We need NescacDad to give a full breakdown of every teams performance over the weekend! hah
It's nice to be loved. I've been busy in other threads, but let me see what I can do here.
For starters, let's discuss last week's races. All but Tufts were in action.
Bates, Bowdoin and Colby were competing in the Maine State Meet. I have to admit, I was quite surprised to see Bates come out on top with an extremely strong top 4 who placed 2nd through 5th behind the obvious winner in Morris from Colby. Led by Bosch-Dining, the bobcats are deeper than expected, and although their recruiting class this year was not as strong, it appears they returned some seniors that are in good form. We will see if they can compete with the big boys next week, but this performance definitely makes them a top 3-4 candidate at Nescac this year. Colby was a different story. While everyone expected Tyler to win, the Mules didn't do much else with their 5th runner being 2 minutes back in 13th place. Morris's win by 34 seconds was impressive, but I have a feeling he wasn't going all out in this race. Of their national squad last year, Frick and Gleason seem to be gone, and Potter hasn't raced since last fall, so they may be a bit depleted or banged up. But they will have to have a lot more firepower to stay in the top 5 this season. I'd love to say something nice about Bowdoin because I love the polar bears, but besides Peters 8th place and Auer's 11th, there wasn't much else to talk about.
Next up was the PVC where Williams and Amherst went head to head for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. Williams looked pretty dominant in their first meeting, putting 4 in the top 5, but this time around, it was a different story. Perhaps it was home court advantage, but Williams put on a clinic- taking the top 10 spots in a 12 team field! Yes, the talent wasn't super stacked at this meet, but Lindgren dominated the field with a blistering 24:43. That might be the first time I have ever seen anyone break 25 on that course as it is very hilly and typically very slow. That was 90 seconds faster than his winning time at the meet last year on the same course. I would have expected Tuohy-Gaydos to be closer, but perhaps that was by design as the entire 2-10 pack of Williams came through with only 29 seconds between them. That is a very tight group all running very fast. They all would have beat the winning time from last year. I know that Williams claimed they were sick with Covid through the first two meets, but it looks like they had everyone finally back on the roster, and there is no doubt that they are deep and talented. As of now, I don't see any team in the league even close to matching them for the title, and I'm thinking Amherst has had about all they can take of the Williams squad this season.
Trinity, Hamilton and Wesleyan traveled to Paul Short where they squared off in the white race. Hamilton proved the best of the 3 coming 2nd in their wave with Wesleyan 6th and Trinity 8th. Travis Martin was impressive as the top Nescac Finisher, but he wasn't too far ahead of Hamilton's Brady and Harrell. Hamilton was also much deeper putting 4 in the top 30. Based on how poorly Wesleyan performance against Amherst and Williams at the Little 3's, the fact that these three teams were pretty close doesn't bode well for any of them being in the top half of the Nescac this year, but I have to say, I was impressed with Hamilton's growth and depth at this point in the season.
Connecticut College decided to give the pre nats course a try in Michigan and came up with a solid 10th place finish, but they still have a lot of holes to fill. Carter was the top placer, and he looked solid coming in 3rd against some national caliber talent. Love was only 20 seconds further back, but that put him in 13th. I'm sure he would have liked to be closer to the front, but any race with MIT means there is a lot of traffic between 5th and 15th place. CC's Mellitt, who transferred from Bucknell this year, came in a solid 43rd to give them a pretty good 1,2,3 punch. But unfortunately the 4 and 5 were 2:20 back and that is just too great a gap in these bigger fields to remain competitive. However, they still might be top 3 in a smaller race like league when their low sticks can all be near the front, and the back half won't have as many in between.
We finish out with Middlebury who was at Mike Woods where they came in 3rd. Most folks know that I am pretty high on Midd and I had big hopes for them this season, but this result worries me a bit. They were beat pretty badly by Geneseo, and they seem to be missing a lot of their top guys. Last year's number 2 squad at League and Regionals- Donahue, Cluss, Kessler, Mcgaugh, Lorenze, Goddard and Gironda, are all back except for Mcgaugh, but Donahue is hurt and Kessler seems to be struggling to find his form but at least was their number 2 last weekend. Gironda has emerged as their low stick this season (which is impressive), and Cluss and Goddard round out a solid top 4, but their 5th has been sporadic. They have 2 super frosh in Johnson and West, but they were over 90 seconds back. They will need to tighten all of this up if they want to stay in the 2nd spot in the Nescac, but more importantly if they want to make it to Michigan. I still don't see much of a threat from CC or Amherst at regionals, but the committee might only take 2 or 3 teams from the Mid East this year the way things are shaping up
All that being said, we will get to see most of these teams face off in 10 days at the CC Invite (except Hamilton, did they not get the memo?) With only 2 weeks after that until league, these results will give us a pretty clear picture of where the conference stands. I'll take a guess (and I'll probably have to eat some crow), but here goes.
1. Williams- Right now, I don't see anyone even close to them
2. Middlebury- But they need to get healthy and consistent because others are lurking
3. Bates- I know this one is a shocker, but they look pretty strong right now
4. CC- I think they have the potential to be better, but they need to clean up the back end
5. Tufts- There isn't a lot to go on here, but Wagude is a legitimate low stick and they seem to be well rounded.
6. Colby- They surprised us last year at League, but they seem to have lost some of their core group.
7. Amherst- Sure they got slaughtered by Williams, but they are still pretty young and fast
8. Hamilton- They performed well at Paul Short and they could sneak up 1 or 2 spots, but we need to see how they perform against the stronger Nescac teams
9. Wesleyan- They were not competitive at the Little 3's but split Hamilton and Trinity at PS, so they deserve this spot.
10. Bowdoin- 3rd at the Maine state meet, but they were well behind Bates and Colby
11. Trinity- Martin is a solid low stick, but he needs a lot of help to pull this team up.
Sleepers for top 10/5 at NESCAC's? Last year the likes of Walter Wagude and Zander Kessler beat Elias Lindgren, Tuohy-Gaydos, Love, Carter, etc. I think one sleeper could help a team podium this year.
1. Tyler Morris, Colby (tough runner who knows how to win and defend his title)
2. Elias Lindgren, Williams (obviously a huge talent who could very well challenge Morris)
3. Graham Tuohy-Gaydos, Williams (multi-time All American who has made huge strides in the last year)
4. Matt Carter, Conn College (had a tough race here last year but has one of the fastest 8k times in the NESCAC so far this season)
5. Jeffrey Love, Conn College (All American in the 10k who will get sniped by his teammate in the last mile)
6. Zander Kessler, Midd (finished second here last year but has been rather quiet so far)
7. Walter Wagude, Tufts (had a breakout race here last year but also been rather quiet)
8. Alec Gironda, Midd (led Midd at SUNY and looks to finish strong here and improve on last year's 11th place finish)
9. John Lucey, Williams (a top runner on a top tier team who was Williams third man at Purple Valley)
10. Nikhil DeNatale, Williams (standout rookie from Williams who was their fourth man at Purple Valley)
11. Travis Martin, Trinity (has not run anything super standout so far but a consistent top runner in the NESCAC so cannot count him out)
12. Will Spollen, Williams (finished 12th here last year, but has also been quiet)
13. Brendan Mellit, Conn College (transfer from Bucknell who got his season to a hot start with a low 25 8k)
14. Eli Boesch-Dining, Bates (led his team at the Maine State Invite but hard to get a gauge on where guys on that team stand against the rest of the conference).
15. Charles Namiot, Williams (has also been quiet but has strong PR's that cannot be overlooked).
On the bubble (in no order): Nate Lentz (Williams), Simon Kissam (Williams), Ned Farrington (Bates), Chris Verstandig (Conn College), Ziggy Goddard (Midd), Max Cluss (Midd), Stuart Pollock (Conn College, not sure if he graduated), Ben Mellor (Colby)
The NESCAC Championship is at Hamilton College. Does anyone know what the x-c course is like? It seems to be a course that is not well travelled within the NESCAC.
Hamilton is located in Clinton, NY, an upstate town with steep hills. The course runs through and along campus. It won't be Conn Coll fast, that's for sure. A brief video overview is here -
Where is NESCAC Dad with the Conn recap?? He hasn't posted in two weeks. NESCAC dad, are you OK? Maybe he's just busy analyzing incoming class's high school seasons and how this affects NESCACs 2026....
With a week and a half until NESCACs where won't gain any new information about the teams, it's time to use this thread to speculate the true identity of NESCAC dad. I postulate he is actually Sam Gatti Tufts '22
Its gonna be really close between Conn and Bates. At CC Conn was not at full strength, but Bates also had some guys who did not have the best races. If both teams put it together on the same day my money is on Conn. Tufts I think is also going to finish very closely behind both those teams since they tend to put it together by championship season (even if the rest of the season does not show it). Colby I think is a definite 3rd at this point, since similar to Tufts, they always put it together during championship season. Colby had a huge breakout race here last year and I expect the same tomorrow.
slow does this course run compared to the Conn Coll course?
Run slow compared to Conn Coll, the Hamilton course does.
I have a weird feeling the course is going to be faster than we think. Not many teams travel to Hamilton, so this weekend will tell us how it compares to conn. I’m going to go out on a limb and say times will be within 20 seconds of what we saw at Harkness 2 weeks ago
After an exciting weekend at NESCACs, here's my recap for each team:
1. Williams - After an iffy start to the season due to illness, this team finally showed just how dominant they can be at Purple Valley and once again displayed that depth on Saturday. They won handily with just 41 points and put 7 in the first 20 spots. Lindgren is arguably the favorite for the national title and while Tuohy wasn't where he likely wanted to be, there's little doubt he'll get sharper for their final meets. John Lucey had a phenomenal day and I’ll be interested to see if he can continue to run with Tuohy. Adding in the extra firepower they have in Namiot, Kissem, Spollen, and Ratcliffe, Williams has a great shot at a podium finish, if not a national title.
2. Colby - This was one of the more shocking finishes of the weekend, given how far back they were from Middlebury at CC, but Colby once again showed how strong they generally are late in the season. Morris did his job as a reliable low stick and Mellor ran extremely well to finish in the top 14, beating a lot of guys he lost to 2 weeks prior. Based on the results it seems their 3-5 packed up and ran a smart race, each finishing within 12 seconds of each other in the low/mid-30s. This finish likely cemented their nationals bid barring a disaster at regionals and if they can continue to run this well, don’t be surprised to see Colby in the top 15 in three weeks.
3. Middlebury - 3rd place probably feels like a disappointment after such a strong performance at CC, but it was only a 2 point deficit to Colby and overall they still ran well. Gironda and Kessler both finished in the top 10 and Goddard put himself in the top 20 with a strong run. They also have to be encouraged by the improvement from freshman Shef West, who came in as the team’s 5. Johnson and Cluss seemed to have tough days after they both (especially Johnson) ran well at CC, which is probably what put them just behind Colby on Saturday. With that said, Midd is still a lock for nationals and has the pieces to be a top 15 team at that meet.
4. Conn - As they have all season, Conn ran another solid race. Carter was phenomenal in securing a 3rd place finish (just 9 seconds back of Morris) and Love wasn’t far behind in 6th, showing that he’s only getting sharper as the season progresses. Mellitt maintained his role as a their 3 and finished well but has shown the potential to be better in past meets. Scardigno and Norton ran well and both placed within about 25 seconds and 15 places of Mellitt, giving Conn the depth they so desperately lacked in 2021. Notably, Verstandig had a decent showing as Conn’s 6, so he could be back in the mix at regionals in 2 weeks. With their first win over Bates and another over each of Tufts and Amherst, Conn’s nationals resume only improved.
5. Bates - Not their best day but they were still not far behind Conn, who was already riding their coattails at the invite two weeks ago. Boesch-Dining, Smith, and Kering were all very good and gave them some depth closer to the front. Farrington has been struggling a bit since the Maine state meet, if he can finish up with those front 3 in their ensuing meets then they wouldn’t be too far off of Colby/Midd. I’m interested to see if he can pull this team together two weeks from now.
6. Tufts - They’re quite deep and showed it on Saturday, putting 5 runners in the top 42 places. Knowing that, you’d assume they would have put themselves ahead of at least one of the teams in front of them. It was just such a tight finish and they got the short end of the stick. Wagude was very good, although he was likely hoping for a higher finish and is certainly capable. Freshman Aouchiche had a huge day to break into the top 25, followed by solid finishes from Appleton, Ensslin, and Printy. This is a true bubble team in the nationals conversation, and while they have some out-of-region wins, I think they will need a win over Bates and/or Colby at the regional meet to give themselves a true shot.
7. Amherst - Frankly, if I were an Amherst athlete/fan, I would be way more excited about 2023 than this year. They have 4 freshmen in their top 5 who all ran very well at this meet and have been building momentum as they gain experience at the 8k distance, not to mention Dassin leading them in 18th (he will also be back in 2023). Frankly, this is an incredibly talented team that may have the brightest future out of any other NESCAC team. However, as they displayed on Saturday, they’re just a bit too young to pull out consistent wins against the teams listed ahead of them, as multiple of those are currently in their prime. It’s likely they would have to beat Middlebury in 2 weeks to have a chance at a nationals bid, which is a long shot. With that said, watch out for this team a year from now.
8. Bowdoin - This was a pretty good day for Bowdoin, given the significant divide between the first 7 teams and the remaining 4. Frankly, 8th was probably their best potential finish. Their biggest strength is the trifecta of Goddard, Angevine, and Peters, all of whom placed in the top 35 and will return next year. They just currently lack the depth that would put them in the conversation with Amherst. However, their 4-7 will also come back in 2023, giving Bowdoin an opportunity to bridge the gap and break into the top 7 next year.
9. Trinity - The highlight of the day for the Bantams was the finish from their top 2. Martin broke into the top 10 and L’Esperance-Kerckoff was 24th, and they’ll both have a great shot at qualifying individually for nationals. Like Bowdoin, however, depth is their achilles heel as no one else finished in the top 70. 12 of their 13 runners return next year and their new coach will have a full year of head coaching experience under his belt, so Trinity could be moving up next year as well.
10. Hamilton - Despite having home court advantage, Hamilton did not come up big on Saturday. Their low stick in Brady ran exceptionally well, finishing a lot higher than many may have expected him to, but there was a severe drop off after that- no one else broke into the top 60. Their main focus will likely be getting Brady ready for a run at an individual nationals bid while trying to develop some of their guys behind him for the coming seasons.
11. Wesleyan - There always has to be a last place team, and frankly the only team that may have actually run “bad” at this meet is Wesleyan. Even though Rogers had his best race of the season by coming in the top 30, no one else finished above 90th place. Their focus from here on out will likely be getting Rogers to nationals. However, like Trinity, they are young and are also working under a first-year coach. They’ll have a good shot at a higher finish in 2023.
The Clark Ricciardelli era is ongoing. All the Amherst guys wear basketball shorts in his honor. As for Bill Massey... he made a big mistake trying to go by Bill instead of Billy. Never the same runner after that change. I would expect big things from Amherst's young core moving forward. They are set up really well for the future. Only guy I worry about is George Cahill, as he seems destined to hit the talent graveyard based on his trajectory this year.