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
17. Washington State Cougars
Flotrack’s #17: Indiana Hoosiers
Flotrack's Ranking of Washington State: 24th
Coach: Wayne Phipps
Flotrack's Ranking of Washington State: 24th
Coach: Wayne Phipps
Notable Departures: N/A
Notable Additions: Justin Janke
Projected Scoring Five: Michael Williams (JR) [ET#48], John Whelan (SR), Sam Levora (JR), Chandler Teigen (SO), Justin Janke (FR)
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For years now, Washington State has been left in the shadows of an elite and deep West region. They may not be up in the rankings with the likes of Oregon or Stanford, but they still bring plenty of talent to the table and should be able to put together a very solid squad in 2016.
However, the thought of the Cougars making nationals last year didn't seem all that likely. Things started off slowly last year for WSU as their first major meet (Washington Invite) ended with them placing 8th overall out of 11 teams. Luckily, we saw some very nice improvements from John Whelan and Michael Williams at Pre-Nats which propelled the team to place a 13th place finish. The return to the West region, however, was not friendly to Washington State as they placed 6th out of 9 teams at PAC-12's. The Cougars just couldn't get past the powerhouses that made up the West region.
As regionals approached, many people were wondering just how many teams would come out of the West and qualify for nationals. Washington State was left out of the discussion and that would prove to be a big mistake. A tactical race played into their favor, and the Cougars surprised everyone with a 4th place team finish. The 2nd and 3rd place finishes from Williams and Whelan allowed WSU to out match teams like Boise State and UCLA.
Although they had impressed us at regionals, the Cougars youth caught up to them at NCAA's. The pressure on four freshmen to compete on the nations biggest stage may have been a little overbearing and it resulted in WSU placing 26th overall.
Yes, Washington State did have their up's and down's last year. But their youth was arguably their biggest weakness. Now, those four rising sophomores all have experience on the national stage and should be motived by the fact that they could return to the same meet again. We saw just how good Michael Williams was last fall during his sophomore year, so it should be very exciting to see which of those four can step up and provide more fire-power up front. It's not a matter of if they'll improve, it's a matter of how much.
I also like the potential for incoming freshman Justin Janke. A PR of 8:55 in the 3200 could allow him to have an immediate impact on a WSU team that is happy to bring him in and mold a young talent. With Williams and Whelan at the helm, they should be able to teach Janke pretty quickly.
Two strong challengers up-front, a star recruit, and a young but experienced pack of sophomores with untapped potential makes the Cougars very dangerous. However, those sophomores I just mentioned will still be pretty new and will have plenty of pressure on them. The fate of this team will be decided by how well that group of four steps up.
Of course, the last time this much pressure was put onto a pack sophomores, they won a national championship (Syracuse had three sophomores in their top five during last year's title run). The Cougars may not win a national title, but they are not to be underestimated either.
For years now, Washington State has been left in the shadows of an elite and deep West region. They may not be up in the rankings with the likes of Oregon or Stanford, but they still bring plenty of talent to the table and should be able to put together a very solid squad in 2016.
However, the thought of the Cougars making nationals last year didn't seem all that likely. Things started off slowly last year for WSU as their first major meet (Washington Invite) ended with them placing 8th overall out of 11 teams. Luckily, we saw some very nice improvements from John Whelan and Michael Williams at Pre-Nats which propelled the team to place a 13th place finish. The return to the West region, however, was not friendly to Washington State as they placed 6th out of 9 teams at PAC-12's. The Cougars just couldn't get past the powerhouses that made up the West region.
As regionals approached, many people were wondering just how many teams would come out of the West and qualify for nationals. Washington State was left out of the discussion and that would prove to be a big mistake. A tactical race played into their favor, and the Cougars surprised everyone with a 4th place team finish. The 2nd and 3rd place finishes from Williams and Whelan allowed WSU to out match teams like Boise State and UCLA.
Although they had impressed us at regionals, the Cougars youth caught up to them at NCAA's. The pressure on four freshmen to compete on the nations biggest stage may have been a little overbearing and it resulted in WSU placing 26th overall.
Yes, Washington State did have their up's and down's last year. But their youth was arguably their biggest weakness. Now, those four rising sophomores all have experience on the national stage and should be motived by the fact that they could return to the same meet again. We saw just how good Michael Williams was last fall during his sophomore year, so it should be very exciting to see which of those four can step up and provide more fire-power up front. It's not a matter of if they'll improve, it's a matter of how much.
I also like the potential for incoming freshman Justin Janke. A PR of 8:55 in the 3200 could allow him to have an immediate impact on a WSU team that is happy to bring him in and mold a young talent. With Williams and Whelan at the helm, they should be able to teach Janke pretty quickly.
Two strong challengers up-front, a star recruit, and a young but experienced pack of sophomores with untapped potential makes the Cougars very dangerous. However, those sophomores I just mentioned will still be pretty new and will have plenty of pressure on them. The fate of this team will be decided by how well that group of four steps up.
Of course, the last time this much pressure was put onto a pack sophomores, they won a national championship (Syracuse had three sophomores in their top five during last year's title run). The Cougars may not win a national title, but they are not to be underestimated either.
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