D3 South Southeast Predictions

1.CNU

2. Bridgewater

3. W&L

4. Trinity

5. Rhodes

6. Emory

7. Lynchburg

Emory will not drop that far back. They will still be solid if Sullivan is healthy. Rhodes is young. Fields will lead them up front. CNU had one of the best recruiting classes in the country and should be the favorites. BC, W&L, Emory, LC, Rhodes will all be battling out for that 2nd spot. I don't see Trinity in the mix, but they always seem to show up at Regionals. BC is not to be overlooked. Solid frontrunners.

1. CNU ..They have a strong team coming back with Grayson Reid and they have Witt probably one of the strongest freshman in DIII.

2. Emory, Still have a great top 3

3. Bridgewater, Returns a great top 3 w/ Hiegel and Gibson and has 2 strong Freshman...

4. W&L, Lost one of their top 3 still has a strong 1-2 punch Strehler and McD

5. Rhodes, They have Spencer...

I don't see Emory dropping that much..but I do agree they are beatable..and I could see BC or W&L move up to take their spot.. Rhodes has a very good runner in Fields but BC has 3 good sub 15:07 5K runners..I think it will depend on who stays healthy with the exception of CNU..They are beasts and could break the top 20 teams at nationals..A bold statement but I think they are very good team with excellent depth...

Emory graduated Region Champ Mees

Yes Mees is gone but Emory still returns a solid top 3 ... CNU is just too stacked with very good runners to be denied .. The question is who's after them? That's a very tough call but Looking at outdoor track results you have to give the nod to BC..

I think Mees is returning..If so that changes things...

Well that is pretty sly by Emory. He is listed as a senior in last years NCAA XC Results. So everyone in the Region this year list your juniors as seniors.

Emory still will not compete with CNU though. All those freshman have to emerge at some point. Not to mention the kid who ran 14:40 something last spring. They are too good. Should be a top 20 team in the country.

He redshirted one year..Returning to Emory for grad school...

I agree with you Georgia Peachy ..Im cheering on CNU ..I think they will break top 20 if their team stays healthy..They would need Witt to come in and do what I think he can do and challenge Grayson Reid ..Emory will be tough to beat at the number 2 slot ..Especially if what I hear is true and Mees is back..The rest will fight over the scraps..One team that could possibly sneak past Emory is BC.. They have 3 very good guys up front ..and they recruited well bringing in a top guy / Freshman from the VISAA..and a very strong local Va guy ..The brother of their top runner ..W&L is scary too with 2 very good guys in Strehler and McDonald..and decent backups in the 3,4,5, slots...We shall see..The rest are not far behind..alot of teams fairly equal in the S/SE this year..Lynchburg has two good upfront guys with Osbourne (Sunshine) leading the way.. Dont know much about Trinity but heard they are also strong..Rhodes leads with Spencer Fields..Could be a very interesting year..

It appears the battle for the top spot will be very tight. Scoring the 2015 region championship with only returners for 2016 (and assuming Mees is one); Emory beats CNU 62-68. Also consider Sullivan did not race for Emory but he later torched a 5K (14:54) in the spring. CNU will hopefully have JJ Lapointe back after missing last season with a hip injury. They will need both a great freshman year from Witt as well as overall improvement from their top 7 to de-throne Emory. When looking at outdoor track results, Bridgewater does seem to be coming on with 3 under 15:08 in the 5K although these were their only runners under 16:00 while CNU had 14, Emory 6. In a sport were injuries are a given, CNU has the advantage of vast depth.

Hey

Hey Andrew, find any good blow this year?

Is 14:54 really blazing a 5k? I'm proud you southern boys found out how to post on letsrun but maybe, just maybe, check other sites...say tfrrs to see that 14:54 across the nation is very average. Good luck to whatever two teams make it out of your regional! You will be heroes when you can come back from nationals as the 31st and 32nd best teams in the nation!

Sincerely,

The Industrialized States

Ruth John, stay on your own Region forum and leave it to us Southern Southers to talk about our own Region predictions. South is starting to have quite the presence across XC, Indoor, and Outdoor. The past two years has produced, an All-American in XC, Indoor Mile, Indoor DMR, Steeple Finalist. It will only get better in 2016-17.

When I used the term torched it was relative to a sophomore with 2 career 8K races and a 27.06 PR while posting on D3 South Southeast predictions. Clearly 14:54 is not blazing in relation to McGorty's 13:24 or Bekele's 12:37. I am so familiar with TFRRS I used it to determine that there are 369 D3 schools that run XC. If each team has 8 kids run a 5K that is 2952 5K PR'S. #500 according to TFRRS was 15:42. I wonder what the median average of #1476 was? Last years #16 (median) team Washington U. did not have a runner under 15:00 in the 5K. Shane Sullivan's 14:54 is well above average; it is the #52 time for returners and #2 in the South/Southeast.

I do agree with you that the South/Southeast region historically is the weakest in D3 XC. But if runners like Zack Witt (9.07 2 mile in HS) keep staying in the South, things may change.

I would favorite this if this was tweeter

We had this conversation last year..and yes the S/SE hasnt done very well over the last few years nationally. But I see a change a coming.. with some of the best HS runners in the country coming out of Va.. (Hunter, Lomong, McGorty x 2) there is becoming a much larger field of talent ..we are seeing talented freshman come into the S/SE region like Witt ..Zach Witt (9:07 3200m) well may be the best recruit for 2016 in all of DIII..Witt could make an immediate impact and With Grayson Reid and along with the returning players from last year CNU could be a team you see in the upper half at nationals..

ODAC preseason predictions are out

1. W&L

2. BC

3. Lynchburg

Personally think BC is stronger going into the season than W&L ..W&L has a great one two punch but so does BC..This could be another 2 point spread like last year..I think both teams need to stay healthy because they dont have a ton of debth..and incoming freshman will play a big role again this year..