2016 West Predictions

By: Garrett Zatlin

West
Finish	Name	University
1	Edward Cheserek	Oregon
2	Alex Short	San Francisco
3	Yusuke Uchikoshi	Boise State
4	Ferdinand Edman	UCLA
5	Grant Fisher	Stanford
6	Sean McGorty	Stanford
7	Mattew Maton	Oregon
8	Michael Vennard	Boise State
9	Garrett Sweatt	Stanford
10	Jonah Diaz	UCLA
11	Austin O'Neil	UCLA
12	Tanner Anderson	Oregon
13	Tim Ball	Portland
14	Thomas Ratcliffe	Stanford
15	Miler Haller	Boise State
16	Colin Burke	UCLA
17	Jeff Thies	Portland
18	Levi Thomet	Oregon
19	Michael Williams	Washington State
20	CJ Albertson	Arizona State
Team Scores
Projected Finish	Team	ProjectedScore
1	Stanford	57
2	UCLA*	66
3	Oregon*	66
4	Boise State	83
5	Portland	107
6	Washington State	141

Individual

My predictions may look a little odd, but for good reason. Like last year, there will be teams that take it easy and coast through regionals knowing that they have the Kolas points to make it through to nationals. In 2016, Stanford is that program and I can't imagine they will be spending energy on a regional 10k that they know is going to end in their favor. 

Meanwhile, teams on the cusp like Boise State, Portland, and even San Francisco need to give themselves a shot if they want their teams to make NCAA's. That will require aggressive front-running from guys like Alex Short and Yusuke Uchikoshi in order put their teams in the mix.

...oh and I did mention that Edward Cheserek will definitely win?

Team

Even if Fisher and McGorty don't push 100%, Stanford should still pull off the win (or at least get an auto-qualifier). Behind them is where the battle really heats up.

Oregon has been vulnerable as of late after a catastrophic PAC-12 performance. Meanwhile, UCLA is looking incredibly tough with their pack and depth getting tighter and tighter. It could go either way, but with the way things are looking, UCLA is my pick to place 2nd overall.

The last few spots could all make NCAA's...or they could all go home. I think Boise State will be safe to make nationals in the 4th spot with Michael Vennard back in the line-up. Portland and Washington State will need to rely on their depth if they are to upend any of the teams mentioned above.