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
14. Eastern Kentucky Colonials
Flotrack’s #14: BYU Cougars
Flotrack's Ranking of Eastern Kentucky: 11th
Coach: Rick Erdmann
Flotrack's Ranking of Eastern Kentucky: 11th
Coach: Rick Erdmann
Notable Departures: N/A
Notable Additions: N/A
Projected Scoring Five: Jaime Escriche-Perales (SR) [ET#43], Amos Kosgey (SR), Jakob Abrahamsen (JR), Erik Rotich (SO), Ambrose Maritim (SR)
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Much like #19 Michigan State, Eastern Kentucky was a tricky team to figure out. They have some really strong weapons to lean on that could catapult them into being a top-10 team. However, there are also a lot of unknowns about this team due to their wacky race schedule and inconsistency.
The 2015 cross country season was a bit different for EKU compared to other programs. They often ran at high-profile meets throughout the regular season like Panorama Farms, Wisconsin Invite, and Pre-Nats. However, not often did the Colonials run their full 'A' squad (the Pre-Nats team ran in a division separate from the varsity).
We saw most of the Colonials at conferences, but a lack of competition still made EKU a mystery as well as an afterthought by the time Southeast regionals arrived. However, once at regionals, EKU did not disappoint. They finally put together a full-varsity squad and showed what they were hiding the whole season. They placed 3rd in the very deep Southeast region and caused chaos on the Kolas Calculator for teams like Furman, NC State, and Virginia Tech.
With all eyes on EKU, the Colonials charged into nationals with a chance at a top-10 finish. Unfortunately, that wouldn't happen as Eastern Kentucky placed only two individuals in the top 100. They would, however, finish with a very respectable 17th place team finish.
It's hard to rank a team that you don't know much about. That's not from a lack of research, but simply a lack of them racing together. We rarely saw Perales and Kosgey race with each other and Jakob Abrahamsen (one of the top returning steeplechasers in the nation) was injured for a heavy portion of the 2015 season.
But what we do know is that EKU has some big-time names that could be very dangerous in 2016. Perales is coming off of last fall's All-American performance and will most likely lead this squad to the promise land (nationals) once again. He was consistent last season and showed us that he's capable of being a true-low-stick. Amos Kosgey is another big-time talent that can contend with Perales, but isn't always as consistent. He was 7th at Southeast regionals, but 124th at nationals.
Jakob Abrahamsen is probably the biggest factor on this team. I'm a big fan of steeplechasers during the cross country season and with a PR of 8:34, he is primed to have a breakout fall. Of course, I'll still need to see how well his performances transfer over to the dirt and grass.
I'm also really eager to see Erik Rotich as well. He was a freshman last year and placed 90th at nationals. He's capable of doing a lot of damage, but like Abrahamsen, the success of the team will rely on just how much he improves.
Abrose Maritim will most likely be the final scorer thanks to his consistency and experience. However, guys like European recruit Samuel Abascal Fernandez could hop into the role of being a scorer. Others like Luis Luna and Luke Ndungu are also candidates.
Eastern Kentucky has the potential to have three aces. Perales, Abrahmansen, and Kosgey all show traits that could make them low-sticks on nearly any other team. The inconsistency, however, does worry me a bit and there is also a lot pressure lying on Abrahamsen and Rotich which makes this team vulnerable to upsets. I may only have them at 14, but if everything goes right and they perform how they should, then the Colonials will easily sneak into the top 10.
Much like #19 Michigan State, Eastern Kentucky was a tricky team to figure out. They have some really strong weapons to lean on that could catapult them into being a top-10 team. However, there are also a lot of unknowns about this team due to their wacky race schedule and inconsistency.
The 2015 cross country season was a bit different for EKU compared to other programs. They often ran at high-profile meets throughout the regular season like Panorama Farms, Wisconsin Invite, and Pre-Nats. However, not often did the Colonials run their full 'A' squad (the Pre-Nats team ran in a division separate from the varsity).
We saw most of the Colonials at conferences, but a lack of competition still made EKU a mystery as well as an afterthought by the time Southeast regionals arrived. However, once at regionals, EKU did not disappoint. They finally put together a full-varsity squad and showed what they were hiding the whole season. They placed 3rd in the very deep Southeast region and caused chaos on the Kolas Calculator for teams like Furman, NC State, and Virginia Tech.
With all eyes on EKU, the Colonials charged into nationals with a chance at a top-10 finish. Unfortunately, that wouldn't happen as Eastern Kentucky placed only two individuals in the top 100. They would, however, finish with a very respectable 17th place team finish.
It's hard to rank a team that you don't know much about. That's not from a lack of research, but simply a lack of them racing together. We rarely saw Perales and Kosgey race with each other and Jakob Abrahamsen (one of the top returning steeplechasers in the nation) was injured for a heavy portion of the 2015 season.
But what we do know is that EKU has some big-time names that could be very dangerous in 2016. Perales is coming off of last fall's All-American performance and will most likely lead this squad to the promise land (nationals) once again. He was consistent last season and showed us that he's capable of being a true-low-stick. Amos Kosgey is another big-time talent that can contend with Perales, but isn't always as consistent. He was 7th at Southeast regionals, but 124th at nationals.
Jakob Abrahamsen is probably the biggest factor on this team. I'm a big fan of steeplechasers during the cross country season and with a PR of 8:34, he is primed to have a breakout fall. Of course, I'll still need to see how well his performances transfer over to the dirt and grass.
I'm also really eager to see Erik Rotich as well. He was a freshman last year and placed 90th at nationals. He's capable of doing a lot of damage, but like Abrahamsen, the success of the team will rely on just how much he improves.
Abrose Maritim will most likely be the final scorer thanks to his consistency and experience. However, guys like European recruit Samuel Abascal Fernandez could hop into the role of being a scorer. Others like Luis Luna and Luke Ndungu are also candidates.
Eastern Kentucky has the potential to have three aces. Perales, Abrahmansen, and Kosgey all show traits that could make them low-sticks on nearly any other team. The inconsistency, however, does worry me a bit and there is also a lot pressure lying on Abrahamsen and Rotich which makes this team vulnerable to upsets. I may only have them at 14, but if everything goes right and they perform how they should, then the Colonials will easily sneak into the top 10.
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