By: Garrett Zatlin
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
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
19.
Flotrack’s #19: Boise State Broncos
Flotrack's Ranking of Michigan State: 25th
Coach: Walt Drenth
Flotrack's Ranking of Michigan State: 25th
Coach: Walt Drenth
Notable Departures: Caleb Rhynard
Notable Additions: Morgan Beadlescomb, Brayden Lew
Projected Scoring Five: Sherod Hardt (SR), TJ Carey (SR)(?), Ryan Robinson (SO), Justine Kiprotich (SO), Clark Ruiz (SR)
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Michigan State has been the hardest team to gage and predict in our 2016 rankings (by far). Last seasons results, their returners for this year, and general uncertainties about their squad make them almost impossible to figure out.
In 2015, we saw MSU come into Roy Griak on fire. TJ Carey and Ryan Robinson placed in the top 10 to get the Spartans a 14 point win over Southern Utah. They did it all without their star Caleb Rhynard who was injured early in the season. Many thought this mean't the Spartans could contend for a top-10 finish at the Wisconsin invite. That assumption, however, was wrong. Michigan State placed 12th overall despite placing four guys in the top 100 in what was still a very solid field. They didn't have a bad race, but it wasn't as strong as their Roy Griak performance.
Weeks passed and it was finally time for BIG 10's. When the gun went off and the results were recorded, it wasn't TJ Carey or Sherod Hardt leading the Spartans. In fact, it wasn't Caleb Rhynard either. It was the Clark Ruiz, the usual fourth and fifth man for the squad, who placed 13th overall. Still, Ruiz's 13th place finish wasn't strong enough and with their fifth man falling back to 34th overall, the Spartans ended up in a distance fifth place team finish.
It seemed pretty clear that things were going backwards for MSU who hadn't captured the same excitement they had earned at Roy Griak. However, things improved at regionals as the Spartans had a big rebound race and earned the second automatic bid to nationals (behind conference and regional rival Michigan). Once at nationals, their pack was broken up by the 31-team field and they failed to stay together. The result was a 25th place finish as a team.
Based on their 2015 season, you can understand just how unpredictable they can be. Sherord Hardt wasn't always their front runner, Ryan Robinson went from being the team's number two at Roy Griak to not even running at regionals or nationals, TJ Carey may or may not be returning, and no one is sure just how good and consistent guys like Kiprotich, Benoit, and Ruiz will be.
Yet, it's the potential we don't know about that makes this team so dangerous and a threat on the national level. Sherod Hardt showed us in the post-season that he could be an All-American. He stepped up when it counted and gave his team the spark to make it nationals.
Teammate TJ Carey will also be an excellent number two man for Hardt if he ends up returning. Flotrack does not list him in their team rankings, but TFRRS and the MSU roster both indicate that he was a junior in 2015. I find it unlikely that he left the program with no news of it. He's got talent, and placing 7th at Roy Griak is proof of that talent.
Then we have Ryan Robinson who is the most difficult member of this team to figure out. He started off so strong at Griak (placing 8th), but then didn't even run at regionals or nationals. Whatever issue there was, I imagine it'll be resolved and we'll be able to see him consistently throw down the hammer at Wisconsin and into the post season.
And the supporting cast? They are arguably just as good. Max Benoit seemed to be one of the more consistent runners on last year's team while Clark Ruiz gave us a glimpse of just how good he could be when he placed 13th at BIG 10's and led the Spartan squad.
But the biggest x-factor on this team is arguably Justine Kiprotich who is coming off of a redshirt cross country season. The freshman didn't register any cross country performances (that I could find), but his track times were spectacular with PR's of 1:49 and 3:45. If he can somehow find a way to translate at least some of that success to the grass, then the Spartans could potentially be a top-10 team at nationals.
Yes, Michigan State is a team with a lot of questions that we still need to figure out. But their upside makes them too good of a team to rank outside of the top 20. If they can put together a consistent string of solid races, then expect Michigan State to improve well beyond 19th in the rankings.
Michigan State has been the hardest team to gage and predict in our 2016 rankings (by far). Last seasons results, their returners for this year, and general uncertainties about their squad make them almost impossible to figure out.
In 2015, we saw MSU come into Roy Griak on fire. TJ Carey and Ryan Robinson placed in the top 10 to get the Spartans a 14 point win over Southern Utah. They did it all without their star Caleb Rhynard who was injured early in the season. Many thought this mean't the Spartans could contend for a top-10 finish at the Wisconsin invite. That assumption, however, was wrong. Michigan State placed 12th overall despite placing four guys in the top 100 in what was still a very solid field. They didn't have a bad race, but it wasn't as strong as their Roy Griak performance.
Weeks passed and it was finally time for BIG 10's. When the gun went off and the results were recorded, it wasn't TJ Carey or Sherod Hardt leading the Spartans. In fact, it wasn't Caleb Rhynard either. It was the Clark Ruiz, the usual fourth and fifth man for the squad, who placed 13th overall. Still, Ruiz's 13th place finish wasn't strong enough and with their fifth man falling back to 34th overall, the Spartans ended up in a distance fifth place team finish.
It seemed pretty clear that things were going backwards for MSU who hadn't captured the same excitement they had earned at Roy Griak. However, things improved at regionals as the Spartans had a big rebound race and earned the second automatic bid to nationals (behind conference and regional rival Michigan). Once at nationals, their pack was broken up by the 31-team field and they failed to stay together. The result was a 25th place finish as a team.
Based on their 2015 season, you can understand just how unpredictable they can be. Sherord Hardt wasn't always their front runner, Ryan Robinson went from being the team's number two at Roy Griak to not even running at regionals or nationals, TJ Carey may or may not be returning, and no one is sure just how good and consistent guys like Kiprotich, Benoit, and Ruiz will be.
Yet, it's the potential we don't know about that makes this team so dangerous and a threat on the national level. Sherod Hardt showed us in the post-season that he could be an All-American. He stepped up when it counted and gave his team the spark to make it nationals.
Teammate TJ Carey will also be an excellent number two man for Hardt if he ends up returning. Flotrack does not list him in their team rankings, but TFRRS and the MSU roster both indicate that he was a junior in 2015. I find it unlikely that he left the program with no news of it. He's got talent, and placing 7th at Roy Griak is proof of that talent.
Then we have Ryan Robinson who is the most difficult member of this team to figure out. He started off so strong at Griak (placing 8th), but then didn't even run at regionals or nationals. Whatever issue there was, I imagine it'll be resolved and we'll be able to see him consistently throw down the hammer at Wisconsin and into the post season.
And the supporting cast? They are arguably just as good. Max Benoit seemed to be one of the more consistent runners on last year's team while Clark Ruiz gave us a glimpse of just how good he could be when he placed 13th at BIG 10's and led the Spartan squad.
But the biggest x-factor on this team is arguably Justine Kiprotich who is coming off of a redshirt cross country season. The freshman didn't register any cross country performances (that I could find), but his track times were spectacular with PR's of 1:49 and 3:45. If he can somehow find a way to translate at least some of that success to the grass, then the Spartans could potentially be a top-10 team at nationals.
Yes, Michigan State is a team with a lot of questions that we still need to figure out. But their upside makes them too good of a team to rank outside of the top 20. If they can put together a consistent string of solid races, then expect Michigan State to improve well beyond 19th in the rankings.
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