there was a pretty decent thread for this region last year... any thoughts on the 2007 season? graduation did a fair amount of damage to the men's field- who should the top teams/individuals be in November? what about new recruits?
at the same time, it seems as though many of the top women's teams are returning almost complete squads...any predictions?
On the women's side Dickinson and Haverford will battle for the top spot. Haverford may be the team to beat this fall. Other than Bradley, Dickinson's top women didn't do much this spring.
After that it will be a battle between:
Salisbury, Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, Etown, Allegheny and Messiah for spots 3-8.
In other words, there will be two races. One for first and one for third. My thought is the region will only get 3 teams this year unless the point spread between 2 and 3 is closer than it looks on paper right now.
Salisbury, Hopkins and Swarthmore return full teams. Etown loses 3 from their top 7 (however their 1-2 is among the best in the region being the only team with two sub-18 minute 5k runners this past outdoor season), Allegheny loses two of their top runners (I think) and Messiah needs to show up at Regionals to race if they want to be in the mix. They narrowly beat Etown at MACs last year (5 points) and then Etown crushed them by over 100 points in securing the last national qualifying spot.
Haverford should be loaded. Waiting in the wings they have a bunch of a guys who struggled a bit as freshman, but should be good this year. Vaslow graduated, but Letts is back as well as Burmeister(injured end of outdoor I guess), Lanham(struggled in track?), Burgmann, Jablin and more. Dickinson could be very good, though they did lose their #1 and #2, but their 3-7 was very solid last year and are all returning. Swarthmore has potential, too, but they'll need to get a 5'th man. Hopkins has an outside shot with a bunch of sub 9 3K type underclassmen and 2 good seniors. Muhlenberg who just made nationals last year lost a ton, so in terms of Centennial teams Haverford should be in, and Dickinson could make it with Swarthmore and Hopkins possibilities as well. Allegheny and Carnegie Mellon both lost a couple guys, but should be favorites to make it to Nats. E-Town and Salisbury lost a lot of the top 7, but could make a run at it.
Qatar will be very good again.
runn wrote:
Qatar will be very good again.
look for Israel to pull an upset, I hear their new president is recruiting heavily
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I suspect another fierce battle between Haverford and Allegheny for the top spot at Regionals, with Place and Letts going at it individually. Haverford might have a little more fire power this year, but Allegheny sure did surprise last fall, so you never know.
Grundle Tech should be pretty strong on the men's side
What do you make of Coach Hartpence leaving Dickinson? Nichter has taken over track in addition to XC.
Where is coach hartpence headed?
Defiance College - will be head coach for both XC and track
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Wow! I am so happy to see that the Mideast Region runners are off these boards and out training. The Atlantic Region thread is constantly on the front page. Train and let your legs to the talking.
because there is no possible way someone could have time for posting on a message board when they are training. Heavens no, the mideast region runners are probably training at least 16 hours a day, unlike those lazy Atlantic Region runners.
I never suggested all they did was train, eat, sleep and maybe have a summer job. Traditionally the Mideast runners have posted a great deal on this board. They seem to be absent thus far. Like I said, train and let your legs to the talking.
Most posts on those DIII regional threads are the same 6 runners each posting under 10 different names.
no they're just too tired to walk to their computers. you know, the same guys who are too tired to do situps. it takes a misguided individual to take the summer off work to train for d3.
The top three will remain the same with places 4-10 up in the air. Haverford has a shot to win in all in Minnesota with Letts leading the way, especially if the sophs break through. Carnegie Mellon had a hot track season last year, especially Harvey and are always there in the end. Allegheny will be there too and Place will be tough to beat. We already know this, so we don't need to elaborate any further.
As for 4-10, let's run them down (in no particular order):
Muhlenberg: everyone wants to get upset about them making NCAAs last year. You know what, they made it and compiled a great selection committee resume that did the trick. I would suggest you all figure out what the selection committee looks at in determining at-large teams. As for the 2007 team, no seniors in the top 7, but three strong juniors who were on the NCAA team last season. 4 and 5 can help too. No vets, but plenty of experience and motivation.
Dickinson: Matt Liebal is gone, but they're deep. Karwowski ran 15:05 at 5K to end the season and he'll lead the charge. Gentile is good, Sparling is good, Morgan is a proven leader, and their 5th guy can be by committee. They have experience and have proven themselves ready to take the next step.
Johns Hopkins: They have a good #1 in Pat Brandon who's time has come to qualify as an individual for NCAAs. During track last year they had some young guys step up and contribute in mid-distance and distance races. They have put some dedication towards the running program and are making steps towards making their way to the upper echelon of the region.
E-town: Powerhouses never have off seasons. The question mark with this team will be how big will their young distance runners, who struggled at times during track last season, can step up and fill the gap Patrick Donovan left behind.
Swarthmore: Last xc season didn't end so well for them. Chaplin wasn't 100 percent and the team didn't perform very well. That being said, leadership I think is the key with this team. Chaplin was a leader on that team and when he was on so was the rest of the team. Get a leader or two in there and they can step up and perform.
The remaining contenders for top ten spots include Messiah (Eanes is good folks and will be a strong leader for them.), Susquehanna (Paul Thistle is a big time up and comer who has unlimited potential to take charge), and McDaniel (Sean Allen will lead that group after running 3:55 in the 1500 last year. He will be leading a group that has refocused and have found the fire and motivation to do well after ending strong last track season)
I wish the best of luck to everyone!