With another season completed, another round of Zatlin Awards are set to be given out. Let's just cut to the chase and get things started...
Note:
-Awards are based solely off of the 2016 cross country season. No other seasons will be taken into account.
-An asterisk indicates some guild-line involving the criteria
The "Who Is That?" Award (Best Breakout Runner)*
Winner: Nico Montanez (BYU)
Other Nominees: Ferdinand Edman (UCLA), Scott Carpenter (Georgetown), Alex George (Arkansas), Dillon Maggard (Utah State)
Why: So many new faces emerged as top runners in the nation. Many of these nominees are the reasons why their respective teams were able to battle through high-level competition. But at the end of the day, Nico Montanez is going to win this award.
Coming into this season, Montanez had never broken 14:30 for a 5k. In fact, he never really had much of an impact on an already deep BYU team...that is before this season. Montanez would open up with a solid 4th place finish at Panorama Farms and only improve from there by placing 9th at Wisconsin, 4th in the Mountain region, and 9th at nationals. Heck of a season for a guy who didn't even run in the 2015 Wisconsin 'A' race.
Others like Edman and Carpenter gave their squads a low-stick when their expected top guys either graduated or became injured. Alex George gets some love after earning multiple wins and staying competitive at meets outside of the SEC. Dillon Maggard had a pretty decent season overall, but no one expected his monster performance at NCAA's (placed 12th overall).
*Must have completed a season of NCAA D1 XC prior to 2016. Freshmen and non-D1 transfers are not eligible for this award.
*Must have completed a season of NCAA D1 XC prior to 2016. Freshmen and non-D1 transfers are not eligible for this award.
The 24/7 Award (Most Consistent)*
Winner: Justyn Knight (Syracuse)
Other Nominees: Patrick Tiernan (Villanova), Alex George (Arkansas), Harry Mulenga (Florida State)
Why: Yes, Tiernan did win all of his races. That said, he only raced three times and of those three races, he faced unimpressive fields at BIG East's and regionals.
On the other hand, Knight dominated in every race he was in and used the same method over and over again to do so. He hung back with the pack for the first half of the race, surged and separated with around 2k to go, and used a lethal kick to get wins/2nd at NCAA's. Watch the race video and you'll see that method used every single time.
As I mentioned in the "Who Is That?" award, George earned three wins and stayed competitive at regionals and nationals (where he placed 15th). He never had a bad race and consistently led his team with some solid performances. The same could be said for Mulenga, who had four top 5 finishes and other solid races. Unfortunately, he faltered at NCAA's. But when you consider how much he raced, he was pretty darn good.
*Must have run in three or more races during the 2016 season.
Winner: Justyn Knight (Syracuse)
Other Nominees: Patrick Tiernan (Villanova), Alex George (Arkansas), Harry Mulenga (Florida State)
Why: Yes, Tiernan did win all of his races. That said, he only raced three times and of those three races, he faced unimpressive fields at BIG East's and regionals.
On the other hand, Knight dominated in every race he was in and used the same method over and over again to do so. He hung back with the pack for the first half of the race, surged and separated with around 2k to go, and used a lethal kick to get wins/2nd at NCAA's. Watch the race video and you'll see that method used every single time.
As I mentioned in the "Who Is That?" award, George earned three wins and stayed competitive at regionals and nationals (where he placed 15th). He never had a bad race and consistently led his team with some solid performances. The same could be said for Mulenga, who had four top 5 finishes and other solid races. Unfortunately, he faltered at NCAA's. But when you consider how much he raced, he was pretty darn good.
*Must have run in three or more races during the 2016 season.
The Qdoba Award (Most Underrated)
Winner: MJ Erb (Mississippi)
Other Nominees: Matthew Baxter (NAU), Brent Demarest (Virginia), Michael Williams (Washington State)
Why: This was a tough one to decide, but I believe that we got to see Erb's true potential in his final race of the season. Erb never placed outside the top 10 in any race he ran in. He was consistently towards the front and gave some strong performances (like winning at Penn State National). Even with strong showings, no one could have predicted that Erb would place 6th at NCAA's. He certainly came out of nowhere to pull it off and showed that he was not one to be messed with. Ironically, Erb won the "Chipotle Award" last year.
A close 2nd was Matthew Baxter who was one of the biggest reasons why NAU became national champions. Baxter had a killer 8th place finish at Wisconsin, but failed to impress at regionals where he placed 22nd. Luckily, Baxter quickly rebounded at nationals when he took out an aggressive pace and ended up finishing a strong 11th place overall. NAU didn't win because of Futsum, they won because of Baxter.
Demarest and Williams are also two guys who great seasons and didn't get much love. Demarest led the team as a sophomore and rarely had a bad race. He was incredibly consistent and he kept UVA competitive. The same thing could be said for Williams who ended up placing 30th at NCAA's after an up and down season.
The Chipotle Award (Most Disappointing)
Winner: Jefferson Abbey (Colorado State)
Other Nominees: Kyle Eller (Air Force), Jonathan Green (Georgetown), Michael Clevenger (Georgetown)
Why: It's an unfortunate "award" to give, but this season was notable for big names falling short of expectations. There are plenty of guys I could name, but Jefferson Abbey seems to be the one that sticks out the most. Abbey entered the season as a top 15 runner, but failed to have an impact in multiple big-moment opportunities. 91st at Roy Griak, 184th at Wisconsin, and 129th at nationals shows that there was certainly something that needed to be addressed. Injury? Illness? It's tough to say what was giving him problems this season.
Other struggling stars include the duo of Jonathan Green and Michael Clevenger. Both entered the season in the top 25, but Green struggled at Paul Short (where he finished 42nd) and never ran again after that. Clevenger had a few respectable performances at conferences and regionals, but the much more important meets of Paul Short, Wisconsin, and NCAA's were all lack-luster.
Kyle Eller is the final name on this list after he was initially ranked at 22nd in our pre-season rankings. Unfortunately, Eller never found his groove and consistently fell off the front-pack in most races. He failed to qualify for nationals (individually and team-wise).
The Comeback Kid Award (Runner That Has Best Overcome Adversity)*
Winner: MJ Erb (Mississippi)
Other Nominees: Malachy Schrobilgen (Wisconsin), Alex Short (San Francisco), Patrick Tiernan (Villanova)
Why: Any of these nominees could earn this award, but Erb seems to be the best suited for it. Last season, he was the star transfer that was going to lead a Mississippi squad onto the team podium. Instead, Erb struggled in most of his races and faltered in the post-season. But in 2016, Erb rebounded. He never had a bad race and shocked the nation at NCAA's by placing 6th overall as an individual and put Mississippi on the podium. Talk about a rebound story.
Malachy Schrobilgen is another great story after fighting through injuries in 2015 only to fail in his quest to qualify Wisconsin for nationals. But in 2016, Schrobilgen rebounded and earned the Great Lakes regional title which was later followed by an All American 25th place finish.
Alex Short was a great sleeper pick in 2015 when he qualified for nationals for his first time. Unfortunately, Short got hurt at the 5k mark and failed to finish in his first nationals appearance. It looks like Short was motivated by last year as he tore through strong fields out west and ended up placing 22nd at NCAA's.
Of course, I think Patrick Tiernan deserves some love after pulling off what seemed impossible: defeating Edward Cheserek. After losing to Ches last year and only running two races prior to nationals, Tiernan stunned the nation and became an NCAA national champion.
*Adversity can be from previous season/year or during the 2016 season.
The No Guts, No Glory Award (Gutsiest Runner)
Winner: George Parsons (NC State)
Other Nominees: Edwin Kibichiy (Louisville), Matthew Baxter (NAU), Elijah Moskowitz (NC State), Lawrence Kipkoech (Campbell)
Why: Parsons made races exciting. He gave strong efforts in nearly race he was in and was most notable for making a big move at Wisconsin and nearly pulling away for the win before the pack made a last minute move to catch him.
Others like Kibichiy and Kipkoech were known for taking it out hard. They consistently pushed towards a fast pace and were able to shake off their competition. They rarely got tactical and made sure to take the kick out of anyone they could.
There are two others on my radar after their gutsy performances at nationals. Baxter was the unexpected leader through 2k in Terre Haute and pushed the pace to give himself a chance to place well. It turned out to be a great idea as he placed 11th overall.
Elijah Moskowitz didn't lead the race, but after being pushed down, heel-kicked, and concussed, Moskowitz was still able to finish the 10k race with blood running down his face. That's gutsy running.
The Batman & Robin Award (Best Racing Duo)
Winner: Kikpkoech & Terer (Campbell)
Other Nominees: Cheserek & Maton (Oregon), McDonald & Schrobilgen (Wisconsin), Saarel & Dressel (Colorado)
Why: There are so many duo's that I could put on here, but these pairs consistently did the most. When comparing everyone, the Campbell duo was simply better. Rarely did they ever become too separated. They even went 1-2 in the Southeast region.
Cheserek and Maton were a great 1-2 punch, but if we're being honest with each other we have to admit that Maton wasn't really on Cheserek's level. The same could be said for McDonald and Schorbilgen as they both had great post-season's, but McDonld was clearly at a higher level.
Saarel and Dressel weren't the most consistent duo, but they caused some trouble for other teams and had some great performances at PAC-12's and nationals.
The PA Don't Play Award (Best Season By A Pennsylvania Alumni)
Winner: Andrew Marston (Villanova)
Other Nominees: Dan Jaskowak (Virginia Tech), Kevin James (Syracuse), Brenden Shearn (Penn)
Why: The biggest thing to take away from this 2016 cross country season is that the future is very, very bright for our PA alumni. Of the three PA alum that qualified for nationals, all of them were freshmen (Brophy was the only true freshman).
It was tough to say who was going to win this, but Marston really separated himself after placing 4th in the Mid-Atlantic region to qualify for nationals as an individual. In the six races leading up to nationals, Marston's worst finish was 13th at a competitive Penn State National race. I felt that he was pretty underrated for most of the season after showing plenty of consistency throughout the fall.
One of the older guys of this bunch is Dan Jaskowak who ended up placing 21st at Penn State and 17th at ACC's. He wouldn't qualify for nationals, but he would place 25th in the Southeast region. Overall, he's had four very nice years of cross country at VT.
Brenden Shearn is another PA alum who finished off his four years of cross country this season. The Penn senior had a killer race at Wisconsin after placing 46th overall. 5th at Heps and 10th at Mid-Atlantic regionals made him the next best option for this award.
Meanwhile, Kevin James had some respectable performances like placing 18th at Panorama Farms and 21st at ACC's. He got great experience at nationals and it looks like he'll be primed for a breakout season in 2017.
The Mike Ditka Award (Best Coach)
Winner: Eric Heins (NAU)
Other Nominees: Mark Wetmore (Colorado), Robert Gary (Furman), Ed Eyestone (BYU)
Why: Fairytale endings are real. Coach Heins of NAU decided to shut down his top runners in 2015 in order to have a stronger and more experienced team in 2016. It was a risky decision, but the result made him look like a genius. NAU went undefeated in 2016 and earned their first national championship ever. All of this happened in Coach Heins' last season.
The next Eric Heins seems to be Furman's Robert Gary as he is also applying the "tank and build" strategy for a stronger team in 2017. Despite redshirting three of his top runners, Furman was only 1 point away from making nationals. His ability to recruit top runners and develop them into a competitive squad at a small school is the result of great coaching.
Of course, great coaching is a trait we automatically assign to coaches like Mark Wetmore. He lost multiple pieces of his 2015 squad to graduation, but still managed to place 6th in the nation. He was even able to get another All-American freshman (Joe Klecker).
The best coaches are the ones that can create great teams with limited pieces. Coach Eyestone of BYU is one of those coaches. Eyestone not only loses his athletes to graduation, but he also loses athletes to mission-trips (but only for a year). Even with these set backs, Eyestone has been able to sustain a top-tier program for years now. He certainly deserves to be in the conversation as one of the best coaches in the nation.
You Da Real MVP (Best Runner in the NCAA)
Winner: Patrick Tiernan (Villanova)
Other Nominees: Justyn Knight (Syracuse), Edward Cheserek (Oregon)
Why: Patrick Tiernan may have only raced three times in 2016, but he pulled off the impossible and defeated Edward Cheserek to win his first NCAA title. That should be good enough to win this award.
Justyn Knight could also be argued as the MVP after winning Panorama, Wisconsin, ACC's, and regionals. He would later defeat Cheserek as he was chasing Tiernan at NCAA's.
Of course, Cheserek will always be in the conversation when you consider how dominant he was up until nationals.
Winner: MJ Erb (Mississippi)
Other Nominees: Matthew Baxter (NAU), Brent Demarest (Virginia), Michael Williams (Washington State)
Why: This was a tough one to decide, but I believe that we got to see Erb's true potential in his final race of the season. Erb never placed outside the top 10 in any race he ran in. He was consistently towards the front and gave some strong performances (like winning at Penn State National). Even with strong showings, no one could have predicted that Erb would place 6th at NCAA's. He certainly came out of nowhere to pull it off and showed that he was not one to be messed with. Ironically, Erb won the "Chipotle Award" last year.
A close 2nd was Matthew Baxter who was one of the biggest reasons why NAU became national champions. Baxter had a killer 8th place finish at Wisconsin, but failed to impress at regionals where he placed 22nd. Luckily, Baxter quickly rebounded at nationals when he took out an aggressive pace and ended up finishing a strong 11th place overall. NAU didn't win because of Futsum, they won because of Baxter.
Demarest and Williams are also two guys who great seasons and didn't get much love. Demarest led the team as a sophomore and rarely had a bad race. He was incredibly consistent and he kept UVA competitive. The same thing could be said for Williams who ended up placing 30th at NCAA's after an up and down season.
The Chipotle Award (Most Disappointing)
Winner: Jefferson Abbey (Colorado State)
Other Nominees: Kyle Eller (Air Force), Jonathan Green (Georgetown), Michael Clevenger (Georgetown)
Why: It's an unfortunate "award" to give, but this season was notable for big names falling short of expectations. There are plenty of guys I could name, but Jefferson Abbey seems to be the one that sticks out the most. Abbey entered the season as a top 15 runner, but failed to have an impact in multiple big-moment opportunities. 91st at Roy Griak, 184th at Wisconsin, and 129th at nationals shows that there was certainly something that needed to be addressed. Injury? Illness? It's tough to say what was giving him problems this season.
Other struggling stars include the duo of Jonathan Green and Michael Clevenger. Both entered the season in the top 25, but Green struggled at Paul Short (where he finished 42nd) and never ran again after that. Clevenger had a few respectable performances at conferences and regionals, but the much more important meets of Paul Short, Wisconsin, and NCAA's were all lack-luster.
Kyle Eller is the final name on this list after he was initially ranked at 22nd in our pre-season rankings. Unfortunately, Eller never found his groove and consistently fell off the front-pack in most races. He failed to qualify for nationals (individually and team-wise).
The Comeback Kid Award (Runner That Has Best Overcome Adversity)*
Winner: MJ Erb (Mississippi)
Other Nominees: Malachy Schrobilgen (Wisconsin), Alex Short (San Francisco), Patrick Tiernan (Villanova)
Why: Any of these nominees could earn this award, but Erb seems to be the best suited for it. Last season, he was the star transfer that was going to lead a Mississippi squad onto the team podium. Instead, Erb struggled in most of his races and faltered in the post-season. But in 2016, Erb rebounded. He never had a bad race and shocked the nation at NCAA's by placing 6th overall as an individual and put Mississippi on the podium. Talk about a rebound story.
Malachy Schrobilgen is another great story after fighting through injuries in 2015 only to fail in his quest to qualify Wisconsin for nationals. But in 2016, Schrobilgen rebounded and earned the Great Lakes regional title which was later followed by an All American 25th place finish.
Alex Short was a great sleeper pick in 2015 when he qualified for nationals for his first time. Unfortunately, Short got hurt at the 5k mark and failed to finish in his first nationals appearance. It looks like Short was motivated by last year as he tore through strong fields out west and ended up placing 22nd at NCAA's.
Of course, I think Patrick Tiernan deserves some love after pulling off what seemed impossible: defeating Edward Cheserek. After losing to Ches last year and only running two races prior to nationals, Tiernan stunned the nation and became an NCAA national champion.
*Adversity can be from previous season/year or during the 2016 season.
The No Guts, No Glory Award (Gutsiest Runner)
Winner: George Parsons (NC State)
Other Nominees: Edwin Kibichiy (Louisville), Matthew Baxter (NAU), Elijah Moskowitz (NC State), Lawrence Kipkoech (Campbell)
Why: Parsons made races exciting. He gave strong efforts in nearly race he was in and was most notable for making a big move at Wisconsin and nearly pulling away for the win before the pack made a last minute move to catch him.
Others like Kibichiy and Kipkoech were known for taking it out hard. They consistently pushed towards a fast pace and were able to shake off their competition. They rarely got tactical and made sure to take the kick out of anyone they could.
There are two others on my radar after their gutsy performances at nationals. Baxter was the unexpected leader through 2k in Terre Haute and pushed the pace to give himself a chance to place well. It turned out to be a great idea as he placed 11th overall.
Elijah Moskowitz didn't lead the race, but after being pushed down, heel-kicked, and concussed, Moskowitz was still able to finish the 10k race with blood running down his face. That's gutsy running.
The Batman & Robin Award (Best Racing Duo)
Winner: Kikpkoech & Terer (Campbell)
Other Nominees: Cheserek & Maton (Oregon), McDonald & Schrobilgen (Wisconsin), Saarel & Dressel (Colorado)
Why: There are so many duo's that I could put on here, but these pairs consistently did the most. When comparing everyone, the Campbell duo was simply better. Rarely did they ever become too separated. They even went 1-2 in the Southeast region.
Cheserek and Maton were a great 1-2 punch, but if we're being honest with each other we have to admit that Maton wasn't really on Cheserek's level. The same could be said for McDonald and Schorbilgen as they both had great post-season's, but McDonld was clearly at a higher level.
Saarel and Dressel weren't the most consistent duo, but they caused some trouble for other teams and had some great performances at PAC-12's and nationals.
The PA Don't Play Award (Best Season By A Pennsylvania Alumni)
Winner: Andrew Marston (Villanova)
Other Nominees: Dan Jaskowak (Virginia Tech), Kevin James (Syracuse), Brenden Shearn (Penn)
Why: The biggest thing to take away from this 2016 cross country season is that the future is very, very bright for our PA alumni. Of the three PA alum that qualified for nationals, all of them were freshmen (Brophy was the only true freshman).
It was tough to say who was going to win this, but Marston really separated himself after placing 4th in the Mid-Atlantic region to qualify for nationals as an individual. In the six races leading up to nationals, Marston's worst finish was 13th at a competitive Penn State National race. I felt that he was pretty underrated for most of the season after showing plenty of consistency throughout the fall.
One of the older guys of this bunch is Dan Jaskowak who ended up placing 21st at Penn State and 17th at ACC's. He wouldn't qualify for nationals, but he would place 25th in the Southeast region. Overall, he's had four very nice years of cross country at VT.
Brenden Shearn is another PA alum who finished off his four years of cross country this season. The Penn senior had a killer race at Wisconsin after placing 46th overall. 5th at Heps and 10th at Mid-Atlantic regionals made him the next best option for this award.
Meanwhile, Kevin James had some respectable performances like placing 18th at Panorama Farms and 21st at ACC's. He got great experience at nationals and it looks like he'll be primed for a breakout season in 2017.
The Mike Ditka Award (Best Coach)
Winner: Eric Heins (NAU)
Other Nominees: Mark Wetmore (Colorado), Robert Gary (Furman), Ed Eyestone (BYU)
Why: Fairytale endings are real. Coach Heins of NAU decided to shut down his top runners in 2015 in order to have a stronger and more experienced team in 2016. It was a risky decision, but the result made him look like a genius. NAU went undefeated in 2016 and earned their first national championship ever. All of this happened in Coach Heins' last season.
The next Eric Heins seems to be Furman's Robert Gary as he is also applying the "tank and build" strategy for a stronger team in 2017. Despite redshirting three of his top runners, Furman was only 1 point away from making nationals. His ability to recruit top runners and develop them into a competitive squad at a small school is the result of great coaching.
Of course, great coaching is a trait we automatically assign to coaches like Mark Wetmore. He lost multiple pieces of his 2015 squad to graduation, but still managed to place 6th in the nation. He was even able to get another All-American freshman (Joe Klecker).
The best coaches are the ones that can create great teams with limited pieces. Coach Eyestone of BYU is one of those coaches. Eyestone not only loses his athletes to graduation, but he also loses athletes to mission-trips (but only for a year). Even with these set backs, Eyestone has been able to sustain a top-tier program for years now. He certainly deserves to be in the conversation as one of the best coaches in the nation.
You Da Real MVP (Best Runner in the NCAA)
Winner: Patrick Tiernan (Villanova)
Other Nominees: Justyn Knight (Syracuse), Edward Cheserek (Oregon)
Why: Patrick Tiernan may have only raced three times in 2016, but he pulled off the impossible and defeated Edward Cheserek to win his first NCAA title. That should be good enough to win this award.
Justyn Knight could also be argued as the MVP after winning Panorama, Wisconsin, ACC's, and regionals. He would later defeat Cheserek as he was chasing Tiernan at NCAA's.
Of course, Cheserek will always be in the conversation when you consider how dominant he was up until nationals.
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