Unofficial 2019 D3 XC Thread (Official)

is Aidan Ryan the new IGC?

Predictions wrote:

1. Carleton

Cite your source please.

Yeah I mean Ryan and Cox finishing 3-4 is probably not gonna happen, but Williams does return their entire lineup from their 8th place finish last year, so they should be a podium level team.

Geneseo at #8? lmao

Is Clark Ricciardelli coming back for Amherst? He's listed as a junior in last year's results, but I know he transferred in and started in a spring semester so he might be done with school?

25th last year despite being in 150th at 2k, and 2nd in the 5k indoors.

honest predictions wrote:

Team

1. Wartburg

2. Carleton

3. La Crosse

4. NCC

5. WashU

6. Williams

7. Hopkins

8. Geneseo

9. CMS

10. PP

Individual

1. Mueller

2. Schraeder

3. Ryan

4. Cox

5. Matteucci

Fartburg at number 1?? i could see top 5 but they dont got front runners

They were 5th last year, return 6 of 7, and Pinkowski's XC resume is fitting of a front runner, not to mention he was 8th in the indoor 5k. Their distance squad had a good indoor season but not a great outdoor season, so they will have to get it together. My money says they do.

is he wrote:

is Aidan Ryan the new IGC?

Not even remotely close.

The Starved Elephant wrote:

whatswiththepainting wrote:

Fartburg at number 1?? i could see top 5 but they dont got front runners

They were 5th last year, return 6 of 7, and Pinkowski's XC resume is fitting of a front runner, not to mention he was 8th in the indoor 5k. Their distance squad had a good indoor season but not a great outdoor season, so they will have to get it together. My money says they do.

Young squad, but their 1-5 Spread was almost a minute (at nationals, with that 5th man being a senior. Can they develop these young bucks well enough to cover that spot AND all move in a positive direction? (Their 6th, a sophomore, was 167th). November will tell us everything we need to know. But until then, road races are the most important thing to watch right now so be on the look out for some HOT times this year to determine who will be there at the big dance!

PlankandSimple wrote:

The Starved Elephant wrote:

They were 5th last year, return 6 of 7, and Pinkowski's XC resume is fitting of a front runner, not to mention he was 8th in the indoor 5k. Their distance squad had a good indoor season but not a great outdoor season, so they will have to get it together. My money says they do.

Young squad, but their 1-5 Spread was almost a minute (at nationals, with that 5th man being a senior. Can they develop these young bucks well enough to cover that spot AND all move in a positive direction? (Their 6th, a sophomore, was 167th). November will tell us everything we need to know. But until then, road races are the most important thing to watch right now so be on the look out for some HOT times this year to determine who will be there at the big dance!

If their 5th simply finishes in the top 100 and scores like 75-80 points, that could, just maybe, be enough. I see the winning score this year being somewhere around the 135 that Eau Claire scored when they won in 2015. I bet that the winner will have more points than 3rd place La Crosse did this year.

The Starved Elephant wrote:

If their 5th simply finishes in the top 100 and scores like 75-80 points, that could, just maybe, be enough. I see the winning score this year being somewhere around the 135 that Eau Claire scored when they won in 2015. I bet that the winner will have more points than 3rd place La Crosse did this year.

The score will be high this year, no doubt. There's just not enough high caliber runners on podium potential teams to make the scores very low. But, for a program who is not historically known for building up from the talent they have, it'll be hard for them to rely heavily on these 6/7 returners. And because of that, and the inexperience of being at that level, it's hard to predict that they could win it all (granted it is June right now, so there's A LOT of work that will hopefully speak for itself - for every team - come the fall). It'd be way more likely for Wash U or LAX to take the crown this year. I predict NCC may not even podium - a la 2015 - inexperience, lack of returners, etc.

I doubt NCC wins, but I think they still podium. The young guys behind the 6 that just graduated must just be chomping at the bit to show what they can do. They'll have Osmulski up front, and I bet Al Carius will find a way to turn Rohr and Pommier into D3 All-Americans, or at least close to it. It won't be like 2015 when they relied on freshmen (albeit the freshmen iterations of Patel and Baldonado) to score for them.

The Starved Elephant wrote:

I doubt NCC wins, but I think they still podium. The young guys behind the 6 that just graduated must just be chomping at the bit to show what they can do. They'll have Osmulski up front, and I bet Al Carius will find a way to turn Rohr and Pommier into D3 All-Americans, or at least close to it. It won't be like 2015 when they relied on freshmen (albeit the freshmen iterations of Patel and Baldonado) to score for them.

If Rohr puts in the work this summer, expect great things from him. You heard it here first.

It's Wartburg's to lose, no way around it. They probably have the best returners, and they also have two freshman coming in who were state xc champs in illinois and iowa. If they don't win this year or within the next 2 years with all the firepower and resources they have then it'd be a major disappointment.

Pomona for the win. They have one of the deepest returning teams. 7 returners sub 15 with a crop of freshmen who could make the jump this summer. Incredible depth.

Owen Woo: 14:43, 30:11

Hugo Ward: 14:44, 30:49

Daniel Rosen: 14:50, 8:51 SC

Ethan Ashby: 14:54

Ethan Widlansky: 14:54

Jeremy Adams: 14:55, 31:04

Nathan Stringham: 14:56, 31:52

Followed by 4 more freshmen between 15:10 and 15:20.

Owen Keiser: 15:10, 9:28 SC

Oliver Chang: 15:15

Paul McKinley: 15:19

Liam Jones: 15:20

Also, a freshmen stud:

Dante Paszkeizc: no 5k, but 9:32 SC, 3:50 1500, and 1:51 800

Also, no one is talking about them, but RPI can be a potential podium threat. They were the recipient of getting trampled at Nationals this past fall and a number of their guys were negative effected by this in the race. They also have incredible depth returning with 7 guys returning under 15 minutes and possible better front runners compared to Pomona:

Noah Falasco: 14:26, 3:49

Henry Jaques: 14:28, 30:45

Joe Domanico: 14:54

Jake Kloman: 14:55, 31:11

Danny Napora: 14:56

John Reed: 14:58, 31:58

Erik LaCourt: 14:58, 9:37 SC

Jacob Davis: 31:17 (didn't run much this past outdoor season but was in their top 7 for XC)

Johnny Capobionco: 15:15, 9:28 SC

Evan Atherton: 15:20, 9:38 SC

I understand track is a different animal than cross country so this may not materialize on the cross country course, but lets look at what Wartburg brings back since they seem to be the number 1 pick right now:

Caleb Appleton, 14:33, 3:57

Sam Pinkowski, 14:34, 32:03, 3:54

Joe Freiburger, 14:37, 30:58

Liam Conroy, 15:04

Matt Heinzman, 15:08, 3:56

Alec Ille, 15:23

Ali Ali, 15:25, 3:59

RPI has the best 1-2 punch. Wartburg has the best 1-3 punch. Pomona has the best best depth and best returning 10k squad.

Have to look at what North Central brings back as they are the national dynasty right now:

Matt Osmulski, 14:45, 30:20

Al Baldonado, 14:51, 30:50

Gabriel Pommier, 14:55

Bjorn Shroda, 14:55, 31:17

Thomas Rohr, 14:57, 31:04

Alex Makrounis, 15:04, 31:20

Zachary Chapman, 15:06, 31:21

Wash U

Nick Matteucci, 14:27, 3:45

Joe Stover, 14:46, 31:35

Chas Warden, 14:56

Noah Trimark, 15:02

Patrick Norrick, 15:04, 31:51

Jacob Ridderhoff, 15:09

Scott Mitchell, 15:23

I personally like Pomona and RPI over Wartburg based on track times. A lot can happen over the summer and a lot can happen in the fall so it will be exciting to find out how all of this materializes on the cross country course. Wash U seems to peak well at the end of the season and bring back some great talent and depth, so they will be a podium contender, especially with Nick Matteucci as a front runner and the potential to be top 5. CMS also right there. And of course North Central always gets it done and brings back some pretty good depth.

My top 10 picks primarily based on track times:

1. Pomona

2. North Central

3. RPI

4. Wartburg

5. Wash U

6. CMS

7. Hopkins

8. La Crosse

9. Geneseo

10. Amherst

Williams will be in the top 10, just depends on their depth. They potentially will have the best 1-2 in the country with Cox and Ryan. They can be a podium team.

Baldonado is not coming back. He has indoor and outdoor left, not XC. Since he'd probably win if he were coming back, you better adjust those rankings.

Hah what a joke, Pomona wartburg RPI... will be funny to reflect on this at the end of November.

Baldonado is not coming back. He has indoor and outdoor left, not XC. Since he'd probably win if he were coming back, you better adjust those rankings.[/quote]

Good point about Baldonado; however, North Central will still get it done. They will be a podium team.