MIAC 2025 XC

They won’t pay those guys though. They are clearly putting all their money into world ranked throwers and hurdlers. I don’t know what Mo’s plans are, but I’ve heard tuition at Concordia can also be paid in sheep’s wool or cattle.

One would think that the Gophers would make all three of those guys much faster with D1 coaching and resources. We’ve seen it with Kelly/Bocovich. I thought Turlington would have run faster this year but he doesn’t seem ready to make the jump nationally. It seemed like a lot of the Oles top ten xcers didn’t make the big jump outdoors or were injured and didn’t even compete. Maybe it’s just one of those years. Or maybe there is more to that.

I don’t think it’s out of line to think the Oles could finish lower than fourth in the Region. The question is whether Stevens Point, Platteville, or MSOE all pass them. All return very similar groups led by track All-Americans. The loss of an XC All-American in Skemp and scorer in Hartney is significant for the Oles. Their track season other than the 800 guys didn’t impress. Only four runners under 15 won’t cut it on the national stage or the North Region. They will be a lot closer to Carleton and St. John’s and an injury or repeat of this Spring could lead to an upset. I have to see that the top MIAC teams can’t be top five in the WIAC.

Final reports -
The rest of the schools in the MIAC will fight to move to the next tier and some will likely struggle to field a scoring team. All four teams will rely on incoming freshmen to make a significant impact.

Saint Mary's - I think Grant Schneider has eligibility, so I expect he will lead the It was good to see him run a bigger chunk of the Outdoor season. Isaiah Fitzgerald turned in his first sub 16 this Spring and is already back to his legendary training regimen. Some of their distance squad is rumored to have quit, but it is hard to tell if some were hurt or studying abroad. To that point, I'm told the Oles had three athletes they considered MIAC scorers studying abroad this Spring, so maybe they're not as injured as we thought.

St. Scholastica - The end of an era for the Duluthers with Lars and Calvin succumbing to the annals of time and Father Eligibility. Ashton Niemi is the top returner having placed 102nd in 28:17. Ben Westholm (27:48) will play a big role for the Saints after running 4:32 Indoors.

Hamline - Lucas Libraaten had another terrific track season running 15:39/4:01 and a huge 3K PR of 8:41 Indoor. The next returner finished 3.5 minutes back, so the Hammdawgs will hope the incoming class will have some impactful athletes. Freshman Wade Tuggle did break 17 Outdoor and Roetter Gosback continues to notch PR's.

Augsburg - If Bati returns, they may place a little higher, but Harris graduates hurting their depth. If Khalif can regain his high school form, he will be a threat near the top of the MIAC. His first year back didn't seem to represent his talent, so we'll hope he has a strong summer.

Now on to Grandma's and the Minnetonka Firecracker run. I'll update rankings when we learn more about recruits.

I believe MSOE is decimated by graduation

Still think Stevens Point beats them and maybe Platteville. Track season and transfer portal recruiting shows they are on the rise. Oles seem complacent. They are usually much better in XC though so we may be surprised.

Yeah man you're right. UW-Lacrosse only has 5 returners sub fourteen so they will probably suck like the Oles. Same thing goes for UW Whitewater with ONLY 4 guys sub 15 that will come back for cross country.

I don’t think the poster meant Stevens Point or Platteville will win the region, but they are speculating both could be good enough to top the Oles at Regionals. Possible, but not probable.

My hot take, the Oles won’t win their first two meets of the year and won’t have an individual winner at the 5K distance.

No chance the Oles win either 5K because they don't race Mac and Luther. And they won't win alumni or have a college athlete in the top 3. I predict 5 Ole Alumni before the No. 2 Ole.

A brief look last year shows St Olaf went 1-18 last year at their alumni. Are you advocating for the alums to bring back the famous Alumni Shortcut that Macalester infamously adopted at conference last year to edge out Carleton? Major W if so. Otherwise there's no way three of their old dogs even place top 15

Is there truth to the shortcut? Because that would be a hilarious way for Carleton to lose.

Bocovich, Kelly, Brenk, Lerdall, Kosche, and Wright could go 1-5. Throw in a Wintheiser or Jake Brown and the Oles will be crushed.

brotha Kalsnes is out of eligibility

Sounds like a Phil All-Star team versus Power’s super shoes kids. I bet Grant can still run sub 15. ASD Joe Coffey who ran sub 14:20 just two years ago.

Uh oh. Drop Bethel a spot.

Genuinely curious how much we’re adjusting times based on super shoes. I see all these recent Oles with sub 25 marks on courses onky they have raced and only raced in super shoes. Just curious how we compare a Jake Campbell to a Bocovich or a DGC to a Gabe. Is Bocovich more of a 30:00 guy and Gabe a 3:52 guy?

I don’t really care about any of the Ole alumni. I’m hustling here to say how thrilled I am that the MIAC is moving back to a neutral course this year as it should always be.

I'm thrilled you hustled on here for this important comment.

And, I'll say the lack of home course advantage is why I'm picking the Johnnies to win.

But can they win at the Northfield Summer beer darts derby?

Complacency always topples dynasties.

So are the Oles losing because it’s a neutral course of they’re complacent?

Can we just put in our miles and not worry about making fun of the Oles, Carls, or Chunko for the summer?