25. Illinois Fighting Illini
24. Villanova Wildcats
23. Eastern Michigan Eagles
22. Iowa State Cyclones
21. Oklahoma State Cowboys
20. Tulsa Golden Hurricanes
19. Michigan State Spartans
18. Boise State Broncos
17. Washington State Cougars
16. Indiana Hoosiers
15. Washington Huskies
14. Eastern Kentucky Colonials
13. BYU Cougars
12. Wisconsin Badgers
11. Furman Paladins
10. Virginia Cavaliers
9. Colorado State Rams
8. Norther Arizona Lumberjacks
7. Arkansas Razorbacks
6. Colorado Buffaloes
5. Iona Gaels
24. Villanova Wildcats
23. Eastern Michigan Eagles
22. Iowa State Cyclones
21. Oklahoma State Cowboys
20. Tulsa Golden Hurricanes
19. Michigan State Spartans
18. Boise State Broncos
17. Washington State Cougars
16. Indiana Hoosiers
15. Washington Huskies
14. Eastern Kentucky Colonials
13. BYU Cougars
12. Wisconsin Badgers
11. Furman Paladins
10. Virginia Cavaliers
9. Colorado State Rams
8. Norther Arizona Lumberjacks
7. Arkansas Razorbacks
6. Colorado Buffaloes
5. Iona Gaels
12. Wisconsin Badgers
Flotrack’s #12: Virginia Cavaliers
Flotrack's Ranking of Wisconsin: 8th
Coach: Mick Byrne
Flotrack's Ranking of Wisconsin: 8th
Coach: Mick Byrne
Notable Departures: N/A
Notable Additions:
Projected Scoring Five: Malachy Schrobilgen (SR) [ET#12], Morgan McDonald (JR) [ET#21], Zack Snider (FR), Olin Hacker (FR), Joe Hardy (JR)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Collapse is a strong word. It insinuates that there was a lack of foundation, flaws in the master design, and something happened that did not go as planned. Yet, maybe a word like "collapse" is the most accurate description to what happened to Wisconsin during last year's cross country season.
When the 2015 season began, it seemed like Wisconsin was well on their way to making yet another national championship (and very few doubted it). Their season began at meets like the Paddy Doyle Invite and the Greater Louisville Classic. It was there that the Badgers would take their race as workouts while also catching criticism for their lack of effort in the process.
But when the Badgers held the Wisconsin invite on their own turf, they were left off the leash and ready to attack the field. Wisconsin was expected to contend with Syracuse for the team title...not finish 17th in the field. Despite Schrobilgen and McDonald both placing in the top 10, the rest of the squad struggled. For some reason, Wisconsin only ran five guys and with their 5th man placing 205th, it did not make life easy. The Wisconsin Invite was a mess, but every team has a bad race. Surely they would do better at BIG 10's, right?
Wrong.
BIG 10's was arguably worse than the Wisconsin Invite as Schrobilgen pulled out of the race which led to the Badgers finishing 8th overall (out of 12 teams). Would Wisconsin really not qualify for nationals? Would they really snap the largest active national appearance streak in the nation? The answer to that was a yes. Schrobilgen tried to fight through his injury but he could only push himself to 33rd. The other scorers ended up in the 64th and 73rd spots. For the first time in 44 years, the Wisconsin Badgers would not qualify for nationals as a team.
Wisconsin not qualifying was an unexpected and unprecedented result, but there were legitimate reasons for their struggles. The biggest one had to be the lack of experience, depth, and consistency at the four and five spots. It also didn't help that their best runner (and one of the best runners in the nation) was hurt for the entire post-season. The decision to use meets like Paddy Doyle and Greater Louisville as workouts also backfired since the Badgers failed to get themselves any points on the Kolas Calculator.
History is an important aspect when talking about the future. But how much value should we put into what happened last year when it was the first time it happened in 44 years? Clearly not that much value if I'm ranking the Badgers at 12th this season. However, I am staying cautious.
There's no doubt that Schrobilgen and McDonald will lead this team once again. It's a fair and safe assumption that they will be in top 10 at pretty much every meet they run in (maybe not nationals). If no complications like injury or illness arise, then these two might be able to battle with the Syracuse and CSU duo's as the best 1-2 punch in the country.
I'm giving the third spot to Joe Hardy. Despite his inconsistencies, he definitely has the talent to be a top 50 runner in the nation. Will that happen? I don't know. But what I do know is that he placed 10th at BIG 10's which is a strong indicator of what he's capable of. The biggest issue with him is that he needs to be more consistent. He had an off day at Wisconsin, and his regionals performance was decent (but no better than that). If he can consistently put together races like he did at BIG 10's, then he will undoubtedly help the Badgers get back to nationals.
And while it may be one thing to make nationals, it's another thing to do well there. That's where guys like Zack Snider and Olin Hacker come into play. Although they were redshirted during XC last year, these two were a pair of the best recruits in the nation in 2015. We saw that they were the real deal this past spring when Snider and Hacker both ran big 5k PR's of 14:06 and 14:18 respectively. They both did that at the Junior World Championships.
There is no doubt that these guys are good, but can they be reliable in their first actual year of cross country? It's the biggest concern and question I have for Wisconsin in 2016. It is, after all, the main reason Wisconsin struggled all last year.
But Wisconsin still has options after Snider and Hacker. Joe McAsey, Russell Sandvold, and incoming Australian recruit Oliver Hoare could all have a big impact for Wisconsin this season.
Wisconsin ranking 12th is definitely me being on the safer side, but I like to think there is plenty of upside for this Badgers squad. Schrobilgen will be back at full strength and McDonald might be even better than last year. Hardy is now an experienced junior, and there are two redshirt freshmen with all of the upside and potential in the world.
As Thomas Jefferson once said, "I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past".
Collapse is a strong word. It insinuates that there was a lack of foundation, flaws in the master design, and something happened that did not go as planned. Yet, maybe a word like "collapse" is the most accurate description to what happened to Wisconsin during last year's cross country season.
When the 2015 season began, it seemed like Wisconsin was well on their way to making yet another national championship (and very few doubted it). Their season began at meets like the Paddy Doyle Invite and the Greater Louisville Classic. It was there that the Badgers would take their race as workouts while also catching criticism for their lack of effort in the process.
But when the Badgers held the Wisconsin invite on their own turf, they were left off the leash and ready to attack the field. Wisconsin was expected to contend with Syracuse for the team title...not finish 17th in the field. Despite Schrobilgen and McDonald both placing in the top 10, the rest of the squad struggled. For some reason, Wisconsin only ran five guys and with their 5th man placing 205th, it did not make life easy. The Wisconsin Invite was a mess, but every team has a bad race. Surely they would do better at BIG 10's, right?
Wrong.
BIG 10's was arguably worse than the Wisconsin Invite as Schrobilgen pulled out of the race which led to the Badgers finishing 8th overall (out of 12 teams). Would Wisconsin really not qualify for nationals? Would they really snap the largest active national appearance streak in the nation? The answer to that was a yes. Schrobilgen tried to fight through his injury but he could only push himself to 33rd. The other scorers ended up in the 64th and 73rd spots. For the first time in 44 years, the Wisconsin Badgers would not qualify for nationals as a team.
Wisconsin not qualifying was an unexpected and unprecedented result, but there were legitimate reasons for their struggles. The biggest one had to be the lack of experience, depth, and consistency at the four and five spots. It also didn't help that their best runner (and one of the best runners in the nation) was hurt for the entire post-season. The decision to use meets like Paddy Doyle and Greater Louisville as workouts also backfired since the Badgers failed to get themselves any points on the Kolas Calculator.
History is an important aspect when talking about the future. But how much value should we put into what happened last year when it was the first time it happened in 44 years? Clearly not that much value if I'm ranking the Badgers at 12th this season. However, I am staying cautious.
There's no doubt that Schrobilgen and McDonald will lead this team once again. It's a fair and safe assumption that they will be in top 10 at pretty much every meet they run in (maybe not nationals). If no complications like injury or illness arise, then these two might be able to battle with the Syracuse and CSU duo's as the best 1-2 punch in the country.
I'm giving the third spot to Joe Hardy. Despite his inconsistencies, he definitely has the talent to be a top 50 runner in the nation. Will that happen? I don't know. But what I do know is that he placed 10th at BIG 10's which is a strong indicator of what he's capable of. The biggest issue with him is that he needs to be more consistent. He had an off day at Wisconsin, and his regionals performance was decent (but no better than that). If he can consistently put together races like he did at BIG 10's, then he will undoubtedly help the Badgers get back to nationals.
And while it may be one thing to make nationals, it's another thing to do well there. That's where guys like Zack Snider and Olin Hacker come into play. Although they were redshirted during XC last year, these two were a pair of the best recruits in the nation in 2015. We saw that they were the real deal this past spring when Snider and Hacker both ran big 5k PR's of 14:06 and 14:18 respectively. They both did that at the Junior World Championships.
There is no doubt that these guys are good, but can they be reliable in their first actual year of cross country? It's the biggest concern and question I have for Wisconsin in 2016. It is, after all, the main reason Wisconsin struggled all last year.
But Wisconsin still has options after Snider and Hacker. Joe McAsey, Russell Sandvold, and incoming Australian recruit Oliver Hoare could all have a big impact for Wisconsin this season.
Wisconsin ranking 12th is definitely me being on the safer side, but I like to think there is plenty of upside for this Badgers squad. Schrobilgen will be back at full strength and McDonald might be even better than last year. Hardy is now an experienced junior, and there are two redshirt freshmen with all of the upside and potential in the world.
As Thomas Jefferson once said, "I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past".
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