NESCAC Cross Country 2018

My boys are ready to eat this season after a nice year of building in the 2017-2018 academic year! No graduating seniors in the top 7, you best believe the Jumbos are taking names this year!!

Tufts Daddy wrote:

My boys are ready to eat this season after a nice year of building in the 2017-2018 academic year! No graduating seniors in the top 7, you best believe the Jumbos are taking names this year!!

You guys gonna finish in the top half this year?

Predictions:

1. Amherst

2. Middlebury

3. Williams

4. Conn College

5. Tufts

6. Bates

7. Bowdoin

8. Wesleyan

9. Hamilton

10. Colby

11. Trinity

Christian Swenson sub 23 at conference you heard it here first

brunomars wrote:

Predictions:

1. Amherst

2. Middlebury

3. Williams

4. Conn College

5. Tufts

6. Bates

7. Bowdoin

8. Wesleyan

9. Hamilton

10. Colby

11. Trinity

On the one hand, Amherst has Greg Turissini, who is a 4:06 1600 guy, but on the other, Tufts has Jamie Norton, who is a 4:06 miler. So you gotta swap those too. Trinity on the bottom is flat out wrong. Everyone knows that Trinitys performance at NESCACs is directly correlated to the price of lava lamps, and let me say that business is BOOMIN' so they're gonna get 8th. I hear the ghost of Austin anderson was exercised from the trails at Williams so after all that exercise he must be in pretty good shape and i'll give them the nod for second. Midd and CC will get 3rd/4th. It said so on the bottom of my Natty light. tbh i've never heard of the other teams so let's just leave it at that

brunomars wrote:

Predictions:

1. Amherst

2. Middlebury

3. Williams

4. Conn College

5. Tufts

6. Bates

7. Bowdoin

8. Wesleyan

9. Hamilton

10. Colby

11. Trinity

Conn 4th no way, they have a huge drop-off after their 1-2, I'd place Tufts above them for sure

Here are some way too early and probably inaccurate predictions for next fall.

Top 5 Teams:

1. Amherst: Amherst had a dream season last fall and seem poised to repeat their success. Ricciardelli and Brossy are studs, Meijer is a proven xc beast, and Ferguson- Dryden has improved every season. The key to their success is how Soogard runs, if he repeats his NESCAC xc performance Amherst is a near lock to win, if not they are beatable.

2. Middlebury: Midd loses an all-American in Acension but return everyone else. Matt D’aquilla had a great freshmen year and could contend for the win and they follow him with great depth. Midd should be a contender on both a regional and national level in the fall.

3. Williams: The Ephs had a down year last fall and still came 13th in the nation. They lose a good senior class but still return their customary depth. Ryan Cox is coming off a great track season and Aidan Ryan was one of the top freshmen in the country during cross. They don’t look as strong as usual but Farwell always delivers and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they contend for the win.

4. Tufts: Tufts has a rebuilding year last fall but return their entire top 7, several of whom made great strides on the track this past year. They have an incredibly deep pack and seemed poised to have several runners in the teens and twenties. If any of their runners breakthrough and emerge as a low stick they could contend with teams ahead of them.

5. Conn College: Conn seems very similar to the Tufts team of two years ago. Mason and Aschale will both contend for the win but they don’t have a strong 3-5. If any of their depth guys break through they could be very could.

Individuals:

1. Scott Mason: Three time All American, second at this meet last year. Several contenders but he has the best track record of the field.

2. Clark Ricciardelli: Had a great first xc season last fall and followed it up with an All-American showing in the 10k this past spring. Will contend with Mason for the win.

3. Cosmo Brossy: Has ran well at NESCACS the last two seasons and made it to both indoor and outdoor nationals. Will be up with Ricciardelli and Mason.

4. Danny Aschale: Has proved himself to be a very strong runner these past two years. Tends to not perform as well at championship meets as those ranked above him hence him being ranked 4th.

5. Matt D’Aquilla: Had an outstanding freshmen year placing 12th at nescacs and running 30:24. Have him here for now but is a major dark horse to win.

6. Ryan Cox: All of the top six could win and have All-American potential. Cox doesn’t have quite as strong a track-record as those ranked above him but could easily finish above him.

7. Harrison Knowlton: Proven XC stud who ran a fast 10k last spring. Gives Midd a great 1-2 lunch.

8. Ace McAllister: Won the Nescac 5k last spring and has performed well, albeit inconsistently, in cross. Will contend with the lead pack.

9. Aidan Ryan: Had a great freshmen cross season but didn’t run as well as expected on the track. Still, based off last fall he should contend for top ten:

10. Sean Macdonald: Solid runner who followed up a breakthrough xc season with a great track season. Bowdoin runners tend to run well as seniors (Walker, Jacobson, Torda) and Macdonald seems poised to continue that trend.

The Connecticut college camels have a secret weapon in rising senior Gross Russ Adam. He's a grossy and hes gunning for Cosmo Brossy. And watch out for that kick of his, its as nasty as his stench.

Rumor is that conn college got 4 more transfers from lehigh all named scott mason to round out their top 5

I'd definitely place Meijer from Amherst in top 10. He's comparatively struggled during the track seasons but has always made up for it in XC. With a 25:02 8k and a 21st place finish at regionals last year (where he beat Knowlton, Ace, and Aidan Ryan), I'd expect him to be right up there.

Good point, I’d expect him, Ferguson- Dryden, and maybe Sogaard to be around that 7-10 pack. The NESCAC will be very deep individually next fall.

Don't sleep on Bowdoin, they could beat Conn and maybe Bates imo if their runners are healthy.

Overheard talk that D'Aquila is transferring to Columbia for the 2018 season.

Looks like a lot of nescac boys are putting in some good summers, shout outs to Sean Macdonald running 133 miles last week

Which can I bounce back from quickest: anemia, mono, lyme disease or a concussion? Asking for a friend.

Alright its a little too quiet around here, how are things shaping up for this season? Any big news?

Big run by Ace McCalister at UMass Dartmouth this past Saturday. Potential dark horse for the NESCAC title?

can anyone describe the course amherst ran on? the times seemed pretty slow...

This cat look slow to you?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/143813385@N05/43748428515/in/album-72157699701885801/