DIII National XC Predictions

Midwesta wrote:

I gotta go with no no no on this one. Teamwise, those 25-32 aren't very good, and i can guarantee the 5-7 guys of those teams wouldn't be the top runners for decent high school programs.

Ok then, predict which teams will finish in the the bottom 8.

If there is a consensus and it actually pans out then I guess you guys are correct. Otherwise you'll claim you are no matter what happens, because 8 teams are going to finsh in the bottom 8 competitive or not.

Obviously Midwesta, you are from that far superior region, that should always qualify 10 or 15 teams or so to the national meet. God if everyone else is so bad why isn't your region just the NCAA Championship.

Now in all seriousness, tell me which teams 25 to 32 have runners or is a team that a good h.S. team could beat.

Under the old system many of those teams would already be going, and every year people bitched about there region not getting enough. Most regions got the same numbers as always or maybe one more which those teams are just as competitive.

I can see only two or three regions that got one to many teams. South should only have 1 West should only have 2 and Mideast maybe 3 at most. Other than that I think the teams in will be very competitive.

Like someone else said someone will have to finish in the bottom 8 spots. We'll see who it is. I'll bet the south has 2 of those spots, but they always do. so that leaves 6. Lets just hope it's no one out of the central or the Midwest, because I'd hate to see you have to tell one of them that they didn't deserve to be there.

The only possible team from the Midwest or Central that will finish in the bottom 8 is Wash U. The other 9 are solid, solid teams. Only reason I say Wash U., is that they aren\'t as proven as the rest.

No team from this conference is ever good. They have some great individuals, but the two teams representing this conference will place between 25-32.

I would agree that Centre and Rhodes will most likely fall in the 25-32 range, but the SCAC has had some decent teams in the past. Not very many, but some. I was generalizing when I said only 15 teams should be at Nats. It is obvious there are other good programs who are having down years such as Nebraska Wesleyan, Tufts, etc. I just think the field should be smaller so it is more competitive. Just because you add more teams does not make it more competitive. There will not be any more guys fighting for All-American than before, there will be more guys fighting to crack 200 though. That is what I mean by "watering down" the competition. There will be more guys who run 27:30-28+ min. for an 8k than ever before and I think that is silly. I realize not every team will have seven guys who run under 28:00, but the teams at Nationals should only have one (two at most) who run those types of times. Nationals is meant for the best teams, not teams to receive bids because some old farts want more representation and participation. Like I said, if all you are looking for is a chance to participate then go join intramurals and leave competitive collegiate sports as they were.

I think York High School (Ill.) is one team who could beat a slew of teams that will make this year's nationals. There might be some others, but I am from Illinois and I know how strong this team is.

I'm not sure why you think these teams are so slow. My team is one the the teams that you probably think shouldn't be going to Nationals, and we have 5 guys under 26. Our 7th guy has a 26:30 PR. A 26:30 8k is equivilant to 16:00 for 5k, I'm pretty sure there aren't too many high school JV team that put 7 under 16 for 5k.

what do you think? Leer for the title? was he holding back some at the West regionals? I dunno, I like Sigl though. A man amongst boys.

I don't think York fits into the category of "mediocre" high school teams.

Leer wasn't holding back at Regionals, he lost in the last 50 yards.

i think york would first need a coach before they can take on any college team

2 horse race between sigl and yuot. i don't know how anyone could call kaul a contender for the title after sigle destroyed him twice.

before this season i thought yuot would run away with it. but now i think sigl can give macharia a battle. they're both great kids...i can't wait to see it!

I'm a member of the Wilmington College program and was out working on the course today. One thing to note about the course is that the conditions will probably play a big role in the race as far as who the winner will be. Its not going to be the fast course that everybody is expecting it to be, the amount of rain we have been getting has left the area extremely soggy. There's standing water in some places and for the most part the course is just down right muddy. The amount of rain we've been getting just hasn't given the ground a chance to dry out. Teams that are coming into the weekend expecting a race track are gonna sorely mistaken. In my opinion the muddy conditions hurt the chances of guys like Leer who are just pure speed demons. The course is gonna favor stronger types who can slog through the mud and not get worn out.

Luther wins it.

Just playing. But the Central Region should represent well in positions 5-12 or so. Possibly 4 teams in there.

It is ridiculous to say that decent high school teams would beat any of the teams going to d3 nationals. There are maybe 2-3 teams that would not finish last at division 3 nationals. It is simply a different level of competition. Every team that qualified would average under 16:00 for a decently hard 5k course and I doubt that there are many high school teams that can do that.

SCAC = worthless wrote:

No team from this conference is ever good. They have some great individuals, but the two teams representing this conference will place between 25-32.

What are your PRs?

Just because the two teams will likely fall in that given range doesnt make them worthless. There are a slew of conferences that have 0 teams make the national meet. And then add to that 6+ individuals going out of that conference and it is a pretty decent group of schools.

Go Irish