2016 Updated Etrain Top 50 Rankings: Week 4 (10/3)

By: Garrett Zatlin

PAST RANKINGS THIS SEASON
Preseason (7/29)
Week 1 (9/12)
Week 2 (9/19)
Week 3 (9/28)
Week 4 (10/3)
Week 5 (10/10)--No changes
Week 6 (10/17)
Week 7 (10/24)--No changes
Week 8 (10/31)
Week 9 (11/7)--No changes
Week 10 (11/14)
Week 11 (11/21)

KEY

·      Bold: Had a performance or important piece of news that influenced a change in the rankings

·      (#/#): First number indicates how much the individual has moved in the rankings. A plus (with green) means they have improved in the rankings. A minus (with red) means they have regressed in the rankings. The second number indicates where they were ranked the week before

·      (Wasn’t Ranked): Was not ranked the week before.

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50. Robert Brandt, Sophomore, California (Wasn't Ranked)
-I don't typically like to rank unproven, younger guys, coming off of a breakout race...but for Brandt I'll make an exception. He ran really well at Notre Dame placing 3rd overall and defeating some top-tier names in the process.

A younger guy like Brandt means that there is a lot of room to improve and grow (but also mess up). Despite his youth, I think this is going to be a great confidence booster moving forward. I'm excited to see how he does at future meets. Hopefully he'll quickly improve in the rankings.

49.  Sam Prakel, Junior, Oregon (Wasn't Ranked)
-Prakel finished 3rd at the Washington Invite behind Ches and Mock. It was a pretty underrated finish as he took down some pretty deep squads and decent individuals. I think this race just goes to show that his win at Bill Dellinger wasn't a fluke and that Prakel is improving at the longer distances. Hopefully he can keep that going throughout the rest of the season.

48. Luke Traynor, Senior, Tulsa (0/48)

47. Iliass Aouani, Sophomore, Syracuse (0/47)

46. Antibahs Kosgei, Senior, Alabama (Wasn't Ranked)
-It took a few weeks, but Kosgei is now ranked among the top 50. He was 1st at the Memphis Twilight Invite earlier this season and just placed 6th at Notre Dame. He's been running pretty well as of late and I figured it was time to reward him. I also like that he's mixing it up at more competitive meets.

45. Brian Barraza, Senior, Houston (0/45)

44. Andrew Rafla, Rs. Sophomore, Boise State (-1/43)

43. Nicholas Montanez, Senior, BYU (-1/42)

42. Matthew Schwartzer, Rs. Senior, Indiana (-1/41)
-We have yet to see Schwartzer get into any competitive race yet, but him and Hoosiers swept the Rim Rock Farm Invite pretty easily this past weekend. I'll be looking forward to see how he does in a truly competitive race.

41. Aaron Baumgarten, Junior, Michigan (-1/40)

40. Matt Welch, Junior Minnesota (-1/39)

39. Dylan Lafond, Senior, Illinois (-18/21)
-I needed Lafond to step up and prove to me that Roy Griak was just a fluke. Of course, that didn't happen and the Illinois senior finished 31st at Notre Dame. This is the second race in a row that he's really struggled. He should be closer to getting kicked out of the rankings, but his past performances from last year is really the only thing keeping him around.

38. Frankline Tonui, Senior, Arkansas (0/38)
-It wasn't anything special, but Tonui finished 3rd at the Chile Pepper Festival. I'm not looking too much into this race, but I think it's a nice rebound performance after a lack-luster race at Beantown.

37. Michael Vennard, Junior, Boise State (-1/36)

36. Dallin Farnsworth, Sophomore, BYU (-1/35)

35. Joel Reichow, Senior, South Dakota State (-1/34)

34. Darren Fahy, Senior, Georgetown (-1/33)
-Fahy didn't run at Paul Short which makes me a touch concerned. Hopefully we see him at Pre-Nats. If not, then his stock will begin to fall.

33. Scott Carpenter, Senior, Georgetown (Wasn't Ranked)
-One of the surprise winners from this weekend was Scott Carpenter who took down his top-ranked Gtown teammates, the entire Iona team (minus Chartt Miller), and Nick Tuck. He was super impressive in his win and I have to give him credit where credit is due.

That said, it is just one race against competition that he's pretty familiar with. I like consistency so I'm hoping for another solid performance from him later on in the season at Pre-Nats.

32. Ben Flanagan, Senior, Michigan (-1/31)

31. MJ Erb, Senior, Mississippi (+1/32)
-MJ Erb wasn't the top Ole Miss runner at Notre Dame, but he still placed 4th in an outstanding field.

While it's certainly exciting to see Erb racing well again, he had a similar performance at the Greater Louisville Classic last year before blowing up in the post-season. I'm staying cautious but confident.

30. Jacob Thomson, Rs. Junior, Kentucky (0/30)

29. Colby Gilbert, Junior, Washington (0/29)
-Gilbert was 5th at the race in his own backyard (Washington Invite). It was a decent race, but both Prakel and Maton beat him and I was hoping something like that wouldn't happen to a runner ranked in the top 30.

28. Micheal Clevenger, Rs. Senior, Georgetown (-3/25)
-Green and Clevenger were supposed to be one of the top duo's in the NCAA this year. Instead, they finished Paul Short as Georgetown's last two runners. Off days happen and if I'm being fair to everyone I have to let this go. But this was not the way you want to start off your season.

27. Philo Germano, Senior, Syracuse (+1/28)

26. Kyle Eller, Senior, Air Force (+6/20)
-Another top-runner struggles on the big stage. It seems like that has been the general theme for the past three weeks as big name after big name falls way back in the results. Eller finished in 57th place at Notre Dame and definitely didn't race up to expectations. Like a lot of top ranked names, I'll give him a pass for now. But the next iffy race he has will hurt his spot in the top 50.

25. Sean Tobin, Junior, Mississippi (Wasn't Ranked)
-Have a day Sean Tobin! It was a miraculous race by the Ole Miss junior who used his mile strength on a fast course to take the win. Tobin has shown flashes of talent during XC, but never once did I imagine him taking the win (much less placing top five) at Notre Dame.

Tobin has stepped it up to another level and has given Ole Miss more than MJ Erb to rely on. It's a big win, but let's see how well he can follow this race up.

24.  Chartt Miller, Junior, Iona (-1/23)
-Chartt Miller didn't run at Paul Short. I don't remember seeing him in Flotrack's Workout Wednesday video and him not racing this weekend has me raising my eyebrows.

23. Gilbert Kirui, Junior, Iona (+3/26)
22. Kieran Clements, Rs. Senior, Iona (+5/27)
-Clements and Kirui placed 2nd and 3rd at Paul Short. They were ahead of their Iona teammates, nearly all of the Georgetown squad (except the winner), and Nick Tuck. It's a great start to their seasons and it seems to show that they can run well on the same day (a concern I had for their team entering the season).

21. Amon Terer, Senior, Campbell (+3/24)

20.  George Parsons, Senior, NC State (+2/22)
-Parson's starts off his season the right way with a 2nd place finish at Notre Dame. It's a great start to the season and he took down some high-ranking individuals in the process. He's now being rewarded with a top 20 spot in the rankings.

19. Henry Wynne, Senior, Virginia (-2/17)

18. Jefferson Abbey, Senior, Colorado State (-3/15)
-It was another unexciting race for Jefferson Abbey as he finished 10th at the Washington Invite. It was certainly a better race than at Roy Griak, but he should be finishing ahead of or next to Mock.

17. Lawrence Kipkoech, Rs. Sophomore, Campbell (+2/19)

16. Morgan McDonald, Junior, Wisconsin (+2/18)

15. Ben Saarel, Senior, Colorado (+1/16)
-Although he ran unattached, Saarel finished 2nd at the Rocky Mountain Shootout. Nothing too exciting yet. Hopefully, he doesn't redshirt and we get to see him go all out in his final year of cross country.

14. Jacob Burcham, Senior, Oklahoma (0/14)

13. Colin Bennie, Junior, Syracuse (-1/12)

12. Edwin Kibichiy, Rs. Senior, Louisville (+1/13)
-Another solid and fast win by Kibichiy at the Greater Louisville Classic. He's on a solid roll right now and should be able to ride this momentum throughout the rest of the regular season.

11. Jonah Koech, Sophomore, UTEP (-3/8)
-Koech placed 5th at Notre Dame and although that's a solid finish, this was a race that Koech should've won (he was the top-returner from last year). He's a track guy with great speed and Notre Dame's course should've benefitted his racing style more than it showed.

10. Malachy Schrobilgen, Senior, Wisconsin (0/10)

9. John Dressel, Sophomore, Colorado (0/9)
-Dressel got his first collegiate win (running unattached) at the Rocky Mountain Shootout. It was a field of smaller schools and the rest of his Buffalo teammates. I'll be eager to see how he does at Pre-Nats.

8. Jonathan Green, Junior, Georgetown (-1/7)
-Green opened up his season at Paul Short...and it didn't end well. Green finished 42nd in a field where he was expected to win. It's simply just a bad race, but I don't like how so many of these top guys are having sub-par races. Green, for now, is just too good to be ranked outside of the top 10.

7. Jerrell Mock, Junior, Colorado State (+4/11)
-Mock grabbed a tough win at Roy Griak and has now earned the runner-up finish at the Washington Invite (behind Cheserek). He's been off to a hot start this season and with the lack-luster performances from other top 10 runners, Mock was able to wedge his way in to the 7th spot.

6. Grant Fisher, Sophomore, Stanford (0/6)

5. Sean McGorty, Senior, Stanford (0/5)

4. Justyn Knight, Junior, Syracuse (0/4)

3. Futsum Zienasellassie, Rs. Senior, NAU (0/3)

2. Patrick Tiernan, Rs. Senior, Villanova (0/2)

1. Edward Cheserek, Senior, Oregon (0/1)
-Eddy Ches is back and his 2016 debut ended with a win at the Washington Invite. Just another day at the office for Ches.
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Just Missed 
-Harry Mulenga, Senior, Florida State
-Alex Short, Senior, San Francisco
-Joel Hubbard, Senior, Syracuse 
-CJ Albertson, Senior, Arizona State
-Clayton Young, Sophomore, BYU
-Ryan Robinson, Sophomore, Michigan State
-Sylvester Barus, Junior, Oklahoma State
-Cerake Geberkidane, Junior, Oklahoma State
-Jacob Choge, Freshman, Mid. Tenn. State
-Michael Williams, Junior, Washington State
-Nick Tuck, Senior, Penn

Who To Watch
-Erik Rotich, Sophomore, Eastern Kentucky
-Jacob Thomson, Senior, Oklahoma State
-Troy Fraley, Senior, Gonzaga
-Joe Klecker, Rs. Freshman, Colorado
-Chase Weaverling, Junior, Virginia

Kicked Off
-Travis Neuman, Senior, Oregon (Last Ranked 37th)
-Jack Bruce, Junior, Arkansas (Last Ranked 46th)
-Jaime Perales, Senior, Eastern Kentucky (Last Ranked 44th)
-Michael Williams, Junior, Washington State (Last Ranked 49th)
-Nick Tuck, Senior, Penn (Last Ranked 50th)

New Additions
-Robert Brandt, Sophomore, California
-Sam Prakel, Junior, Oregon
-Antibahs Kosgei, Senior, Alabama
-Scott Carpenter, Senior, Georgetown
-Sean Tobin, Junior, Mississippi

Biggest Surprise of the Week
-Sean Tobin, Junior, Mississippi

MVP of the Week
-Sean Tobin, Junior, Mississippi

Notes
-Sean Tobin wins MVP and Biggest Surprise of the Week after unexpectedly earning a huge win at the Notre Dame Invite.
-I wanted to give Scott Carpenter the Biggest Surprise of Week title, but I couldn't justify it when compared to Tobin.
-Neuman placed 45th at the Washington Invite, Bruce placed 9th at the Chile Pepper Festival, and Perales placed 33rd at Notre Dame. All of these were very poor performances for guys that were already on the cusp.
-Tuck and Williams both had decent races this weekend, but others ran just well enough to bump them out of the top 50.