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
6. Colorado Buffalos
Flotrack’s #6: Colorado Buffaloes
Flotrack's Ranking of Colorado: 6th
Coach: Mark Wetmore
Flotrack's Ranking of Colorado: 6th
Coach: Mark Wetmore
Notable Departures: Morgan Pearson, Pierce Murphy, Connor Winter, Ammar Moussa
Notable Additions: Phillip Rocha, Connor Dunne, Eduardo Herrera
Projected Scoring Five: John Dressel (SO) [ET#11], Ben Saarel (SR) [ET#17], Joe Klecker (FR), Adam Peterman (SO), Zach Perrin (JR)
Projected Scoring Five: John Dressel (SO) [ET#11], Ben Saarel (SR) [ET#17], Joe Klecker (FR), Adam Peterman (SO), Zach Perrin (JR)
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Colorado loses four, I repeat, FOUR All-Americans as they begin their 2016 season. For the first time in recent memory, Colorado is not the favorite to win the national title. But of course, this is Colorado we're talking about. They are arguably the best cross country program within the past 20 years. They may lose a lot, but you can never count them out of the title conversation.
2015 was Colorado's year to dominate. Syracuse and Stanford were impressive on paper, but they just couldn't put together a completely dominant squad like Colorado could. The Buff's were easily the favorite to win the national title.
CU's first few meets were at the CSU invite and the Rocky Mountain shootout where most of the Buffaloes ran unattached. Their first real display of power was at Pre-Nats where they easily bulldozed a long list of established powerhouse teams like Oregon and Arkansas to win. Colorado put four in the top 15 with Dressel being the fifth man at 46th place.
The scariest part? They did that without their best runner, Ben Saarel.
PAC 12's were a little closer as Stanford got within 11 points of Colorado. Still, the Buffaloes were looking just too good. They seemed nearly unbeatable and they continued to do all of that without an injured Ben Saarel. However, it was at the Mountain regionals race where Saarel would finally make his return and help secure yet another regional title for the Buffaloes. On top of that, freshman John Dressel was starting to find a rhythm and place among the scorers. How could Colorado lose at nationals if they were only getting stronger?
2015 might have been one of the best Colorado teams ever and that's not an exaggeration. Look at the numbers, the talent, the places they finished and compare them with past teams. You would probably agree with me. But despite having all five scorers as All-Americans (and their 6th man at 42nd) the Buff's somehow lost to Syracuse who put three guys in the top 10 to pull off one of the most miraculous upsets since Colorado upset Wisconsin in 2004.
It was must've been shock to the system for the Buffaloes who were such heavy favorites to win the title. In addition, CU knew that a massive group of experienced veterans who left a huge impact on this already historic Colorado program, would be graduating. But that shouldn't concern Colorado. They won't rebuild, they'll reload.
John Dressel and Ben Saarel are the focal points of this team as they enter the 2016 season. Dressel showed amazing maturity and poise last fall as he stepped up when Colorado needed him the most. His 26th place finish at NCAA's is a big deal and should give him plenty of confidence to improve on that this fall. Saarel, on the other hand, may be CU's best post-season performer ever with three All-American finishes (two of them being in the top 10). He's incredibly experienced and has been running with some of the best Buffaloes since he was a freshman. My only concern with him is his risk of injury. He obviously had some complications last fall and it seemed like those continued during the spring as he battled a hamstring injury which resulted in him being redshirted. He could still redshirt this fall season, and the thought of him not racing with the Buffaloes this season would drop them far outside of the top 10 rankings.
Of course, the real conversation about this year's Colorado team starts around redshirt freshman Joe Klecker who has put together some very impressive performances during the past track season. As a freshman, he threw down a sub-8 minute 3k along with a 13:44 5k. There is no doubt he will be good and he should be in the conversation to be an All-American. His youth and inexperience on the NCAA XC courses does, however, leave me a bit cautious.
The final scorers could go to so many guys. Colorado has one of, if not the, best recruiting class of the year with three long-distance stars. Time will tell whether or not Wetmore will redshirt them, but if he lets them run, then there is a very good chance we could see one of those three (Rocha, Herrera, and Dunne) have a have similar freshman season like Dressel's.
But for now, Zach Perrin and Adam Peterman are the next in line. They've put their time in with this team and they know what it takes to run at the top level. Both of these guys have made appearances on the varsity seven last fall. Perrin even got a chance to run at NCAA's. If one of them doesn't workout, then we could also see rising sophomore Ryan Forsythe have an impact on the team. He's also made appearances with the varsity squad last season. But at the end of the day, the whole point of this is that Colorado is still very deep and although they may not have all five of their guys as All-Americans, they will still be able to support their low-sticks.
We could look at who Colorado loses, who they return, the potential of the new guys and the experience of the older ones. But there is one main difference that gives the Buffaloes an edge over nearly every other team in the NCAA.
That edge is the Wetmore Factor.
Colorado loses four, I repeat, FOUR All-Americans as they begin their 2016 season. For the first time in recent memory, Colorado is not the favorite to win the national title. But of course, this is Colorado we're talking about. They are arguably the best cross country program within the past 20 years. They may lose a lot, but you can never count them out of the title conversation.
2015 was Colorado's year to dominate. Syracuse and Stanford were impressive on paper, but they just couldn't put together a completely dominant squad like Colorado could. The Buff's were easily the favorite to win the national title.
CU's first few meets were at the CSU invite and the Rocky Mountain shootout where most of the Buffaloes ran unattached. Their first real display of power was at Pre-Nats where they easily bulldozed a long list of established powerhouse teams like Oregon and Arkansas to win. Colorado put four in the top 15 with Dressel being the fifth man at 46th place.
The scariest part? They did that without their best runner, Ben Saarel.
PAC 12's were a little closer as Stanford got within 11 points of Colorado. Still, the Buffaloes were looking just too good. They seemed nearly unbeatable and they continued to do all of that without an injured Ben Saarel. However, it was at the Mountain regionals race where Saarel would finally make his return and help secure yet another regional title for the Buffaloes. On top of that, freshman John Dressel was starting to find a rhythm and place among the scorers. How could Colorado lose at nationals if they were only getting stronger?
2015 might have been one of the best Colorado teams ever and that's not an exaggeration. Look at the numbers, the talent, the places they finished and compare them with past teams. You would probably agree with me. But despite having all five scorers as All-Americans (and their 6th man at 42nd) the Buff's somehow lost to Syracuse who put three guys in the top 10 to pull off one of the most miraculous upsets since Colorado upset Wisconsin in 2004.
It was must've been shock to the system for the Buffaloes who were such heavy favorites to win the title. In addition, CU knew that a massive group of experienced veterans who left a huge impact on this already historic Colorado program, would be graduating. But that shouldn't concern Colorado. They won't rebuild, they'll reload.
John Dressel and Ben Saarel are the focal points of this team as they enter the 2016 season. Dressel showed amazing maturity and poise last fall as he stepped up when Colorado needed him the most. His 26th place finish at NCAA's is a big deal and should give him plenty of confidence to improve on that this fall. Saarel, on the other hand, may be CU's best post-season performer ever with three All-American finishes (two of them being in the top 10). He's incredibly experienced and has been running with some of the best Buffaloes since he was a freshman. My only concern with him is his risk of injury. He obviously had some complications last fall and it seemed like those continued during the spring as he battled a hamstring injury which resulted in him being redshirted. He could still redshirt this fall season, and the thought of him not racing with the Buffaloes this season would drop them far outside of the top 10 rankings.
Of course, the real conversation about this year's Colorado team starts around redshirt freshman Joe Klecker who has put together some very impressive performances during the past track season. As a freshman, he threw down a sub-8 minute 3k along with a 13:44 5k. There is no doubt he will be good and he should be in the conversation to be an All-American. His youth and inexperience on the NCAA XC courses does, however, leave me a bit cautious.
The final scorers could go to so many guys. Colorado has one of, if not the, best recruiting class of the year with three long-distance stars. Time will tell whether or not Wetmore will redshirt them, but if he lets them run, then there is a very good chance we could see one of those three (Rocha, Herrera, and Dunne) have a have similar freshman season like Dressel's.
But for now, Zach Perrin and Adam Peterman are the next in line. They've put their time in with this team and they know what it takes to run at the top level. Both of these guys have made appearances on the varsity seven last fall. Perrin even got a chance to run at NCAA's. If one of them doesn't workout, then we could also see rising sophomore Ryan Forsythe have an impact on the team. He's also made appearances with the varsity squad last season. But at the end of the day, the whole point of this is that Colorado is still very deep and although they may not have all five of their guys as All-Americans, they will still be able to support their low-sticks.
We could look at who Colorado loses, who they return, the potential of the new guys and the experience of the older ones. But there is one main difference that gives the Buffaloes an edge over nearly every other team in the NCAA.
That edge is the Wetmore Factor.
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