Naia cross country 2015

I only have insider info on the WHAC, so here's some stuff:

-Aquinas had several of their top 7 from last year graduate, they might not be a top 10 team this year

-Indiana Tech might be taking over the conference title this year

-Cornerstone, Lawrence Tech, and Davenport could certainly be ranked too

It really does look like Oklahoma City is gonna repeat, based on the fact that they're returning their entire top 5 unless they are transferring or something. Places and times for those 5 are as follows:

-3, 5, 13, 18, 21 (60 pts.)

-24:44, 24:54, 25:19, 25:24, 25:29

That's solid.

I don't know any more about the women's standings, but hopefully this thread will shed some light on that!

Oklahoma city loses koskey their top runner and they lose matko their second finisher. girls ubc will be thefront runner too. individual for guys will be keter, kichumba, atkin and alexander

A lot of seniors filled the top teams from last year.

But it looks like Oklahoma City, even with the losses of the top 2 stated above, and Aquinas might be the early favorites on the men's side.

On the women's side UBC is always a contender. Lewis-Clark retains its top 2 runner and 5 of 7, Carroll loses almost nothing. Those are my top 3.

lewis-clark girls do lose actually quite a bit. but there guys bring back two guys in their top 5 and add sam atkin the runner up from two years ago and Nolan ryan who ran 1430 for 5k this spring. they have a strong top 5. also st francis will look very strong as well as sou. st Aquinas don't know about that? no front runners to compete with ocu and sou

ONU is stronger than I thought on the men's side, return 1-2-5-6 all in the top 60. Aquinas returns 2-4-5-6-7 with 3 juniors, I would expect big jumps by the JR this year. Carroll is the only other team that has a front runner returning that could challenge Okl City and SOU.

On the women's side

L-C returns 1-2 both in the top 20, and likely 5-6 will move up to fill the 4-5 spots, they just need to recruit runners that can fill the 3-4 spot to get back to where they were in 2014.

Also, NW Christian, returns all but their #3, and they are young. Might have a real shot at UBC and the title this year.

carroll will not be very impressive on guys. and onu is not a threat for top 4. Aquinas is not for top 4 either. top 4 will be ocu sou l-c and st francis no specific order.

Actually...

LC only returns their number 1 girls from the 2014 runner up team. However their girls team will still be decent as they bring back Kea Paton (an all-american from 3k steeple this last outdoor season) and add depth from recruits. Their girls team can do something special again but most likely won't steal the title away from UBC.

On their mens side, Sam Atkin will contend for the national title and will also add Nolan Ryan to the top 5 who is a 14:30 guy from this past outdoor season. They have strength in depth on the men's side who will put them in contention for the top 4 team mark this fall. They will have to compete with southern oregon who returns Dylan Alexander and Jared Hixon who are two accomplished runners. Oklahoma City loses Peter Koskey (their number 1 guy) which will definitely hurt them. St Francis brings back a lot, 4 guys that are sub 15. SOU LC OCU and St Francis will all be in the top 4 on the mens side (order will depend on health and fitness at the time).

Someone who has never finished All American will win it this year.

What do we know about the course?

The course is fast! This is where footlocker south is held each year so they know how to handle championship races. One of the fastest course in the south and most likely race temps will be between 45-55 degrees. I expect the men's and women's NAIA records to be in jeopardy on this course - unless it is raining/windy etc. Should be a great event in a very nice city - a lot of PR's for the runners -

Here are the preseason rankings for the men. Thoughts?

RANK LAST^ SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES)

1 2 Southern Oregon (17)

2 3 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (2)

3 8 St. Francis (Ill.)

4 5 Aquinas (Mich)

5 9 Carroll (Mont.)

6 12 Indiana Wesleyan

7 10 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)

8 13 Morningside (Iowa)

9 15 Taylor (Ind.)

10 16 Indiana Tech

11 14 Saint Mary (Kan.)

12 18 The Master’s (Calif.)

13 21 College of Idaho

14 17 Shawnee State (Ohio)

15 24 Oregon Tech

16 21 Northwestern (Iowa)

17 25 Wayland Baptist (Texas)

18 19 Columbia (Mo.)

19 RV Marian (Ind.)

20 RV Milligan (Tenn.)

21 11 Tennessee Wesleyan

22 RV Goshen (Ind.)

23 NR Vanguard (Calif.)

24 RV SCAD Savannah (Ga.)

25 RV Dordt (Iowa)

word is Koskey is back at Oklahoma City.

What?..... get kicked out of the army?

Will be interesting to see if he is eligible because he did not attend classes after he decided to leave last spring. Mean big hit on GPA, the term counts, so has to have 24 credits before this fall. Would be surprised that if it is true (he is back), he isn't running until indoors.

How is OK City not in here.

From last years NC team, they return 2-4-5-7 from SAC champ team and 4 from nationals that didn't compete at SAC.

Also, from my home conference, Marian and Goshen are not that good. Either the NAIA is much, much worse than I thought or these 2 will be relegated to RV very quickly.

They did not submit their preseason report, so they did not get ranked by their conference rater. As a result they cannot be in the polls. Expect them to be number one in the next poll.

What happened to the West?

Westmont

Vanguard

Biola

I realize Azusa, Fresno Pac, Cal Bapt, when DII but Westmont and Biola wear always at the NC. Need remaining need to pick it up on the west coast.

Anyone got new predictions?

OKC looks just fine, they return their 3-4-5 runners from last year, but our looking for some new faces to fill in as the new 4-5 men. Had a large freshman class and should win their third straight title. Even if they don't have the best 4-5, their top 3 could all be top 10 finishers. They race a lot of D2 competition this weekend at Ft. Hays, so we will know what they're made of Saturday.

arya bahreini ran 24:13 at the naia championships course. he looks good, calling him for the in

My Boy, Sam Atkin will put it down and run with the W.