Well we're less than two weeks out and this was the first weekend it seems like we finally got an solid idea of how things might play out.
Men's side: It looks like DeLuca (Cornell) and Monogue (Penn) have shown the most consistency of anyone in the league so far (of course Princeton's top guys really raced for the first time this past weekend. I'd favor either of the first two because they both seem like more strength oriented runners so they should favor a tough hilly VCP layout, where as Lundy, Kauppila, and Paulson are more 5k and below types. The only question mark with DeLuca is that since his incredible run for 4th as a freshman he hasn't really put it all together at Heps like his first go around, but not better time than senior year to outdo himself. No idea what is up with Columbia's trio. Thomas ran well early, then DNS @ Indiana and outside top 100 @ Wisco so definitely losing some momentum he might have been carrying over from track, and then Vasbinder and Zabilski don't look to be in the same shape that got them to NCAA's last year, but I guess you can't discount home field advantage. Finally, if Mahoney from Brown can run like he did at Boston maybe he challenges. No one from Yale, Dartmouth, or Harvard really seems like a contender. And I guess Penn is the favorite on the team side? Princeton seems solid after this weekend, but only one race so no real certainty there. And Columbia seems to be fading at the wrong time again. Overall the men's side just seems to be really down compared to the last few years.
Women's side: After this weekend it looks like Crosby from Columbia has stamped her name as favorite based simply off results this season. Three big time runs (one of which was a win at VCP). Of course the return of former champion Curham does add some intrigue. Also Curham might do a bit better as a strength runner at VCP compared to Crosby who's a steepler so she might make things interesting especially since Crosby will have the pressure to get a low stick for her fellow Lions who look like the favorites now. It really just comes down to how fit is Curham after taking last year off?
If she is as fit as two years ago than I would say she's the favorite, but her result this past weekend, even if it was just a rust-buster, shows she might be in quite the same shape. The only other lady who seems like she might mix it up with these two would be Masterson from Yale who will want to battle with Crosby for team points.