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
3. Georgetown Hoyas
Flotrack’s #3: Oregon Ducks
Flotrack's Ranking of Georgetown: 5th
Coach: Brandon Bonsey
Flotrack's Ranking of Georgetown: 5th
Coach: Brandon Bonsey
Notable Departures: N/A
Notable Additions: Michael Clevenger (transfer via Notre Dame), Jack Van Scoter, Matthew Bouthilette, Jack Salisbury
Projected Scoring Five: Jonathan Green (JR) [ET#8], Michael Clevenger (SR), Darren Fahy (SR) [ET#38], Scott Carpenter (SR), Amos Bartelsmeyer (SR)
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At number three, Georgetown might be the most electric and exciting team to enter the 2016 season. This is a team with some of the most experienced veteran runners in the nation paired with big time weapons up front. And their recruiting class? It's pretty good too.
The 2015 season wasn't supposed to go as well as it did. Preseason controversy and the loss of multiple top runners left the Hoyas much weaker than they had historically been ...or so I thought. Gtown's first meet of the year was at Paul Short and they easily took care of business thanks to little known runner Jonathan Green placing third overall. The Hoyas may have won, but they would get a much harder challenge at Pre-Nats.
Pre-Nats was as equally impressive than Paul Short as the Hoyas placed 5th in the team standings while Jonathan Green finished as the 6th individual. Georgetown put four guys in the top 70 with their 5th man finishing in 71st place. The Hoyas were for real.
Post-season finally came around and for Georgetown it was far from strenuous. Gtown won both Big East's and regionals by defeating squads like Villanova and Penn. Both were quality programs, but weren't quite on the same level as the Hoyas. Once nationals approached, Georgetown toed the line to prove that they were top 10 team in the nation.
The result? A 10th place team finish led by Jonathan Green's outstanding 5th place All-American run. It wasn't the perfect race, but it got the point across. Georgetown was back to being one of the best.
In 2016, one of the biggest features of this Hoya's team will be that they return all seven varsity runners from last year. This is a team that has already run with each other and has developed great team chemistry. It also doesn't hurt that four of their five projected scorers are seniors so the experience aspect is certainly there.
But even with all of those guys returning, that's not the most exciting part. Former Notre Dame runner Michael Clevenger will be transferring to Georgetown to complete his graduate studies. He slipped through my initial research of individuals as I thought he was out of eligibility. Luckily for Georgetown and the fans, he has one more year left of collegiate competition.
Clevenger's addition to this team took them from a team on the cusp of making the top 10 to the top three teams in the nation. Clevenger has also had three years of experience at NCAA's and has improved every year he has gone. In 2015, he was 38th and an All-American.
Jonathan Green will pair up with Clevenger to add on to that potent 1-2 punch that so many high-caliber teams have. Meanwhile, Darren Fahy will be an excellent guy at the 3rd scoring position. He showed outstanding poise last season as he rarely had a bad race and finished 49th at NCAA's. His steeplechase performances this past spring were also very exciting to watch.
Scott Carpenter, while not nearly as consistent as Fahy, is another senior talent who placed in the top 10 at both conferences and nationals last year. He'll certainly need to improve and become more reliable, but for being the fourth scorer on the team he's a great runner to have.
The fifth and final spot could go to anyone and it's a bit of a weakness for this team compared to the rest of the scorers. However, it will most likely go to one of the key focal names of this program: Amos Bartelsmeyer.
Bartelsmeyer has always been more of a track guy than an XC guy, but it's clear that he has some base mileage under his legs after he placed 71st at Pre-Nats. He won't put up mind-blowing results, but a 14:04 5k and 7:57 3k during the winter and spring shows that he can handle doing the longer distances. There are plenty of other guys (like the recruits) that can contribute to this team, but it seems like Bartelsmeyer will be that final guy.
I am rooting big time for the Hoyas this season. Clevenger makes them a much more exciting team and the emergence of an ace like Jonathan Green makes Gtown incredibly strong. There aren't many weak spots, but the fifth man position is a little suspect. A lot of great teams have struggled because of how far back their fifth man is and I know the Hoyas will be looking to fix that.
It's pretty easy to guess which other teams will be ranked ahead of Georgetown, but just because they are ahead of them does not make them invincible. Georgetown is in the conversation for an NCAA title and if enough things go right, they could be the favorites.
The 2015 season wasn't supposed to go as well as it did. Preseason controversy and the loss of multiple top runners left the Hoyas much weaker than they had historically been ...or so I thought. Gtown's first meet of the year was at Paul Short and they easily took care of business thanks to little known runner Jonathan Green placing third overall. The Hoyas may have won, but they would get a much harder challenge at Pre-Nats.
Pre-Nats was as equally impressive than Paul Short as the Hoyas placed 5th in the team standings while Jonathan Green finished as the 6th individual. Georgetown put four guys in the top 70 with their 5th man finishing in 71st place. The Hoyas were for real.
Post-season finally came around and for Georgetown it was far from strenuous. Gtown won both Big East's and regionals by defeating squads like Villanova and Penn. Both were quality programs, but weren't quite on the same level as the Hoyas. Once nationals approached, Georgetown toed the line to prove that they were top 10 team in the nation.
The result? A 10th place team finish led by Jonathan Green's outstanding 5th place All-American run. It wasn't the perfect race, but it got the point across. Georgetown was back to being one of the best.
In 2016, one of the biggest features of this Hoya's team will be that they return all seven varsity runners from last year. This is a team that has already run with each other and has developed great team chemistry. It also doesn't hurt that four of their five projected scorers are seniors so the experience aspect is certainly there.
But even with all of those guys returning, that's not the most exciting part. Former Notre Dame runner Michael Clevenger will be transferring to Georgetown to complete his graduate studies. He slipped through my initial research of individuals as I thought he was out of eligibility. Luckily for Georgetown and the fans, he has one more year left of collegiate competition.
Clevenger's addition to this team took them from a team on the cusp of making the top 10 to the top three teams in the nation. Clevenger has also had three years of experience at NCAA's and has improved every year he has gone. In 2015, he was 38th and an All-American.
Jonathan Green will pair up with Clevenger to add on to that potent 1-2 punch that so many high-caliber teams have. Meanwhile, Darren Fahy will be an excellent guy at the 3rd scoring position. He showed outstanding poise last season as he rarely had a bad race and finished 49th at NCAA's. His steeplechase performances this past spring were also very exciting to watch.
Scott Carpenter, while not nearly as consistent as Fahy, is another senior talent who placed in the top 10 at both conferences and nationals last year. He'll certainly need to improve and become more reliable, but for being the fourth scorer on the team he's a great runner to have.
The fifth and final spot could go to anyone and it's a bit of a weakness for this team compared to the rest of the scorers. However, it will most likely go to one of the key focal names of this program: Amos Bartelsmeyer.
Bartelsmeyer has always been more of a track guy than an XC guy, but it's clear that he has some base mileage under his legs after he placed 71st at Pre-Nats. He won't put up mind-blowing results, but a 14:04 5k and 7:57 3k during the winter and spring shows that he can handle doing the longer distances. There are plenty of other guys (like the recruits) that can contribute to this team, but it seems like Bartelsmeyer will be that final guy.
I am rooting big time for the Hoyas this season. Clevenger makes them a much more exciting team and the emergence of an ace like Jonathan Green makes Gtown incredibly strong. There aren't many weak spots, but the fifth man position is a little suspect. A lot of great teams have struggled because of how far back their fifth man is and I know the Hoyas will be looking to fix that.
It's pretty easy to guess which other teams will be ranked ahead of Georgetown, but just because they are ahead of them does not make them invincible. Georgetown is in the conversation for an NCAA title and if enough things go right, they could be the favorites.
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