Yo why are mfs not talking shît on this thread??? I used to come on here cause it would always be interesting and popping but nobody likes to stir the pot nowadays. Come on fellas let’s get something started
It's a good question. I'll give my rant :) as a former Patriot Leaguer
To me the Patriot League is currently well positioned to be one of the stronger mid-major cross country leagues in the country. Several reasons for this imo - great running history with a number of the member schools, relatively stable roster of schools (some new ones over the years, but none have left), fertile recruiting grounds in the Northeast where only a small number (on a relative basis) wind up at an ivy or Power 4, and most importantly - they opted out of revenue share so no roster limits.
Look at how strange the SEC mens teams look this year with 10 kids on team, its definitely not sustainable to maintain any semblance of team culture with 10 kids. Really a death knell for the sport in the conference. But only Vandy doesn't fund mens scholarships in the league, so SEC running will survive as long as scholarships are funded (and Vandy is a T20 academic school where kids don't care about athletic scholarships for running, they are content just getting in!)
The above is my only issue with Patriot League. Correct me if I’m wrong but on the mens side I think only BU and American have dedicated athletic money for the sport, although I heard anecdotally that Bucknell now has some real money on mens side (as well as women) and that Lehigh finds $ for the top recruits. And of course Army and Navy with their set-up. So the rest of the schools can never expect to truly compete, which is a shame for the Lafayettes, Colgates, etc of the conference
Yo why are mfs not talking shît on this thread??? I used to come on here cause it would always be interesting and popping but nobody likes to stir the pot nowadays. Come on fellas let’s get something started
I agree, the PLC trash talking needs to pick up. Leagues is only a few wks away and I have no idea what anyone's predicting! Here goes(men):
1. Navy -obviously.
2. Army - duh.
3. Boston - bc they have money and a 30k student population
4. American - on the rise!
5. Bucknell - do it for Donner!
6. Colgate - huge roster, eventually they're going to develop!?
7. Lehigh - bc their athletics department doesn't give a &*%$ about them, sorry guys!
8. Lafayette - come on! remember 2021?!
9. Holy Cross - they will have a top 10 individual, is that enough to move them up?
10. Loyola? hey, they have a men's team for xc.
You give me some thumbs up and I'll do the women predictions next...
Army & Navy pull recruits with running and service academy prestige plus no cost of school. BU has money. Bucknell and Lehigh have some scholarships, plus American too. Not sure about other PL schools.
Merged results from Paul Short had Colgate just ahead of American. Holy Cross has 2 very solid individuals but no depth. Lehigh prolly in shambles. Bucknell off the grid. Boston soft and weak. What else am I missing??
Army & Navy - in a league of their own with fully funded rosters.
Boston - fully funded, you can tell by intl - they should be better than they are
Bucknell, Lehigh, giving similar financial aid, with meager scholarship for dudes and a bunch of $$ for the ladies American - better FA packages - and prioritizing distance looks like it may start to pay off (but can we go back to the the times of Centro?)
Lafayette, Holy Cross, Colgate - I don't know? recruits always say they're being offered, but may be just lying for leverage
I'll take a stab at the Women's predictions before today's meets wrap up:
1. Army - suppose we will see with the star meet, but yeah, top 2. 2. Navy - go to these teams dueling 3. Boston - even without vera, 4. Bucknell- bc they have the rest of the league's number 5. Lehigh - they'll have one or two girls run well but given the money they have they should be better 6. Lafayette -has a tight pack but borah's not a low enough stick 7. American - I expected more from them, Kiera's alma mater. smdh 8. Colgate -eh, not impressed 9. Holy Cross- should have one all-league 10. Loyola - they should be better too, given they don't even have men's track. wth.
Hi. Time for my opinion again as you all seem to be about as educated as an Oklahoma State Right-Tackle Practice-Squad Benchwarmer. Back in my days (before I started bombing marathons) when my I had great testosterone and a fine supply of ADHD meds, I could tell the tides were starting to turn at BU. Sure, they may not be as strong as my sentencing, but the work they are putting in cannot be ignored. I’ve caught wind of the occasional “triple threshold” workout. The America Horse kid has dropped a minute from last year. It appears they may be taking one out of my playbook. BU A strong contender for this year on a good day. I wouldn’t rule out a regional bet in the next few weeks or year. As far this Bucknell joke— they treat their XC house like a frat house. Not very conducive to fast running. Maybe conducive at getting more women than the pitiful attempts of the better schools in this league though. Man these guys have a lot to learn.
Foster Malleck will be returning for his 16th year! He’s been held out because he had to get some base coming off worlds! Don’t worry our beloved fozzy bear will be stepping on the line for patriot leagues!
I feel like American is trending in the right direction and historically, Boston always under performs. On paper, Boston should always be winning it all.
BU has yet to return to their top conference finishes since the departure of Coach Spangler. Will this be the year? Prob not. Men and women finish 3rd at best.
Army will struggle to crack the top 7 teams, as they have some serious health concerns at the top of their lineup. It seems clear that Nate Davis is out after not running the star meet. Their number 1 from Army-Navy, Adam Furman, has spent the last 4 days in the ICU after eating the Crayola 128-pack in alphabetical order and making it all the way to Robin's Egg Blue (a new West Point Record). On top of that, their number 3 Maximus had to get his stomach pumped after pulling his signature "Are you not entertained?" keg stand after counting the points wrong and thinking Army won the star meet. With Foster Malleck, returning for his second decade at BU, and the Jizzler returning to the team at Colgate, the Black Knights will have a tough time at conference.