FINAL 2016 Updated Etrain Top 50 Rankings: Week 11 (11/21)

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. Michael Williams, Junior, Washington State (Wasn't Ranked)
-There were multiple guys who could've been at this spot. But after an entire season of being in and out the rankings, I thought he deserved it. Williams is, of course, worthy of the final spot since he placed 30th at nationals for his first ever All-American honor.

He wasn't always consistent in 2016 and he often left me wondering if there was more he could've done. Yet, at the end day, Williams did what was needed of him and gave his WSU teammates an ace to lean on. I'm already excited to see what he has in store for his senior season.

49. Connor Lundy, Freshman, Princeton (-1/48)
-It's easy to say that Lundy is only on here because he's a freshman. It's true that his youth is a nice bonus, but he has run very well throughout the season. He's had 3rd place finishes at HYP (tri-meet), Heps, and regionals. Pair that with his 19th place finish at Wisconsin and you can't help but be impressed with this kid. Yes, 94th at nationals is certainly sub-par. However, we even saw Jacob Choge miss expectations when he placed 40th. The fact that some of these freshman are even getting experience on the big stage is a big plus in my book.

48. Joel Hubbard, Junior, Syracuse (Wasn't Ranked)
-38th at Wisconsin wasn't exciting, but progressing from 8th (ACC's), to 10th (regionals), to 34th (nationals) is good enough for me. Syracuse may not have won, but they did very well and they can thank Hubbard for his series of clutch performances in the final string of races.

47. Benard Keter, Senior, Texas Tech (-9/38)
-After a surprise win at BIG 12's, I had high expectations for him at regionals and NCAA's. 10th in the Mountain region is fine, but 131st at nationals simply will not do. He didn't face too much strong competition throughout the regular season and when given the chance to perform at nationals, he couldn't deliver.

Although he faltered during XC, I believe Keter is in line to win the steeplechase title this spring. I feel like he is someone that will thrive much more on the track.

46. Cory Glines, Junior, NAU (-12/34)
-NAU didn't run a lot of big meets this season, but when they did, Glines was typically able to take advantage. Glines first showed promise at Wisconsin when he placed 20th overall. He would later bounce back to finish 4th at conferences and 6th at regionals. However, his NCAA performance was a bit sub-par as he ended up in 84th overall.

Glines is definitely on my radar for 2016. He'll return to NAU as an experienced senior in 2017 and will still have plenty of strong teammates surrounding him.

45. Rory Linkletter, Sophomore, BYU (Wasn't Ranked)
-Linkletter was one of the ones that snuck through the cracks and couldn't quite get in the rankings. However, a great nationals performance can do a lot for your stock and that's exactly what happened to the BYU sophomore when he placed 32nd overall this past weekend.

I missed on Linkletter despite him placing 9th at Panorama and 22nd at Wisconsin. Yet to be fair, the West Coast conference is weak and he didn't run at regionals. It makes sense why he hung around the "Just Miss" category for so long in the season.

44. Matthew Schwartzer, Rs. Senior, Indiana (+2/46)
-Just like Crist, Schwartzer was a post-season warrior who really caught fire at the right time. Back-to-back 4th place finishes at BIG 10's and Great Lakes gave him the boost he needed to get into the rankings. He was having an outstanding comeback season after having to redshirt 2015 due to injury.

But not all comeback stories can end happily. Schwartzer ran a gutsy race at nationals and finished 46th overall...6 spot away from being an All-American. The man has made four trips to the Big Dance, but simply couldn't capitalize on the opportunities.

43. Josh Thompson, Senior, Oklahoma State (Wasn't Ranked)
-Him and Michael Williams have bounced on and off the list so many times. Just when you think he has an off day, he bounces back to impress you. 3rd place finishes at the Cowboy Jamboree and Penn State national were nice resume boosters, but weren't enough to keep him in the rankings when he faded to 7th in a not-so-strong BIG 12 (individually speaking). Of course, 2nd at regionals and an All-American 36th place at NCAA's will quickly get him right back on.

42. Brent Demarest, Sophomore, Virginia (+2/44)
-Some may be concerned about a poor race at regionals (especially when it's the week before nationals). However, I was actually ok with his sub-par Southeast race. Demarest had been consistent and all season and never slipped up until then. Sure enough, he rebounded and placed a great (but heartbreaking) 42nd place at NCAA's. He may not have been an All-American, but he was doing some great work as just a sophomore.

Virginia wasn't able to do much without Wynne being active, but they found out that they have another ace in Demarest for 2017. Watch out for the Cavs next year.

41. Aaron Baumgarten, Junior, Michigan (-1/40)
-Did not run at nationals

40. Joel Reichow, Senior, South Dakota State (Wasn't Ranked)
-He was in the top 40 in the pre-season rankings, but couldn't hold his position with so many talented individuals going on and off the list. He was 26th at Wisconsin, but really began to impress me when he got to regionals where he placed 3rd overall. Once NCAA's came around, Reichow made me realize I had missed out on keeping him in the rankings when he placed 20th overall. For someone so accomplished, it's probably the best race of his career.

39. Jason Crist, Senior, Indiana (-2/37)
-He was arguably one of the best post-season runners in 2016. He went from placing 31st at Pre-Nats to finishing 3rd at BIG 10's, 6th at Great Lakes, and 38th at NCAA's. Like Schrobilgen, I would've liked to see him perform better in the regular season. Still, he had a great season and kept Indiana competitive.

38. Sean Tobin, Junior, Mississippi (-8/30)
-We typically think of Tobin as a miler, but he came out this season and proved that he is so much more. He was the surprise winner at Notre Dame and finished off his season with three consecutive top-10 finishes.

I was hoping that nationals would be the opportunity for Tobin to have another Notre Dame type of performance, but he placed 62nd overall which was a bit disappointing. Still, he did more than I than I thought he would this season and that's a positive in my book.

37. Jerrell Mock, Junior, Colorado State (-16/21)
-The entire Rams squad was filled with such high expectations coming into this year. Mock's teammate (Jefferson Abbey) failed to be the top runner so many thought he could be and Mock began to fade with him as the season progressed. He was still running well, but it was not what we were used to seeing.

Mock was ranked 7th at one point in the rankings, but simply couldn't keep up those kind of performances. 54th in the nation is solid, but for someone like Mock it's not the kind of performance you'd expect.

36. Joe Klecker, Rs. Freshman, Colorado (Wasn't Ranked)
-It's hard to ignore excellence and Klecker was certainly excellent in the final stretch of the season. The redshirt freshman started out his season with a win at the Rocky Mountain Shootout, but I wasn't super impressed by his 24th place finish at Pre-Nats. Once championship season started, Klecker began to find his groove with a respectable 19th place finish at PAC-12's, 3rd place at regionals (Mountain), and 28th at NCAA's. He got better as the post-season progressed which is a really good sign. With Saarel set to graduate, him and Dressel will be a killer duo up front.

35. Harry Mulenga, Senior, Florida State (-8/27)
-He was very consistent throughout most of the season. He was a top finisher at nearly every meet and constantly contended with the top names around the nation. With consistency like that, no one would've thought about him placing 82nd at NCAA's. It's unfortunate that the only sub-par race of his season came at nationals, but he certainly accomplished a lot.

34. Hassan Abdi, Junior, Oklahoma State (Wasn't Ranked)
-Even on his off days he was a beast. Abdi made his season debut at Penn State where he was 2nd to Erb. It's a loss that seems much more reasonable after Erb placed 6th at NCAA's. He would later go on to place 3rd at BIG 10's, and 4th at regionals.

Abdi didn't always face the best competition, but that didn't matter when he ended up 16th overall at nationals. Was he the best transfer/recruit of 2016? It sure seems like it...

33. Sherod Hardt, Senior, Michigan State (-1/32)
-When TJ Carey left the team, I was worried whether or not Sherod Hardt could be a respected ace in the BIG 10. I didn't love that he was 15th at Griak and 39th at Wisconsin, but those worries were quickly put to rest in the later portion of the season. 2nd at BIG 10's, 3rd at Great Lakes, and 27th at nationals. What an incredible post-season. He peaked at just the right time and came up big for his team on mulitple occasions.

32. Jack Bruce, Senior, Arkansas (+9/41)
-When the season began, I was really worried that Jack Bruce was just a one-race wonder who had a great day at nationals in 2015. Luckily, he proved me wrong with excellent performances all season. He was 12th at Pre-Nats, 4th at SEC's, 6th at regionals, and an incredible 19th at nationals (besting his 2015 finish of 23rd). 

Bruce proved that he was for real and deserves some praise for keeping Arkansas among one of the top teams in the nation.

31. Gilbert Kirui, Junior, Iona (-12/19)
-3rd place at Paul Short and 12th place at Wisconsin. He had a great regular season and stepped up for Iona when Chartt Miller was MIA. Unfortunately, 87th at NCAA's is not going to impress me, especially when Iona has held the stigma that they can't perform at nationals.

30. Tyler Day, Sophomore, NAU (+5/35)
-The best part about every new season is that we get to see new names emerge as top-tier talents. Tyler Day is one of those talents. We didn't get to see him until Wisconsin, but it was worth the wait when he placed 17th overall. Add on a 7th place finish in the Mountain region along with finishing 23rd at nationals, and Day looks like he'll be the future of NAU cross country.

29. Matthew Maton, Sophomore, Oregon (-7/22)
-It was always tough to tell just how good Maton was at certain times. 4th at Pre-Nats and 2nd at regionals makes him an elite runner. But 28th at PAC-12's and 29th at NCAA's doesn't quite fit the description of "elite". He'll be Oregon's top guy next season, but I would like to see some consistency next time around.

28. John Dressel, Sophomore, Colorado (-12/16)
-See Ben Saarel (#22)

27. Matthew Baxter, Rs. Junior, NAU (+22/49)
-You've to commend someone like Baxter for taking out the pace at nationals. It's the biggest stage in the nation for XC so to make such a hard move so early takes some courage. Baxter ended up taking 11th overall which makes up for his poor regionals performance where he placed 22nd. Baxter is one of four NAU individuals who have a spot in these rankings. Of those four, he is one of three that returns. Watch out for him in 2017.

26. Dillon Maggard, Junior, Utah State (+13/39)
-12th place at NCAA's! 12th! The guy who was barely cracking our top 40 had the race of his life and finished with some of the best in the nation.

While it was an outstanding finish, Maggard's full season didn't have any indication of a race like this. That's why I have kept him to 26th overall.

25. Jonah Koech, Sophomore, UTEP (-10/15)
-What an interesting season for Koech. He came in as a top 10 runner in our pre-season rankings, but he lacked the same spark he had last season. He should've won on a Notre Dame course that favored his racing style, but he ended up in 5th. He later lost to Jacob Choge at conferences.

Just when you thought he was primed for a great nationals race, he bombs it and finishes 122nd overall. It's tough to say what he was missing, but Koech seemed off his game this season.

24. Malachy Schrobilgen, Senior, Wisconsin (+2/26)
-I was concerned at the beginning of the season when Schrobilgen could still not finish a race. Luckily, his post-season finishes were impressive after he placed 5th at BIG 10's, won the title at Great Lakes, and placed 25th at nationals. He was great in the post-season, but I needed a full season for him to be in the top 20.

23. Alex Short, Rs. Senior, San Francisco (+1/24)
-Short was on the 'Just Missed' list at the beginning of the season, but as the season progressed, he gave me very little reason to keep him off the list. Short put up incredible results throughout the season including a 7th place finish at Pre-Nats, a win at West Coast conferences, a 4th place finish at regionals, and 22nd place finish at nationals to top it all off.

22. Ben Saarel, Senior, Colorado (+4/18)
-I could never really get a gage of how good Saarel and Dressel were. Their Pre-Nats performance was unexciting and left us looking for more. When the post-season rolled around, we saw Saarel have a great performance at PAC-12's, but a less impressive performance at regionals. Dressel was the opposite.

Saarel placing 21st and Dressel placing 33rd at NCAA's still leaves me unsure on just how good these two are. I still feel confident that these two were a pair of the best runners in the nation, but they lacked consistency and I couldn't always put my faith in them.

21. Yusuke Uchioshi, Junior, Boise State (+15/36)
-After an ugly 21st place finish at regionals, Uchikoshi rebounded and placed 18th overall for an excellent All-American finish. The Mountain West conference champion was very impressive this season, but the others in the top 20 were simply ranked too high.

20. Kieran Clements, Rs. Senior, Iona (-9/11)
-It was a great season for Clements as he really broke out and established himself as a low-stick while Chartt Miller was patiently waiting to make his debut. His breakout race came at Wisconsin where he placed 9th overall. He eventually followed that up with an excellent top-5 finish at Northeast regionals.

Unfortunately, Clements would place 44th at NCAA's and fall just four spots short of being an All-American. Did he deserve to be an All-American? Probably, but that's just how life goes.

19. Jacob Choge, Freshman, Mid. Tenn. State (-7/12)
-Talented? Yes. The next Cheserek? Not quite. After a season of consistent improvement and dominance, the MTSU freshman was given very big expectations as he entered his first nationals meet. He is, after all, brother of the 2016 Olympic Marathon champion. 

But pressure can get to anyone and it certainly got to this freshman who finished 40th in the nation after some predicted him to place as high as 3rd overall. In the end, he still finished his season as an All-American and got some great experience under his belt for next year.

18. Alex George, Junior, Arkansas (+11/29)
-Who would've thought that Alex George would be 15th in the nation? I was impressed by George all season as he grabbed multiple wins at meets like Beantown, Chile Pepper, and SEC's. Still, it's easy to overlooks those wins when you look at his competition. I guess it makes sense that we never really got an idea of how good this guy was until nationals rolled around.

17. Colin Bennie, Junior, Syracuse (0/17)
-He was ranked 17th in the nation coming into nationals and he finished 17th at NCAA's...looks like that was the right spot. When we compare 2016 to last year, it's clear that Bennie wasn't at the top of his game either. At meets like Wisconsin and NCAA's he was in the lead pack. However, unlike 2015, Bennie couldn't cover the moves in the last ~2k

16. Sean McGorty, Senior, Stanford (-9/7)
-McGorty entered this season as one of the NCAA's elite runners. He had one of the best resumes in the nation and had big time experience on his side. Yet, throughout the season, McGorty just never seemed at his best. The first sign of this came at Wisconsin when he was outkicked in the final straightaway and had to settle for 6th overall.

After cruising through conferences and regionals, the expectation was that he would rebound be in contention for another top-10 finish. Unfortunately, McGorty faltered off the fast pace and ended up placing 24th at nationals.

15. Luke Traynor, Senior, Tulsa (+10/25)
-I'll be honest, when he was 4th at Oklahoma State, I got very nervous about what the rest of his season was going to look like. Luckily, Traynor turned it around pretty quickly with an 11th place finish at Wisconisn and then two back-to-back wins at conferences and regionals. Follow that up with a 13th place finish at nationals and this man deserves a top-15 spot in our rankings.

14. George Parsons, Senior, NC State (-1/13)
-For some reason Parsons just can't perform well at NCAA's. It's such a shame because this is someone who I truly believe is one of the best guys in the nation. He hasn't been perfect, but he's a grinder and was a top finisher at some of the top meets in the nation. Unfortunately, he ends his NCAA XC eligibility without an All-American honor after placing 51st this past weekend.

13. MJ Erb, Senior, Mississippi (+15/28)
-4th at Notre Dame, 3rd at SEC's, and 7th at South regionals. Not exactly the kind of resume you expect the 6th place finisher at NCAA's to have. 

In 2016, Erb was having a very respectable season and was probably a little underrated. That said, NO ONE was expecting Erb to finish 6th in the nation. He hung around the top guys for most of the race and simply ran one of the gutsiest races of the weekend. In the end, Erb was one of the biggest reasons why Mississippi ended up as a podium team. 

12. Ferdinand Edman, Senior, UCLA (+8/20)

-Edman's 14th place finish at NCAA's was the first finish outside of the top 10 he's had all season. As is the general theme with so many of these top guys, he was consistent and always gave his team a low-stick to rely on. He deserves the 12th spot in our rankings. 

11. Scott Carpenter, Senior, Georgetown (+12/23)

-I said last week that I was worried Carpenter may have already hit his ceiling...I was (once again) wrong. Carpenter unleashed a monster performance and locked down 10th place at NCAA's. I suppose I was just being impatient to see him at nationals since his losses to Tiernan at BIG East's and Regionals were rather predictable. In reality, Carpenter didn't show signs of slowing down at any point this season.

10. Amon Terer, Senior, Campbell (-2/8)
9. Lawrence Kipkoech, Rs. Sophomore, Campbell (0/9)
-Kipkoech was 26th and Terer was 35th. This was definitely not their greatest race, but they also ended as All-Americans. I would've liked to see them in the top 20, but they did enough throughout this season in terms of racing style, consistency, and progression.

8. Nicholas Montanez, Senior, BYU (+6/14)
7. Edwin Kibichiy, Rs. Senior, Louisville (+3/10)
-These may not have been their respective finishes at NCAA's, but Kibichiy and Montanez were consistent all year and put together some incredible performances. It's hard to run well in every race you run and for these two to be as consistent as they were is worthy of a top-10 ranking.

6.  Morgan McDonald, Junior, Wisconsin (-1/5)
5. Grant Fisher, Sophomore, Stanford (+1/6)
-The only difference between these two? McDonald beat Fisher at the Wisconsin Invite and Fisher beat McDonald at NCAA's. Fisher gets the edge at the end simply because he was ahead at the bigger meet. They both had incredible seasons and both will be contending for an XC title next year.

4. Futsum Zienasellassie, Rs. Senior, NAU (0/4)
-Futsum had a terrific season and should be very satisfied with his 4th place finish (all things considered). While he was one of the top runners this season, he just didn't seem to be on the level that Ches, Knight, and Tiernan were on.

3. Edward Cheserek, Senior, Oregon (-2/3)
2. Justyn Knight, Junior, Syracuse (+1/3)
1. Patrick Tiernan, Rs. Senior, Villanova (+1/2)
-Isn't this weird? Edward Cheserek not being the top-ranked runner? I could probably find the argument to keep him as number one, but unlike so many other times, this loss was legitimate and it mattered. Like Coach Powell said, there isn't really an excuse.

On the other hand, could this have been more of a perfect set up for Tiernan? He came off the Olympics running a 13:20 5k PR, started his season at conferences, and ran a perfectly executed race to take down the arguably the greatest collegiate distance runner of all time. Pretty good 2016 if you're him.

Let's also not forget that Justyn Knight was also part of this upset madness. He ran an amazing race and pulled off his race plan just as well as Tiernan did. He came away with silver and will have 2017 as his chance to earn individual gold.
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Just Missed 
-Zach Perrin, Junior, Colorado
-Thomas Ratclife, Freshman, Stanford
-Michael Ward, Junior, Bradley
-Fred Huxham, Junior, Washington
-Jacob Thomson, Rs. Junior, Kentucky
-John Whelan, Senior, Washington State
-Euan Makepeace, Freshman, Butler

Kicked Off
-Antony Kosgei, Sophomore, UTEP (Last Ranked 42nd)
-Emmanuel Rotich, Sophomore, Tulane (Last Ranked 43rd)
-James Randon, Senior, Yale (Last Ranked 45th)
-Frankline Tonui, Senior, Arkansas (Last Ranked 33rd)
-Chartt Miller, Senior, Iona (Last Ranked 31st)
-Andrew Ronoh, Sophomore, Arkansas (Last Ranked 47th)
-Frank Lara, Junior, Furman (Last Ranked 50th)

New Additions
-Hassan Abdi, Junior, Oklahoma State
-Joe Klecker, Rs. Freshman, Colorado

-Joel Reichow, Senior, South Dakota State
-Josh Thompson, Senior, Oklahoma State
-Rory Linkletter, Sophomore, BYU
-Joel Hubbard, Junior, Syracuse
-Michael Williams, Junior, Washington State

Biggest Surprise of the Week
-Patrick Tiernan, Rs. Senior, Villanova

MVP of the Week
-Patrick Tiernan, Rs. Senior, Villanova

Notes
-Naturally, the MVP of the Week goes to the champion. However, the Biggest Surprise of the Week is also going to Tiernan after pulling off what may be the greatest upset of all-time. How could you not give him both?
-There was a lot of movement in the rankings with guys in the 30's getting kicked off. For a lot of runners, I was looking for them to take advantage of one last opportunity before the season ended to prove that they deserved to be on the list. Some did just that while others failed to do anything notable.