DIII south/southeast official discussion thread 2018/19

Personally I can’t see anyone but Lynchburg and their traditional southern values taking the W

1. Rhodes

2. Emory

3. CNU

4. W&L

5. Bridgewater

1. Logan McKenzie

2. Spencer Fields

3. Jeff Gibson

4. Robert Hiegel

5. Toler Freyaldenhoven

You can take this to the bank. Done.

I'm going to weigh in on the Individual honors for the S/SE Region. I think this is going to be an interesting year. If you look at just last year you would have to say that McKenzie would be the odds on favorite but, but I think theres a dark horse in this race. Jamie Hiegel who ran injured most of last year and still had a fairly respectable year could be the man to beat. Yes Fields and Gibson had better track times but again Hiegel was out for a month with a knee injury which I hear has not been an issue since he won his conference in the 10K.

I'm thinking its going to come down to Hiegel and Mckenzie. Gibson and Fields will be there at the end as well but I think it will come down to two guys. All four of those guys could win they are all very good runners and all 4 could be top 20 finishers at Nats. Its going to be a good race maybe the best in years for the S/SE Region.

Why even have a thread for the South region? Not a single one of you talentless excuses for runners can come close to matching up with anyone from New England, let alone the Mid-East or the Atlantic region.

FRANKLIN PIERCE WILL WIN IT ALL in D2!!!!!marK MY WORDS!!!!

FRanKLIN PIERCE FTW!!!!!!!!

Geeze I heard that BS a few years ago when you guys from the so called better regions.. said a S/SE school couldnt finish in the top 10 at Nationals. What did CNU do last year? This year 4-5 runners from the S/SE will be in the top 20 finishers individually. Maybe 2-3 in the top ten. Take that to the bank!!

Alright, so CNU is not going to be top 5 this year. I think that is pretty well known. At best they are top 20. Rhodes will be the team to beat. Outside shot at top 10. Top 15 is more likely. CNU, Emory, and WL will be the 2-4 teams. Regular season meets will determine if the Region gets an at-Large for the third straight year. Fields and that Berea kid will slug it out for the individual win. Hiegel could easily be right there. Has a better lifetime finish at NCAA XC than Fields. Experience is on his side. As for the women, it should be a Trinity and Emory show.

Jeff Gibson, Mary Washington should absolutely be considered a threat to win the Region and be All American. He was 9th last year in the region and then went sub 30 for 10K with a 29:58! I do not remember the region ever having a returning runner with that kind of time.

Yep Jeff is definitely a major player especially on the track but as of yet that has not translated the same success over to cross country this year maybe different. He's up there in the top 4-5 guys in the region and possibly a top 3 threat. I dont know what we will see at Regionals to be honest we may not see guys like Mckenzie or Hiegel or Gibson give their top effort until Nationals since some of them their teams may not be in the running and they may just put out enough effort to qualify for nationals trying to save a little bit until then. My guess you will see Mckenzie and Hiegel and probably Fields in the top 20 at Nationals. One of the three may get into the top 10. Probably the hardest to predict is Hiegel he's a very streaky runner. When Hiegel is on he's very tough and can be very fast. I saw him once run down Alex Lomong in High School during the Prep Leagues XC Championships in Va when I was coaching there.. Very impressive! could surprise at this years nationals.

Hiegel has also made some very poor racing decisions in college. His sophomore year at NCAA's was about the best race of his career, but he did not race well decision wise on the track that winter and spring. I know last year was met with some health issues and he still came away with some conference titles. To say that he is a top 10 guy when he has not made a track nationals is a tremendous reach. His PR's are also no where close to McKenzie, Fields, or Gibson. The other sleeper in the mix of individuals is a teammate of Fields, Freyaldenhoven. 7th at Regionals last year. I believe he has finished ahead of Fields once or twice in regular season races. With Rhodes having the potential to put 2 in the top 5, another 1-2 inside of the top 10-15. No one will match them. Rhodes in a blowout. Verdict is still out on CNU and how Lagasse coaches the group in her second year. You certainly can't count out the experience Emory brings year after year. They seem to find their way to NCAA's no matter how they look on paper. Shaw or Torres should lead them up front. Maybe sneak into the top 10 as individuals.

Very poor decisions ? I think the man is a 5 x conference champion in multiple distances 3 of which came last year. His PRs were better than all those guys prior to his injury and he virtually had to sit out the entire outdoor season. Last year at XC Nationals the only one who finished ahead of Hiegel was Mckenzie. Hiegel still beat Fields and Gibson and Hiegel fell at the start of the race forcing him to the back of the entire field costing him a ton of time. Here's the deal ! all those guys are very good runners. I dont want to take anything away from any of them. Gibson ran a great 10k last year breaking 30 min.. Really a great accomplishment but is he as good an XC runner as Hiegel or Mckenzie. I would have to say no. You are right Fields and Gibsons do have better track times last year than Hiegel but he didn't have the chance to race much due to his injury. So do you take those track times over Hiegel and Mckenzie's history of strong XC running. I dont think so . I like them all to be honest!! but I know the adversity Hiegel has been through and Im cheering for the kid !!

You’d pick Logan over Berea’s incoming freshmen? Logan may not win his own team.

What freshman are you talking about?

Franklin PIERCE in New Hampshire will win it all!!! That’s where it’s at!!!!! HOLLA!!!!!!!!!

Confused by this Franklin Pierce guy...Anyways. Looks to be another competitive year in the S/SE.

Men:

1) Rhodes

2) CNU

3) Emory

4) W&L

5) Bridgewater

6) Trinity

7) Lynchburg

8) Berea

9) Mary Washington

10) Roanoke

Top 3:

1) McKenzie

2) Fields

3) Gibson

Women:

1) Trinity

2) Emory

3) Washington and Lee

4) Lynchburg

5) Centre

6) Rhodes

7) Berry

8) CNU

9) Berry

10) Mary Washington

Top 3:

1) Rodenfels

2) McCullough

3) Schreiber

Crowd Gathering wrote:

Women:

1) Trinity

2) Emory

3) Washington and Lee

4) Lynchburg

5) Centre

6) Rhodes

7) Berry

8) CNU

9) Berry

10) Mary Washington

Berry's Women so good they're going to finish in the top ten twice.

Correction...

Women:

1) Trinity

2) Emory

3) Washington and Lee

4) Lynchburg

5) Centre

6) Rhodes

7) Berry

8) CNU

9) Bridgewater

10) Mary Washington

Men:

1) Rhodes

2) Emory

Women:

1) Trinity

2) Emory

Emory gets both programs back to the National Meet for the fourth consecutive year. However, the Men’s side will get two at-large teams and I believe even the women will get one this year. The South is no joke right now.

Thanks for checking in Hiegel!