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
2. Oregon Ducks
Flotrack’s #2: Syracuse Orange
Flotrack's Ranking of Oregon: 3rd
Coach: Andy Powell
Flotrack's Ranking of Oregon: 3rd
Coach: Andy Powell
Notable Departures: Matthew Melancon, Chris Brewer, Jeramy Elkaim
Notable Additions: Levi Thomet, Austin Tamango, Jack Yearian, Jackson Mestler
Projected Scoring Five: Edward Cheserek (SR) [ET#1], Travis Neuman (SR) [ET#39], Jake Leingang (SR) [ET#49], Matthew Maton (SO), Tanner Anderson (SO)
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The Oregon Ducks. When you first hear that, even people who don't follow the sport recognize the legendary distance running program. Oregon is, after all, the birth place of Nike.
As the 2015 cross country season began, Oregon was a not a favorite to make the team podium. They had just loss most of their scorers from 2014 and were left with new recruits and previous members of the 'B' team. Oregon was good, but trying to get over the lack of firepower was going to be difficult.
The Ducks first challenge of the season came at the Washington Invite where they would face many powerhouse teams in the west like Stanford, Washington, UCLA, and more. That, however, did not frighten the new Ducks as Oregon crammed six guys into the top 20. Freshman Matthew Maton placed 9th in a field that held high ranking individuals. And of course, Cheserek won.
It was an impressive performance and it showed that Oregon was not to be taken lightly. But the Ducks would have to repeat that type of performance at Pre-Nats...which they did. Despite losing to Colorado, Oregon put four in the top 40 (and five in the top 60) without Maton and placed 2nd in the team standings. Instead of having Maton, Tanner Anderson stepped up to place 40th overall and earn recognition as Oregon's top freshman of the week.
But now it was PAC-12's and teams out west were getting ready to enter the prime of the season. Stanford entered PAC-12's with a fully stacked squad while Colorado was heavily favored to win. As a result, Oregon placed third behind the two teams. Things were the same at regionals, as we saw Oregon run a tactical race and place 3rd. They would get an at-large bid to nationals and prep for the best.
Despite their outstanding running throughout the season, Oregon wasn't a total favorite to make it on the team podium. BYU, Michigan, Iona, and Arkansas looked poise to make a run for a team medal. Oregon was far from a lock especially with two crucial young scorers running on the nations biggest stage for the first time.
But this is the Oregon Ducks we're talking about. When they need to show up, they will (and they did). The Ducks put together a tremendous performance at NCAA's as Oregon placed four in the top 60 which was led by Cheserek's individual win. After the score was tallied, Oregon came away with the 4th place team finish and earned yet another medal for the historic program. As for Anderson and Maton? Both of them were scorers at nationals.
But all of that is in the past. Let's talk about now.
Cheserek is easy to talk about. Put him down as a win at basically every meet they run. It's not hard to figure that one out. He essentially allows Oregon to have four scorers instead of five.
The real determinant of how the Ducks will do in 2016 will be based on the results we see from Maton and Anderson. Both of them had great races when it mattered and were the reason we saw Oregon keep it's scoring competitive. As just freshmen, they didn't have nearly the kind of base mileage that other top guys in the nation had. Still, they put up impressive finishes and it resulted in Oregon placing 4th at NCAA's. Now, these two are another year older and have a big year of experience under their belt. They should improve on last season's performances and continue to drive down the score. However, Maton and Anderson are still very young and will need to refine their talent if they want to fight for a national title.
Those two are projected to be the fourth and fifth scorers. So who could be better for the second and third spots? Two seniors of course!
Travis Neuman (along with Cheserek) is one of the most consistent seniors on the Oregon team and he has put up excellent performances throughout his career. He was 46th at NCAA's last year and added on more solid marks at Pre-Nats (29th) and PAC-12's (4th). He will be a great number two on a team that is in need of another low-stick.
The final scorer to mention is Jake Leingang who has seen it all with the Oregon Ducks. As I mentioned in the top 50 rankings, there will be plenty of pressure on Leingang to perform throughout the season. As a freshman, he was someone that could push Cheserek to the line. Although he has improved, he has not been the exciting prospect we once thought he could be. Yes, he does lack consistency, but we've seen signs of excellence from him like when he placed 24th at Pre-Nats and 50th at nationals. If Oregon wants to contend for the title, Leingang will need to step up big time and be a lot more reliable.
Oregon isn't perfect, but they've got A LOT of upside. The consensus for 2016 seems to be that Maton and Anderson will have breakout seasons while Cheserek, Neuman, and Leingang will take full advantage of their senior experience and carry the team to another podium appearance. The pieces of the puzzle are there. Depth, proven young guys, experience, an ace, and a history of excellence. However, if Oregon is going to contend with the number one ranked team, then they must find another low-stick to get closer to Cheserek. If they do that, then there's no telling what this team is capable of.
The Oregon Ducks. When you first hear that, even people who don't follow the sport recognize the legendary distance running program. Oregon is, after all, the birth place of Nike.
As the 2015 cross country season began, Oregon was a not a favorite to make the team podium. They had just loss most of their scorers from 2014 and were left with new recruits and previous members of the 'B' team. Oregon was good, but trying to get over the lack of firepower was going to be difficult.
The Ducks first challenge of the season came at the Washington Invite where they would face many powerhouse teams in the west like Stanford, Washington, UCLA, and more. That, however, did not frighten the new Ducks as Oregon crammed six guys into the top 20. Freshman Matthew Maton placed 9th in a field that held high ranking individuals. And of course, Cheserek won.
It was an impressive performance and it showed that Oregon was not to be taken lightly. But the Ducks would have to repeat that type of performance at Pre-Nats...which they did. Despite losing to Colorado, Oregon put four in the top 40 (and five in the top 60) without Maton and placed 2nd in the team standings. Instead of having Maton, Tanner Anderson stepped up to place 40th overall and earn recognition as Oregon's top freshman of the week.
But now it was PAC-12's and teams out west were getting ready to enter the prime of the season. Stanford entered PAC-12's with a fully stacked squad while Colorado was heavily favored to win. As a result, Oregon placed third behind the two teams. Things were the same at regionals, as we saw Oregon run a tactical race and place 3rd. They would get an at-large bid to nationals and prep for the best.
Despite their outstanding running throughout the season, Oregon wasn't a total favorite to make it on the team podium. BYU, Michigan, Iona, and Arkansas looked poise to make a run for a team medal. Oregon was far from a lock especially with two crucial young scorers running on the nations biggest stage for the first time.
But this is the Oregon Ducks we're talking about. When they need to show up, they will (and they did). The Ducks put together a tremendous performance at NCAA's as Oregon placed four in the top 60 which was led by Cheserek's individual win. After the score was tallied, Oregon came away with the 4th place team finish and earned yet another medal for the historic program. As for Anderson and Maton? Both of them were scorers at nationals.
But all of that is in the past. Let's talk about now.
Cheserek is easy to talk about. Put him down as a win at basically every meet they run. It's not hard to figure that one out. He essentially allows Oregon to have four scorers instead of five.
The real determinant of how the Ducks will do in 2016 will be based on the results we see from Maton and Anderson. Both of them had great races when it mattered and were the reason we saw Oregon keep it's scoring competitive. As just freshmen, they didn't have nearly the kind of base mileage that other top guys in the nation had. Still, they put up impressive finishes and it resulted in Oregon placing 4th at NCAA's. Now, these two are another year older and have a big year of experience under their belt. They should improve on last season's performances and continue to drive down the score. However, Maton and Anderson are still very young and will need to refine their talent if they want to fight for a national title.
Those two are projected to be the fourth and fifth scorers. So who could be better for the second and third spots? Two seniors of course!
Travis Neuman (along with Cheserek) is one of the most consistent seniors on the Oregon team and he has put up excellent performances throughout his career. He was 46th at NCAA's last year and added on more solid marks at Pre-Nats (29th) and PAC-12's (4th). He will be a great number two on a team that is in need of another low-stick.
The final scorer to mention is Jake Leingang who has seen it all with the Oregon Ducks. As I mentioned in the top 50 rankings, there will be plenty of pressure on Leingang to perform throughout the season. As a freshman, he was someone that could push Cheserek to the line. Although he has improved, he has not been the exciting prospect we once thought he could be. Yes, he does lack consistency, but we've seen signs of excellence from him like when he placed 24th at Pre-Nats and 50th at nationals. If Oregon wants to contend for the title, Leingang will need to step up big time and be a lot more reliable.
Oregon isn't perfect, but they've got A LOT of upside. The consensus for 2016 seems to be that Maton and Anderson will have breakout seasons while Cheserek, Neuman, and Leingang will take full advantage of their senior experience and carry the team to another podium appearance. The pieces of the puzzle are there. Depth, proven young guys, experience, an ace, and a history of excellence. However, if Oregon is going to contend with the number one ranked team, then they must find another low-stick to get closer to Cheserek. If they do that, then there's no telling what this team is capable of.
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