the ncaa has GOT to change the regions. the 8th midwest team is ranked 28th, and comparing with the oshkosh-brooks results, that's probably being conservative.
the ncaa has GOT to change the regions. the 8th midwest team is ranked 28th, and comparing with the oshkosh-brooks results, that's probably being conservative.
The ninth team in the region, WashU, also beat Brandeis (23rd ranked last week) and Grinnell (currently 30th).
sled dogg wrote:
la crosse raced on a tough, slow, muddy course. ncc raced on a pancake flat oshkosh course where most runners pr by huge margins. so the times are completely not comparable.
First, I specifically spelled out that the comparison was for entertainment purposes only.
Second, the comparisons were relative, not absolute times. In other words, I made no comparison between Spain's 24:25 and Wilhelmy's 25:29. The comparison is based on how far the other runners and the other teams are behind those runners. It's not a perfect correction for course and conditions, but then again, I didn't claim it to be.
The midwest region is consistently ridiculous. Here is my solution--move the Chicagoland teams to the Great Lakes region (which is an average region at best most years). I think it's like 10 teams-NCC, Wheaton, Elmhurst, U of Chicago, Aurora, Benedictine, North Park, Lake Forest, Concordia Chicago, Dominican. Something like that. Most of the teams won't be a factor regardless of region, but moving Wheaton, NCC, and Chicago would definitely change the Midwest Region a bit. It also makes sense geographically since Chicago is the far eastern boundary of the current region.
wilfredo wrote:
How many slots will each region get based on this week?
Midwest
1, 2, 5, 8, 11, 20, 25, 28
Atlantic
2, 3, 4, 7, 17, 27
Mideast
6, 8, 14, 15, 31
New England
10, 17, 22, 23, 29
West
12, 21, 33, 34
Central
18, 26, 30, 35
Great Lakes
15, 24, 32
South/Southeast <---Ouch
13
so looking at the rankings as broken down above it looks like...
The Midwest,Mideast,New England and Atlantic each get 5 (taking 12 of the 16 at large bids)
The West gets 4 (taking 2 of the 16 at large bids leaving 2 left)
The Central and the Great Lakes each get 3 (taking the remaining 2 at large bids)
This leaves the South/Southeast with just the 2 auto spots. It also leaves 4 teams that are currently ranked between 20th and 28th at home, might it be time to look at the way the field is selected again and perhaps do some sort of hybrid of the system that was in place before this one and the current one.
you have a typo. the #2 seed is no longer in the atlantic. they only have 5 ranked teams now. so even if the at large bids were to fall according the the ustfccca rankings the only ranked teams that wouldn't make nationals would be out of the midwest. also, if some of the low ranked teams get upset at regionals (fairly likely) the distribution of at large bids could vary from what the polls are predicting.
I disagree about New England getting 5 teams in. The region was a bit stronger last year and they only got 4 in. New England is full of individuals who will compete for AA but really only has one strong team, Williams. I still think Williams will make a run at their second straight podium despite their low ranking. Their varsity as a lot of nationals experience and has two great Kenyan frontrunners. Unless Amherst, Keene, or USM can really put it together, the rest of the teams in New England are all pretty mediocre and will struggle to crack the top 15 or so at nationals.
new england wrote:
I disagree about New England getting 5 teams in. The region was a bit stronger last year and they only got 4 in. New England is full of individuals who will compete for AA but really only has one strong team, Williams. I still think Williams will make a run at their second straight podium despite their low ranking. Their varsity as a lot of nationals experience and has two great Kenyan frontrunners. Unless Amherst, Keene, or USM can really put it together, the rest of the teams in New England are all pretty mediocre and will struggle to crack the top 15 or so at nationals.
I Somewhat agree, I think on good days Ahmerst, Keene, and Southern Maine are threats, but Williams is definitely a realiable team that never seems to have really off days. their experience racing definitely seems to shine through over the other teams in the region.
Why is the south so bad? i mean really
WHHY! wrote:
Why is the south so bad? i mean really
Because in the south, a school like Davidson- which has a lot in common academically with lots of strong academic/athletic DIII schools- is a DI program. And because non-flagship state universities in the South are often DI programs too. Case in point, North Carolina and Wisconsin actually have a very similar state university system. However, whereas UW-Lacrosse, UW-Oshkosh, etc. are all DIII, in North Carolina, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Wilmington, etc. are all DI programs.
Wisconsin has 5 schools that offer athletic scholarships and the public schools offer reciprocity with MN
VA, for example, has GMU, JMU, UVA, Va Tech, Norfolk State, William & Mary, Richmond, VCU, Radford, Longwood, Hampton...those are just 11 off the top of my head where the better 'D3 talent' can wind up. Someone else alluded to the UNC system
I'm not trying to cry on behalf of the region or look for excuses, but it's certainly a hurdle that D3 schools in VA/NC have to face that you don't see as much of in WI.
All of this is predicated on things going to form - which they will not.
Men's National Picture:
Atlantic - 4 teams
Central - 3 teams
Great Lakes - 3 teams
Mideast - 4 teams
Midwest - 6 teams
New England - 5 teams
South - 2 teams
West - 3 teams
2 spots up for grab - RIT, Luther, Elizabethtown, Keene, Witworth, Ohio Northern
Women's National Picture:
Atlantic - 4 teams
Central - 5 teams
Great Lakes - 4 teams
Mideast - 3 teams
Midwest - 4 teams
New England - 5 teams
South - 2 teams
West - 3 teams
2 spots up for grab - TCNJ, Colby, Baldwin Wallace, Brandeis
Guessing Game wrote:
Men's National Picture:
Atlantic - 4 teams
...
Midwest - 6 teams
...
New England - 5 teams
No region can get any more than 5 teams. New England would never get 5 while the AR got 4.
new england wrote:
I disagree about New England getting 5 teams in. The region was a bit stronger last year and they only got 4 in. New England is full of individuals who will compete for AA but really only has one strong team, Williams. I still think Williams will make a run at their second straight podium despite their low ranking. Their varsity as a lot of nationals experience and has two great Kenyan frontrunners. Unless Amherst, Keene, or USM can really put it together, the rest of the teams in New England are all pretty mediocre and will struggle to crack the top 15 or so at nationals.
but there are 32 teams at nationals sooo if the fifth best team in NE is struggling to crack the top 15, that's still pretty good
how fast compared to Terra Hotte is D3 nationals course? and what will the winning time be?
as far as guys individuals go i havent seen any reason why kosgei wouldnt be number 1, but its gonna be quite the race for the 2-10 spots!
I don't see any reason not to label Kosgey of Williams as the favorite for the runner-up battle. He was much closer at NESCACs to Kosgei than the chasers, and looking at some of the other names being thrown out, none really stand out. At any rate, I think he's certain to be top-5 barring of course a bad race.
Honestly, I think Williams is better at every position than last year, so I'll be surprised not to see them on the podium again, though it looks like the other teams competing for that might be better as well.
yup
I think Williams has improved overall, but not as much from their 4-7 men as other teams have. It should be a great race. I am not sure that Peter will win, either...top three or four probably, but he may not win.