2016 Mountain West XC Predictions

By: Garrett Zatlin

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Moutain West
Finish	Name	University
1	Jerrell Mock	Colorado State
2	Dillon Maggard	Utah State
3	Yusuke Uchioski	Boise State
4	Grant Fischer	Colorado State
5	Andrew Johnston	Air Force
6	Miler Haller	Boise State
7	Kyle Eller	Air Force
8	Cole Rockhold	Colorado State
9	Jefferson Abbey	Colorado State
10	Eric Hamer	Colorado State
11	Matt Dorsey	Air Force
12	Andrew Rafla	Boise State
13	Colby Wilson	Utah State
14	Chandler Austin	Boise State
15	Jonah Henry	Wyoming
16	Rhys Park	Boise State
17	Carson Hume	Colorado State
18	Jacob Bilvado	Air Force
19	Jose Pina	San Jose State
20	Harry Ewing	Wyoming
Team Scores
Projected Finish	Team	Projected Score
1	Colorado State	32
2	Boise State	51
3	Air Force	63

Unsure if racing: Michael Vennard (Boise State)

Individual

Despite an off day at Wisconsin, Mock is still the heavy favorite to defend his conference title. He won this race last year against similar (and arguably harder) competition. He won Roy Griak and was 2nd place at Washington so it's not absurd to say that he's one of the biggest favorites to win a title this weekend.

After Mock is when the real race starts. Dillon Maggard and Yusuke Uchioski will battle for the runner-up position. Both have been having very similar seasons in terms of success and will look to gain momentum before they head into a pivotal qualifying race at regionals. 

Typically, guys like Jefferson Abbey, Michael Vennard, Andrew Rafla and Kyle Eller are in the conversation for an individual title. But like so many other top names, they have struggled throughout this season. Friday will be the last chance for them to turn around their confidence before heading into regionals to secure an individual spot to nationals.

Team

The Rams haven't been as strong as many have predicted they would be, but that's mainly due to the struggles from Jefferson Abbey. In a smaller and more condensed conference like the Mountain West, CSU's tight group will have a much bigger impact than they typically do. Just look what happened at the Washington Invite. 

Boise State is in a similar situation with regards to their depth, but they aren't as tight as CSU. They also don't have an ace like Jerrell Mock to bring down the score. We also need to keep in mind that Michael Vennard hasn't raced since Roy Griak. If Vennard returns to racing this weekend and recaptures his 2015 fitness, then Colorado State could be in trouble.

Be sure to keep an eye out for Air Force. Although Kyle Eller hasn't been at his best, his teammates have stepped up and kept this team competitive after losing Patrick Corona to graduation.