Big East XC

1. Jacob Korir (EK)

2. Bobby Curtis (Villanova)

3. Patrick Smyth (ND)

4. Siomo Kiplagat (EK)

replace Louisville for EK, I don't know why I put EK in there.

what about Korir from louisville? shouldn\'t he be in the top also?

You're getting your Kentucky Kenyan Korir's mixed up....

Jacob Korir runs for EASTERN KENTUCKY of the OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE. Wesley Korir runs for LOUISVILLE of the BIG EAST CONFERENCE.

Jacob is the better Korir. Wes is still very good though.

UofL has home course advantage but we are getting SWAMPED with rain this week. The course will be at least a minute slower than at the Greater Louisville Classic. I predict the Kenyans will suffer a bit and Bobby Curtis coming home to Louisville to serve up a win!

Alan

GO RICKY BOBBY CURTIS!! SHAKE 'N' BAKE!!

and yes, that just happened

Mens teams:

1. Syracuse

2. Providence

3. Georgetown

4. Notre Dame

5. Louisville

It is laughable to place Syracuse at the top. Clearly this was posted by someone who either 1) knows nothing about the sport or 2) has a strong bias for Syracuse sports. Not knocking the program, they are very up and coming. Coach Fox has done a remarkable job in his first two years there, but they are not ready to take down Georgetown or Notre Dame. I see that there are 6 teams worth mentioning, but not all in contention for the overall title. I see the overall title as a 2 horse race between Georgetown and Notre Dame. Not much is known about the Hoyas as they have stayed under the radar all year and Notre Dame has run consistently well all year. The Hoyas run more as a pack, whereas ND will be relying on a low stick from Patrick Smyth and Jake Watson. The next 4 teams are all interchangable depending on the day, Louisville (home course advantage, 2 low sticks from their front running Kenyans), Providence (always very good, low stick from Max Smith, not very deep), Syracuse (solid finish at Pre-Nats, no low stick, but five potential high finishes), and Villanova (low stick Bob Curtis, potential winner, team looked great early on, suffered big time at Pre-Nats...when you're top guy gets 2nd in that race, how does your team, who is supposed to be very good, finish 17th???) Given all of this, this is my personal prediction:

1. Georgetown

2. Notre Dame

3. Louisville

4. Providence

5. Syracuse

6. Villanova

Bumbalough and Debole need to be able to duke it out with the other "low sticks" for the Hoyas to take down ND and Louisville. Is Levi Miller healthy? That could make the difference for them.

Also, sloppy conditions on that Louisville course could make the team that runs more conservatively the first half end up as the winner. The first 2 miles will be pretty muddy and could trainwreck people going out too fast.

I hate to say it but I think my boys may have trouble repeating. I'm pulling for em but GTown may be tough to beat. ND will be in the mix as well.

I have to go with Curtis for the win and GTown for first.

Heres my list:

Ind:

1) Bobby "Please Dont Hurt Em" Curtis

2) Maxie Crocodile Dundee Smith

3) Wesley The Kentucky Kenyan Korir

4) Patrick Fabio Smyth

5) Andrew Dont Fumble Bumbalough

6) Ahmed Give me a Sandwhich Haji

Team

1) GTown -- Matt Debole could help these boys go for DeWin. The favorites? No...Slight Edge? Yes. Have to to with Ron Mann's Gtown here. The boys have been rolling all season and led by Debole, I dont see any sign of slowing down. The boys are good on the track and Loiuville's fast course should prove to their advantage. As long as Bumbablough doesn't crap the bed like last year and actually finishes the race, I have to go with these guys.

2) PTown -- As last season's favorites and my alma mater, I have to say the boys look good this year. Their showing at Prenats was not impressive but the Haj was on Ramadan and we should finally see a good showing from their 5th man Richie Yeates. Maxie Boy will summon his thunder from down under and pull off the win. Haji....there is a big sandwhich waiting for you if you finish in the top three....

3) Notre...Dame...Town -- If this race were decided by shininess of hair, I would go with Watson and Notre Dame. Unfortunately I think theyre still deciding it by a footrace so don't know if ND will win. I think this race is going to be decided by the 4th and 5th men and ND is pretty strong in this catagory. I like these guys Adams and Jackson. I think based on their races at Prenats, they could make the difference in the race. Watson and Walker will finish in the top 7 or 8 and the race will really be decided by these two boys.

4) Loiusville -- Gotta love this team. Not just the two Africans in the front, but guys like Thorne really carry the team. I think they have a strong front pack but depth will hurt them. They will need the whole team to step up better than they did at PreNats. Given the two africans getting a low stick, you could theoretically be scoring only 3 guys which is what they need for the win.

5) Syracuse -- The mystery team. Where do you put these boys? Certainly not for the win, but top three? A possibility...I am expecting top ten finishes for Skull and Busby but where the heck is Koloseus? Did he stop for water during Prenats race? A Powerbar? Either way I was entirely unimpressed by their showing at Prenats given all the hype surrounding this team. They need to put up or shut up in order to come home with the BigEast hardware. Murdock and Koloseus will be the deciders inm this race.

6) Nova -- I'll humor you and include you. I was going to only do the top 5 but feel bad for you guys kind of like the fat kid in little league. You try hard, you are nice guys, but it's just not gonna happen. What is going on in Philly? Doesn't Blincoe have you boys running down there? I've got Bobby notched for the win but could be a long bus ride back for you boys. Unless you tie Bobby up to a dog sled and have the team hop on and yell MUSH! I dont see much of a chance of these boys finishing in the top three.

8 and above -- I have a bet with one of my friends as to who will finish last and I have to go with Seton Hall for the repeat. They are actually handing out a new trophy this year. The trophy goes to whichever team shows up at BigEast with the most sprinters wearing spandex under their running shorts. Seton Hall dominated this field last year and I think they are poised for the win again. Although I have heard that USF are coming up with their 4x1 team.

Well that's it. Should be a great race. I will be sad I can't go because it is in freeking Kentucky...What??? Who decided this? Where is Kentucky anyways...Southeast? MidEast? Wait...who cares......

Good luck to all and if I offended anyone I don't care.

great post haha

Idk I like Nova more than most in my humble opinion it could go like this

1. UND-too strong in the back

2. Georgetown-a little untested

3(tie). Lousiville-2 studs make it easy

3(tie). Providence-slip a bit this year

5. Nova-stronger than we think?

6. Cuse-no studs

I'm very indecisive

How many times are you going to post this? You're not even funny.

1. Curtis

2. Schmyf (haha i cannot spell for anything)

1. ND

2. Georgetown

Sorry I meant to start a new thread and accidently stuck it onto here...

Individual:

#1-Curtis..... Looks poised to bring home his 2nd big east cross title (1st in 2004). If this course is as fast as Franklin Park, he will most likely dip under 23-flat for the win.

#2- Korir..... I have to give it to the hometown boy with the knowledge of the course. He has something to prove after last year's 8th place finish.

#3- Smith...... Providence will be well represented up front, but Smith might lose contact mid-race and use that 1500 speed to outkick Smyth and Kiplagat

#4- Smyth...... He's proven that he can race with the big boys consistently and will fight hard for a low score to help ND win the team title

#5- Kiplagat..... He's raced well so far but I doubt that he'll be able to keep the hot early pace set by his teammate. I look for him to finish about 10- 15sec behind Korir.

#6- Bumbalough

#7- DeBole

#9- Watson

#10- Haji

Others to watch: Feldman, Thorne, Scheid

Team:

#1- Notre Dame.....I have to give the slight advantage to ND over Georgetown for 1st and 2nd in the team title. I think they could evenly match each other up front (Smyth & Bumbi, Watson & DeBole) but for 3-5, the Irish could be tough to beat based on their spread from Pre-Nats. Some of those guys (Walker, Adams, and Jackson ran pretty damn quick!!!) Another solid day (top 20 finish for all), and the trophy will be theres.

#2- Georgetown.....they could have a better 3-5 if Miller (13:57), Taye (freshman phenom) and Nunn (13:59) weren't all injured. None have raced yet this season. It looks like they'll be relying on Scheid and others to finish in the top 20 on a great day. I'd say that if the Hoyas were 100% this year, they could crack into the top 5 at nationals (yes, I believe that). But it's not the case, so it's not the year of Georgetown.

#3- Louisville...... has a great 1-2-3 in Korir, Kiplagat and Thorne. But where are the 4th and 5th? Unfortunately, without McCarthy and Eaton having phenominal days, the best the Cards can finish is 3rd.

#4- Providence...... has a simliar problem to Louisville, only worse. They don't have the front running power of Louisville, nor do they have the 5th man. If the top guys (Smith, Haji) have great days and their 5th finishes in the top 30, they could place higher, but I think it's unlikely.

What do you mean that Providence doesn't have a 5th man. There 5th man at pre-nats was Yeates and he was 15th at big east last year. They will be a team to look out for this saturday.

My top 5 are:

1. Providence

2. Georgetown

3. ND

4. Louisville

5. Syracuse

Top 5 individual:

1. Bobby Curtis

2. Wesley Korir

3. Max Smith

4. Patrick Smyth

5. Siomo Kiplagat

Check the latest weather. There will be no early hot pace. That course becomes a swimming pool with only a sprinkle of rain. We've had about 6 inches since Monday and more is coming this week. They say it MIGHT stop raining by the weekend. I'll be suprised if the winner breaks 24:00.

Alan

after thoughtful consideration(from what i previous thought about my own predictions and reading yours, i think your predictions are right on the money, except i would switch around smyth and smith. smyth always surprises me, running beyond what i thought his talent was based on his previous race. i think bumbolough is capable of surprising too and breaking into the top 4.

GO RUTGERS!