Most Underrated Going into Nationals??

Womens

I think FSU at #8 is a joke. I think they will be top 3.

I would also say Duke at #14 is about 4-5 spots too low.

Stanford ladies at #10 is wayyyy too high. I think they will be between 15-20 when all is said and done.

Mens

NAU is ranked #13, and I honestly wouldnt be surprised if they were top 6-7.

FSU men at #20 is about right where they normally are, but with the steady improvement of 5th man Justin Harbor they could end up being 13-15. Justin does choke at Nationals so maybe not.

NAU is 13??? Damn. They're a top-5 possibly.

The Ohio State University was ranked 84th a few weeks ago. I predict they will finish in the top 40 at nationals improving by over 40 places.

Young Sleezy wrote:

FSU men at #20 is about right where they normally are, but with the steady improvement of 5th man Justin Harbor they could end up being 13-15. Justin does choke at Nationals so maybe not.

Between Footlocker and NCAAs hasn't Harbor been DFL 3 times? Gamer.

Quite the distinction for Harbor. Congrats to him!

Virginia and NAU seem to be the most underrated. Both have amazing talent and I wouldn't doubt if both are top 10. NAU is definitely a contender for the win if they have been sandbagging and everyone is healthy and fit. I guess those are a lot of "ifs" but we'll see. Maybe both coaches don't like the pressure although vigilante cut it awfully close if that performance at regionals was on purpose.

I would not be surprised if some crazy results happen with the flu destrowing some teams. Maybe that is why NAU and virginia have not run up to par?

Maybe they are just not that good at this point in the season.

It will be a lot more likely for a team ranked 20-30 to improve by 10 spots than someone 10th-20th. If UVA runs up to their full potential they should improve the most, but that isn't looking likely anymore.

I think W&M might be one of the more underrated teams by lots of people on here. But in the rankings, I see a lot more overrated teams than underrated.

By the way, how did Texas get votes??? Is beating Lamar that big of an accomplishment? Not that Ohio State deserved them any more, but still....

Just a thought...doesn't mentioning them in the "underrated" thread disqualify them from being underrated?

NAU was thought to be a podium team earlier in the year. At conference then regionals, only McNeill seemed to run really well. The others seemed to run well below potential and several runners have sat out some races. I wonder if they have been hit by the flu. That would suck, seeing the talent they have.

Virginia seems to be on the downward slide. Emil Heineking is running well, but they ran poorly as a team at ACC and even worse at regionals. It's quite possible those guys peaked at their home meet where they beat Syracuse. I understand good teams train through some meets and don't go all out at conference or regionals, but 5th place at regionals by that UVA squad does not indicate training through or laying off a bit. OK State layed off a bit at regionals. I think UVA has some serious problems. Flu? Fried? I dont know. But for some reason, I just dont see them doing all that well at nationals.

If NAU can hit nationals healthy, and with all key players in place, they're top 3.

there's no way FSU women get 3rd. The Gator Girls are going to own them.

Not sure if you're considering individuals, but I really believe Dorian Ulrey will finish top 10 as an individual. I also think the Hogs will finish higher than what they're ranked.

On the individual side, two Wisconsin guys are real dark horses: Landon Peacock and Mohammed Ahmed (2/3 at Regionals); Krause probably does not have as much upside, even though he was second behind Mead at Big Tens (but I could be wrong).

Also, in a prior post I got myself crossed up - UW scored 62 points at Regionals with a 2/3/15/18/24 finish but without the aforementioned Krause running. They did NOT have 5 in the top 8 -- double duh (it was Big Tens where they beat the league)

I've been watching Syracuse to make some noise ever since they had that big day in Madison. They are definitely volatile- could be top 4-5 or could 15th, neither would surprise me. Their pack is so tight (seemed to have a different 1 guy every meet) and if they all step it up on the same day, I could see them being 5th.

If they beat Oregon, who is ranked just one spot ahead of them, this board will blow up

Iona hasnt run their full squad yet all season. Idk if Parks is hurt, but if he makes the trip, he is top 15.

Curious George Washington wrote:

Just a thought...doesn't mentioning them in the "underrated" thread disqualify them from being underrated?

No, because your "thinking" is based on the premise that being "underrated" is an opinion.

BUT, there are RANKINGS out. So my question was "Which team will finish the highest from their ranking"??

Northeast_Fan wrote:

Iona hasnt run their full squad yet all season. Idk if Parks is hurt, but if he makes the trip, he is top 15.

Iona ran a full squad at Regionals. The NE was stronger this year, they couldn't gamble not running a full squad and missing the auto qual. Plus, Parks doesn't seem to be hurt as he ran at conference, but he ran about 1:00 slower on the same course as he did at the Meet of Champs, so I would guess he just isn't top 7 for them at this point. That being said, I think Iona is underrated right now - they only lost to a hot Syracuse squad by 4 points at Regionals. That and the fact that they've made podium the past couple years makes me think they could make another big run for it this year - they always show up when it counts.

The step from 30 to 25 is about the same as from 25 to 21 and as 21 to 18 and 12 to 10. As a first approximation, the percentage increase is a better metric than just the Delta of place.

Rumor has it that Erik Van Ingen from Binghamton has been tempoing his easy days at 540 pace for 35-45 minutes every day even before races.

He said in an interview at regionals that he had run the course in 3230 the day before at the end of his pre-race. (given it wasn't muddy at all like it was on saturday)

the kid has been peaking for nationals all year long and ready to rock.

tiny.cc/yanks265

fathead wrote:

there's no way FSU women get 3rd. The Gator Girls are going to own them.

Now dont you look stupid!!

Did I call the FSU and Duke girls being underrated or what?!?!

Young Sleezy wrote:

Mens

FSU men at #20 is about right where they normally are, but with the steady improvement of 5th man Justin Harbor they could end up being 13-15. Justin does choke at Nationals so maybe not.

Just thought I would commend Sleezy on a nice prediction on FSU men. Harbor wasn't DFL, but damn close.

30. 612 Florida State ( 31:30 2:37:29)

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1 43 189 Matt Leeder JR 8:46 14:57 24:11 30:30

2 89 194 Daniel Roberts SR 8:47 15:02 24:38 31:04

3 147 192 Ciaran O'Lionard JR 8:53 15:22 25:25 31:42

4 151 191 Fout Mike SO 9:06 15:37 25:16 31:47

5 182 193 Wes Rickman FR 9:06 15:41 25:44 32:26

6 (187) 186 Jared Bell SR 9:07 15:44 25:50 32:36

7 (201) 188 Justin Harbor JR 9:12 15:56 26:21 33:19