2016 SEC XC Predictions

By: Garrett Zatlin

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SEC's
Finish	Name	University
1	Antibahs Kosgei	Alabama
2	MJ Erb	Mississippi
3	Franline Tonui	Arkansas
4	Sean Tobin	Mississippi
5	Jacob Thomson	Kentucky
6	Alex George	Arkansas
7	Wes Gallagher	Mississippi
8	Jack Bruce	Akransas
9	Cameron Villareal	Texas A&M
10	Robert Dominiac	Mississippi
11	Austin Dalquist	Arkansas
12	Austin Wells	Texas A&M
13	Bryan Kamau	Georgia
14	Christian Hemysfield	Arkansas
15	Kevin Wyss	Auburn
16	Elliot Farris	Texas A&M
17	Drew White	Missouri
18	Zach Long	Tennessee
19	Ben Young	Kentucky
20	Taylor Caldwell	Mississippi
Team Scores
Projected Finish	Team	Projected Score
1	Arkansas	42
2	Mississippi	43
3	Texas A&M	90

Unsure if running: Andrew Ronoh (Arkansas)

Individual

He may not be the highest ranked runner, but I have a good feeling that Antibahs Kosgei will pull off the win this weekend. Kosgei will be under pressure to defend his title from guys like Tonui, Erb, and Tobin. However, those guys will be under pressure of their own to secure the team title. In a small field like SEC's, they may not be willing to take the risks of burning out late in the race for the pursuit of an individual title. Kosgei, however, does not have the pressure of a team title hanging over his head. He can be as aggressive as he wants in this race and I think that will work out well for him in the end.

Team

Arkansas may be ranked well ahead of Mississippi, but this will certainly be a close race and one of the biggest opportunities for an upset. Arkansas is coming off of a huge runner-up finish at Pre-Nats with a few low-sticks to boast. However, they had issues with their 5th man placing 53rd overall. They may be able to survive a more spread out field like Pre-Nats, but at a smaller meet like SEC's where Ole Miss has a tight pack, Arkansas is vulnerable. 

This race will almost certainly come down to the 5th man. Both Arkansas and Ole Miss will have close-knit running packs without too many other individuals to break up their spread. I may have the Razorbacks getting the win, but don't be surprised to see Mississippi barely pull off the upset. They aren't the same program as last year.