self makes me slightly cautious. Still, nice running by Cal this weekend and being able to return to the list.
#24 Louisville Cardinals (-8/16)
-Louisville is another team that has fallen victim to the dreaded 5th man problem. Kibichiy has a been a great front-runner while Kipkeoch continues to make up for Kibet's somewhat rough season. Chemoiywo has done what he can as the 4th guy and has managed to keep that portion of the scoring down. However, that dreaded 5th man, Kyle Covert dropped all the way to 245th. Their score rocketed up and put them at 11th overall. If they can just find ANYONE as a new 5th man then this team is set. Unfortunately it doesn't look like that will happen.
#23 Indiana Hoosiers (-10/13)
-What the heck happened to the Hoosiers? They were such a promising team that dominated at the Princeton Interregional meet. Now they fall to 16th at Wisconsin? Rorey Hunter, Jason Crist, and Kyle Duvall, did their jobs by placing 31st, 49th, and 79th. Not amazing, but good enough. The back two scorers, Skeete and Chandler had pretty bad days placing 125th an 175th. So how do the Hoosiers stay in the rankings? First off, Skeete and Crist can both be better and I believe they will show it at BIG 10's. They also dominated Virginia Tech, UNC, Duke, and Columbia at Princeton Interregional so I'm having a tough time thinking this was the best they could do. Also keep in mind that Matthew Shwartzer hasn't run yet. That's not a great sign, but it at least leaves me hope that if he does run then this team will go back to that top-15 area.
#22 Southern Utah Thunderbirds (+2/23)
-Not the ideal day for the Thunderbirds who are usually pretty consistent. Mike Tate was the #1 guys for the Thunderbirds this time placing 33rd while Hawkes had a bit of an off day and finished 55th. The big issue was Szogi who was the team's fifth man who finished 175th (86 points behind their 4th man). That was a big hit to the team that already trying to handle Hawkes not being at his best. I think that was just a bit of an off day for Szogi who placed 54th at Roy Griak and 40th at Notre Dame. He was just a fluke and we will see the Thunderbirds return to top form in a couple weeks.
#21 Colorado State Rams (+1/22)
-Nothing that exciting for CSU. They placed 9th at Pre-Nats and simply didn't show much besides Abbey and Mock's 16th and 17th place finishes. The rest of the scorers were 65th, 124th, and 129th. This is a very young scoring five that includes one junior, two sophomores, and two freshman. There's still a lot of maturity they have to do, but they're doing what they can.
#20 Michigan State Spartans (-2/18)
- Michigan State has gone through a bit of rollercoaster ride so far this season. The Spartans dominated at Roy Griak by thriving off of a fast pace. They won handily without their top man Caleb Rhynard. The expectation was that he would be back and ready to give MSU an even better team performance at Wisconsin. That, however, was not the result. The Spartans top two came in at 54th and 60th while the rest were at 92nd, 96th, and 102nd. The guys in green didn't seem to have much of a spark. It also didn't help that Rhynard was 121st. His poor performance almost seemed to have a chain-effect and resulted in a 12th place finish for the Spartans. I still believe in MSU. You don't just dominate at Roy Griak and then fall off the face of the Earth. This is a team with a lot of talent that just needs to rally behind their captain. I'll call it now. If Rhynard has a good day at BIG 10's, you can bet MSU will as well.
#19 Virginia Tech Hokies (Wasn't Ranked)
-What a big day for Virginia Tech! Thomas Curtin shocks the entire running world by taking down the king of the NCAA. Curtin's first place performance helped the Hokies to a 6th place run at Pre-Nats. Stuart Robertson and Neil Gourley quietly finished 34th and 35th while Darren Barlow and Patrick Joseph finished 60th and 93rd respectively. The back two scorers were a little offish, but they kept VT close to the action and surprised many. Congrats to my Hokies on a great race!
#18 UCLA Bruins (+1/19)
-Nothing too exciting here for the Bruins. Werley is getting back into his groove and leading the team to the best of his ability. Their 9th place at Wisconsin was nothing flashy, but they got the job done and kept their pack pretty tight. I'm a little disappointed by Myles Smith so far this season. I really thought he could've been another low-stick for this team. Nonethless, there's true weak spot in that scoring five so the Bruins seem to be a comfortable fit for #18.
#17 Villanova Wildcats (-10/7)
-What is going on with the Wildcats? Coach Sully decided to stay low-key and go to Princeton where the Wildcats would face many Philly schools which included Penn. What was supposed to be a weekend of staying quiet and letting the big meets take the attention, Nova drew even more attention to their team by LOSING to Penn by 9 points. The Wildcats lost to Penn despite having the top three places. I'm not sure how a team as good as Nova can go 1, 2, 3 and STILL lose. No hate to Penn. They ran a great race. Yet, those last two scorers, Warnick and Corbusier are not fulfilling their roles on the team. They dropped to 21st and 24th in a field that really wasn't all that challenging. The writers and I have been saying it since day one: put Marston and Comber in the lineup. Unfortunately, I think Coach Sully has waited too long to test them out and I doubt we will see them this postseason unless he really feels that desperate. It's a tough move. Either give up a year of eligibility for something they aren't even sure will be successful, or don't have them run this season which leaves the brain wondering how good they could've been. Your move O'Sullivan.
#16 Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (+4/20)
-The 'Canes took a drive to Wisconsin where Marc Scott's brilliant kick got him 1st place. Meanwhile, Preisner and Traynor were 27th and 50th respectively. It was the bottom two scorers that kept Tulsa away from doing any better. Dobos was 106th and Roderique was 144th. Those last two scorers are really holding Tulsa back and it doesn't seem like this team is going to get much better unless the 4th and 5th guys dramatically step up their game. I will, however, say to watch out for Luke Traynor. I think he could've been better than 50th.
#15 NC State Wolfpack (0/15)
-The Wolfpack are once again...at the middle of the pack (I half intended that, half didn't). NCST finished 7th place at Wisconsin and there wasn't too much exciting about that. Parsons and Simon did their jobs by placing 15th and 23rd. A little further back was Hanson and Abushouk who finished 52nd and 56th. However, just like many other programs, that fifth man continues to be the achilles heel of a team with so much promise. Tannis Baldwin drove up the score by placing 165th. Where is Graham Crawford! I hope he's not injured but it seems like that might be the case. Had he run this season, the Wolfpack could've been a top-10 team.
#14 Furman Paladins (+8/22)
-This is such a tricky team to figure out. After they lost to Oklahoma at Panorama Farms, I questioned if the Paladins would be able to get in shape in time to race well at meets like Wisco. I'm not sure why I ever questioned that considering I'm a big fan of Coach Gary. He got his guys into great fitness and it showed. They placed 6th overall at Wisconsin to remind everyone that they are still a relevant team. Hinkle and Reeder went 35th and 36th respectively, while the others scored 57th, 70th, and 112th. That 112th place will need to be addressed, but it was a small flaw in an otherwise great day for Paladins.
-What a big day for Virginia Tech! Thomas Curtin shocks the entire running world by taking down the king of the NCAA. Curtin's first place performance helped the Hokies to a 6th place run at Pre-Nats. Stuart Robertson and Neil Gourley quietly finished 34th and 35th while Darren Barlow and Patrick Joseph finished 60th and 93rd respectively. The back two scorers were a little offish, but they kept VT close to the action and surprised many. Congrats to my Hokies on a great race!
#18 UCLA Bruins (+1/19)
-Nothing too exciting here for the Bruins. Werley is getting back into his groove and leading the team to the best of his ability. Their 9th place at Wisconsin was nothing flashy, but they got the job done and kept their pack pretty tight. I'm a little disappointed by Myles Smith so far this season. I really thought he could've been another low-stick for this team. Nonethless, there's true weak spot in that scoring five so the Bruins seem to be a comfortable fit for #18.
#17 Villanova Wildcats (-10/7)
-What is going on with the Wildcats? Coach Sully decided to stay low-key and go to Princeton where the Wildcats would face many Philly schools which included Penn. What was supposed to be a weekend of staying quiet and letting the big meets take the attention, Nova drew even more attention to their team by LOSING to Penn by 9 points. The Wildcats lost to Penn despite having the top three places. I'm not sure how a team as good as Nova can go 1, 2, 3 and STILL lose. No hate to Penn. They ran a great race. Yet, those last two scorers, Warnick and Corbusier are not fulfilling their roles on the team. They dropped to 21st and 24th in a field that really wasn't all that challenging. The writers and I have been saying it since day one: put Marston and Comber in the lineup. Unfortunately, I think Coach Sully has waited too long to test them out and I doubt we will see them this postseason unless he really feels that desperate. It's a tough move. Either give up a year of eligibility for something they aren't even sure will be successful, or don't have them run this season which leaves the brain wondering how good they could've been. Your move O'Sullivan.
#16 Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (+4/20)
-The 'Canes took a drive to Wisconsin where Marc Scott's brilliant kick got him 1st place. Meanwhile, Preisner and Traynor were 27th and 50th respectively. It was the bottom two scorers that kept Tulsa away from doing any better. Dobos was 106th and Roderique was 144th. Those last two scorers are really holding Tulsa back and it doesn't seem like this team is going to get much better unless the 4th and 5th guys dramatically step up their game. I will, however, say to watch out for Luke Traynor. I think he could've been better than 50th.
#15 NC State Wolfpack (0/15)
-The Wolfpack are once again...at the middle of the pack (I half intended that, half didn't). NCST finished 7th place at Wisconsin and there wasn't too much exciting about that. Parsons and Simon did their jobs by placing 15th and 23rd. A little further back was Hanson and Abushouk who finished 52nd and 56th. However, just like many other programs, that fifth man continues to be the achilles heel of a team with so much promise. Tannis Baldwin drove up the score by placing 165th. Where is Graham Crawford! I hope he's not injured but it seems like that might be the case. Had he run this season, the Wolfpack could've been a top-10 team.
#14 Furman Paladins (+8/22)
-This is such a tricky team to figure out. After they lost to Oklahoma at Panorama Farms, I questioned if the Paladins would be able to get in shape in time to race well at meets like Wisco. I'm not sure why I ever questioned that considering I'm a big fan of Coach Gary. He got his guys into great fitness and it showed. They placed 6th overall at Wisconsin to remind everyone that they are still a relevant team. Hinkle and Reeder went 35th and 36th respectively, while the others scored 57th, 70th, and 112th. That 112th place will need to be addressed, but it was a small flaw in an otherwise great day for Paladins.
#13 Wisconsin Badgers (-9/4)
-Ouch. It must've been a bad day to be a Badger. After the debate on whether Wisconsin should be counted in the rankings for their "jogging" they went on their own course and bombed it. Schrobilgen and McDonald did quite well (both were top 10), but after that the team fell apart. Hardy fell off the pace and crumbled to 159th while his teammate Miehe didn't do much better at 205th. With Sandvald's 80th place didn't make much of a difference as the Badgers fell far back to finish 17th overall. So why are they ranked 13th in the nation? For one thing, I believe Hardy is better than what he showed. He was towards the top 50 for a while and simply fell off. It also didn't help that there was 6th or 7th man for the Badgers! They had no back-up for a rough day like this. Hirsch nor McAsey ran and it showed in the scoring. The Badgers are still a very good team that just had a bad day. They get dropped out of the top 10, but they will be back and wont let what happened this past weekend happen again.
#12 Georgetown Hoyas (+5/17)
#11 UTEP Miners (+3/14)
-These two teams have shocked me this season. I didn't expect either of these teams to be successful this year and they completely took me by surprise. For UTEP, the emergence of Koech next to Rotich has been monumental for a squad that truly needed one more low-stick to make some noise. Cosmas Boit has also been a nice consistent number three guy. Of course, their 4-5 are relatively far out from those top three and will need to fix that if they ever truly want to take down the powerhouses of the nation. As for Georgetown, Jonathan Green must seem like the second coming. The sophomore has led this squad to success after such a rough offseason of controversy. Darren Fahy has also been a nice sidekick to have after he placed 19th at Pre-Nats. Carpenter hasn't been quite the leader I thought he would be, but he's still doing his job. Considering Bartelsmeyer and Bile are milers, they're doing a decent job at not driving up the scoring. They placed in the 70's at Pre-Nats.
-These two teams have shocked me this season. I didn't expect either of these teams to be successful this year and they completely took me by surprise. For UTEP, the emergence of Koech next to Rotich has been monumental for a squad that truly needed one more low-stick to make some noise. Cosmas Boit has also been a nice consistent number three guy. Of course, their 4-5 are relatively far out from those top three and will need to fix that if they ever truly want to take down the powerhouses of the nation. As for Georgetown, Jonathan Green must seem like the second coming. The sophomore has led this squad to success after such a rough offseason of controversy. Darren Fahy has also been a nice sidekick to have after he placed 19th at Pre-Nats. Carpenter hasn't been quite the leader I thought he would be, but he's still doing his job. Considering Bartelsmeyer and Bile are milers, they're doing a decent job at not driving up the scoring. They placed in the 70's at Pre-Nats.
#10 Oklahoma State Cowboys (-2/8)
-Nothing exciting to report here. Coach Smith continues to stay on the DL at the Alabama Invite where the Cowboys cruised through without too much trouble. No Clarkson or Nowak so that concerned me a bit. I'm very excited to finally see this squad open up at conferences.
-Nothing exciting to report here. Coach Smith continues to stay on the DL at the Alabama Invite where the Cowboys cruised through without too much trouble. No Clarkson or Nowak so that concerned me a bit. I'm very excited to finally see this squad open up at conferences.
#09 Arkansas Razorbacks (Wasn't Ranked)
-No one gave Arkansas a chance this summer. I was skeptical about putting them in my top 25, but just didn't have the heart to do it. They shocked everyone at Pre-Nats by being the third team in the standings behind Colorado and Oregon. If anyone on this Razorback's team was going to step up, I expected it to be Frankline Tonui. Instead it was Austen Dalquist who placed 21st while Tonui was 26th. Yet, what really surprised me was how close this squad stuck together. After Tonui, they went 28th, 39th, and 50th. No one truly had a bad day. I like what this team has going on here. Nice job by coach Bucknam getting his guys ready for this time of the season.
#08 Virginia Cavaliers (+1/9)
-It was a weird day for the Cavaliers at Wisco. Henry Wynne was their lead runner at 9th, and the depth that I continue to boast for this squad wasn't as thrilling as I expected. It was great to see a low-stick at 9th, but the rest of the squad was somewhat spread-out. They placed 9th, 41st, 42nd, 69th, and 77th. I expected that depth to place a little lower and be closer together. If they did, I think they could've contended with BYU. Yes, they did beat Iona, but I highly doubt they will have Henry Wynne as a low-stick again. I also have questions as to what happened to their pack running. Come NCAA's, that's how you go from podium contenders, to barely making the top-20.
#07 Iona Gaels (-1/5)
#06 Michigan Wolverines (+3/10)
-No one gave Arkansas a chance this summer. I was skeptical about putting them in my top 25, but just didn't have the heart to do it. They shocked everyone at Pre-Nats by being the third team in the standings behind Colorado and Oregon. If anyone on this Razorback's team was going to step up, I expected it to be Frankline Tonui. Instead it was Austen Dalquist who placed 21st while Tonui was 26th. Yet, what really surprised me was how close this squad stuck together. After Tonui, they went 28th, 39th, and 50th. No one truly had a bad day. I like what this team has going on here. Nice job by coach Bucknam getting his guys ready for this time of the season.
#08 Virginia Cavaliers (+1/9)
-It was a weird day for the Cavaliers at Wisco. Henry Wynne was their lead runner at 9th, and the depth that I continue to boast for this squad wasn't as thrilling as I expected. It was great to see a low-stick at 9th, but the rest of the squad was somewhat spread-out. They placed 9th, 41st, 42nd, 69th, and 77th. I expected that depth to place a little lower and be closer together. If they did, I think they could've contended with BYU. Yes, they did beat Iona, but I highly doubt they will have Henry Wynne as a low-stick again. I also have questions as to what happened to their pack running. Come NCAA's, that's how you go from podium contenders, to barely making the top-20.
#07 Iona Gaels (-1/5)
#06 Michigan Wolverines (+3/10)
-Iona didn't quite meet expectations at Wisconsin by placing 5th overall while Michigan surprised many and placed 3rd. I'm at a bit of a standstill between these two teams. Iona trumps Michigan at Greater Louisville, but falls to the Wolverines at Wisconsin. I like both teams, but Michigan hasn't really had an off-day race this year. I give the edge to Michigan because I like Flanagan and Mora as their 2-3.
#05 BYU Cougars (+7/12)
-It's hard not to like BYU this year (scratch that, every year). They continue to make the most of what they have and are constantly competitive with the best teams in the nation. They placed a big second place at Wisconsin where Farnsworth led the Cougars with his 16th place performance and Aaron Nelson was close behind in 18th. The other scorers went 26th and 44th...and 82nd. The Cougs will need to address that weak fifth man spot. Just like Syracuse, it could come back to hurt them in the future. Nonetheless, it was a great effort by BYU and they just made regionals that much more interesting.
-It's hard not to like BYU this year (scratch that, every year). They continue to make the most of what they have and are constantly competitive with the best teams in the nation. They placed a big second place at Wisconsin where Farnsworth led the Cougars with his 16th place performance and Aaron Nelson was close behind in 18th. The other scorers went 26th and 44th...and 82nd. The Cougs will need to address that weak fifth man spot. Just like Syracuse, it could come back to hurt them in the future. Nonetheless, it was a great effort by BYU and they just made regionals that much more interesting.
-Somehow the Ducks continue to pull out outstanding performances. They placed second at Pre-Nats and held off some very good teams like Arkansas, UTEP, Georgetown, and Virginia Tech. Cheserek of course placed second overall, but Leingang finally had his big day by placing 24th. The rest of the depth did their job and continue to surprise the nation on their ability to take top-ranked teams despite losing so much firepower. There isn't much reason to doubt them at this point, but the real fun will come at regionals when the Ducks take on BYU and (a hopefully stacked) Stanford squad.
-Hear me out. Yes, Stanford did have a very bad day. McGorty and Sweatt were really the only good things to come out of that day with Keelan and Wharton bombing their races. However, there's a couple of reasons why I keep the Cardinals at #3. One reason is because the Rosa twins AND Fisher haven't raced yet. Those are three big-time names that would easily drop that score. Once you throw those three in the race with Sweatt and McGorty, that is a scoring five that can't be stopped. My other reason is because I doubt that Keelan and Wharton will race like that again. They are both better than that if you look at their past races and times. Stanford has the pieces, and Coach Milt knows how to make the puzzle. I'm not too worried about what we saw.
-They continue to dominate. Taking 5th, 9th, 14th, 15th, and 46th at Pre-Nats is legit. That was without Saarel too. I can't see this team losing. It would have to take a bad day from the Buffs and a legendary day from Cuse or Stanford in order for the upset to happen. Until then, the Buffs can take comfort in the fact that they aren't going to lose anytime soon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just Missed
Penn Quakers
Air Force Falcons
Boise State Broncos
Penn Quakers
Air Force Falcons
Boise State Broncos
Who To Watch
Texas Longhorns
Columbia Lions
UC Santa Barbra Gauchos
Texas Longhorns
Columbia Lions
UC Santa Barbra Gauchos
Kicked Off
Dartmouth Big Green (Last Ranked 25)
Oklahoma Sooners (Last Ranked 21)
Mississippi Rebels (Last Ranked 11)
Oklahoma Sooners (Last Ranked 21)
Mississippi Rebels (Last Ranked 11)
New Additions
California Golden Bears
Virginia Tech Hokies
Arkansas Razorbacks
California Golden Bears
Virginia Tech Hokies
Arkansas Razorbacks
Biggest Surprise of the Week
Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas Razorbacks
Team of the Week
Colorado Buffalos
Colorado Buffalos
Notes
-Penn and Cal was a very tough decision (for the final spot). Penn is my 26th team right now.
-Very disappointed about Mississippi this season. They were a team favorite of mine but have shown very little. They seem to be an XC team made up of milers.
-Very disappointed about Mississippi this season. They were a team favorite of mine but have shown very little. They seem to be an XC team made up of milers.
No comments:
Post a Comment