Watch out for Gilleto...he's got sneaky speed and is good at ping pong
Watch out for Gilleto...he's got sneaky speed and is good at ping pong
I love all the in-depth analysis and hype for miac, but I think it's pretty simple. The top 3 carls will hammer from the gun, when have they not this year? The other 2 will just do so more slowly and try to finish as high as possible. There's no reason to overthink it. Cross country meets are generally just run your fastest average pace from the gun or "honest pace." The 2 carleton frosh led by donny were through the mile at the Ole invite in like 4:53 on a hot, humid day! Why would it be any different when it's in the mid 30s on Saturday? They might now be out like boneheads again, but I'd be surprised if the mile split is much over 5:00. I bet the 4-5 guys will try to run as even as possible but still be out reasonably fast. It will be race on starting at the mile and the Oles will have to step it up to put try and put several guys in the top 5 and as many as possible in the top 10 to keep the streak rolling. It comes down to fitness and getting it done when it counts as always. Also, this will not be a slow race. A little bit of rain/snow friday night wont impact the course that much. It's gonna be in the 30s or low 40s at the warmest Sat with the Carls driving the bus. We will see who wants it more out on the course. My money is of course on the Oles ;)
The real question is spikes or snowshoes??
They're mudders. Their mothers were mudders and their mother's mothers were mudders.
It's a lock. Don't tell anyone!
We've bombarded the boards with discussion on the battle between the giants in Northfield.
How about dark horses. Anyone?
I've been saying it for the past 2 years, but I think I might finally be right (because everyone else above him graduated), but I would say Austin O'Hare, again. It is about time he gets to around the top 10.
Sticking with the steeple theme, I also think Burgstahler is another sexy dark horse pick. His name has been dropped a bit in the last week or so here. Hasn't shown a lot with injury last fall, but he has shown pretty consistent finishes in big meets. I actually like him to finish higher than O'Hare, but we've only seen him race, what, 3 times in the past year?
Finally, I like Frank Gustafson from Hamline and Erik Wicklund from Concordia. Both are leading the charge for rebuilding programs and show pretty good promise for underclassmen.
Anywho, I'm pumped for MIACs
More specifically, which freshmen is going to be a dark horse? Who’s going to over perform and under perform?
I think the Carleton freshmen have proven they’re pretty reliable so far this season, so my money is on them performing at the higher level they’ve been at for MIAC. How about Gustavus freshmen though?
Less than 24 hours boiz
ツ
Here are my dark horse picks. I listed what I think they could do if everything went right for them, not where I am predicting that they will finish.
Tris Dodge, Carleton (top 5)
Obviously he’s inconsistent and he could make me look pretty silly tomorrow, but don’t forget that he is the top MIAC returner from the Region meet (besides Berhe), and he ran 15:05 last spring.
William Anderson, St. Olaf (top 10)
He’s bounced back from underwhelming regular seasons in track and performed well at MIAC in the past, I think he could do it in cross country as well.
Frank Gustafson, Hamline (top 10)
He’s improved steadily throughout the season. If the race is tactical, his 1:55 800 and 4:05 1500 speed will be a great asset.
Nick Kerbeshian, Gustavus (top 25)
He’s made consistent improvement each meet, and is trending in the right direction heading into MIAC. He’ll benefit from having a large pack of teammates to run with, but their inexperience could hurt them.
Andy Barnhart, Bethel (top 25)
I’ve been waiting all season for him to run well. He ran his best race of the season at La Crosse, but I he showed in track that he’s good enough to run a lot better.
Word from Northfield is Wilkinson has got it coming out of both ends and may not run tomorrow. Can anyone confirm?
Crust wrote:
Word from Northfield is Wilkinson has got it coming out of both ends and may not run tomorrow. Can anyone confirm?
Remember the beginning of the year when DCG had a stress fracture and missed 0 races?
According to Donald Trump's twitter account the Northfield Culver's has been infected with norovirus
Can't wait to see the Gusties come from behind for the win
Team Predictions:
1. Crown college
2. Augsburg
3. Carleton
4. St. John's
5. St Thomas
Word on the street is Augsburg's EPO doping program is about to have some exciting results
Hey folks, these are my predictions for the race tomorrow.
1. Keith Ketola
2. Peter Fry (Pete has been looking really strong this year. I think he can PR big at conference)
3. Jack Henschel
4. Lucas Mueller
5. Jack Henscel
6. Matt Wilkinson
7. Thomas Lerdall
8. Stuart Gordon
9. Paul Timm
10. Cook Gallardo
Cook Gallardo is wayyy overrated. He's going to blow up big time. Lucky if he even cracks the top 10 at all.
i heard that cross contry is cancaeld tomorrow noone is runnig
I heard Phil Lundin is resting Olaf's 1-5 for regionals. He's confident that they're deep enough and their 5-12 will compete hard for the final regionals slots. Can anyone confirm?
To everyone coming from out of the state tomorrow, it has been snowing the past day so dress warm!! Thanks!0!!
Course report:
(as of 3:44:05 pm CST, 44.465623, -93.188401, Rice County, MN 55057)
Downed trees, mud throughout course, especially around the pond. Snow/ice accumulated around hill region.
My pick:teams skip the race, Olaf and Carleton settle this at Karhu shoe race.
They're not resting for regionals; they're resting for Karhu.
Keep your eyes peeled for the dark moose today. Biggest unkown talent in the history of the miac.