........PSAC.......

PSAC Vader wrote:

Predictions with Point scores

Men.

Edinboro.2,4,11,16,17.....50 pts

Haven....1,6,10,12,14,15..58 pts

Ship.....3,9,19,20,25.....76 pts

ESU......5,13,18,21,23....80 pts

Spots 7,8,12,22,24 will be available for the rest of the conference. I am not seeing too much coming from outside these 4 teams in the top 25. I see regionals playing out much differently then the above scores for this weekend.

Women.

Guessing Ship wins with 35 pts, not sure behind that what will happpen.

Hahahahahahah can't wait till this guys way off.

Would you like to share your predictions?

Lets be honest, PSACs just isn't going to be that interesting this year. There's just not that much at stake. The top teams will probably just run together as there's no real reason to try to blow it out on a course like Slippery Rock. The real thrill will be Regionals this year. Fast course, 3-4 teams battling for the coveted final nationals spot and a lot more at stake. Just my $0.02.

spoiler: Monroe will not win the individual title

Monroe will be pack running with his teammates so he won't be winning. They are going to let Edinboro run away with it and do the same at regionals? Then put it all on the line at Nats hoping for top 8.

Will it work or backfire? Only time will tell

Day before the big show!

1. Edinboro

2. ESU

3. Lock Haven

4. Shippensburg

rather than offering predictions this year, its time to offer up the story lines going into the PSAC meet.

On the men's side:

- Haven vs. Edinboro for the win, anyone else is just pretending

- What has happened to Slippery Rock this year, and can they catch some Cooper's lake magic to stamp themselves as a contender heading into the regional meet?

- Is ESU healthy and ready to put it together for the post season? Missing nationals by a few points can galvanize a team or it can haunt them, we will start to get an answer this weekend. Fezza's struggle is his last race is worrisome after running so strong in the early season.

- Where will Ship finish? 8 Freshmen and Sophomores toe the line for the Raiders, they have talent and credentials at shorter distances but haven't looked like a cross country team so far this year.

- who else steps up? Cal, IUP, Kutztown, and West Chester would all like to view themselves as programs on the rise. That starts with consistency in the post season

- Where do the individuals fall? Monroe, Gillette, Fezza, and Diebel appear to be the 4 standout names at this point in the season, with Fezza the clear favorite. Who else will step up to challenge and put their name in the hat for a nationals bid in 2 weeks. Keeping in mind the WVIAC champion will be in the battle for an individual spot at Lock Haven.

On the women's side:

Ship's women have the opportunity to stamps themselves as a dynasty. the 4 Neely Spence led titles were one thing, but Ship looks poised to continue the string of team and individual championships. 5 in a row would tie for the 2nd longest team streak in PSAC history.

- Edinboro's women won every PSAC championship from 1998 to 2006. since 2006 the Boro women have collected 2 red trophies and scored over 100 points in every PSAC meet, can they get into double digits and upset the Raiders to claim their first team title in 6 years?

- Bloomsburg, Slippery Rock, and Kutztown have spent the last decade collecting top 5 finishes, but have only 1 Bloomsburg victory to show for their success. Bloomsburg appears to be best positioned to challenge the top two this year, but I expect one of the other two teams to surprise.

- The IUP women are in the midst of a banner year, currently ranked 18th in the country after finishing 8th in the conference last year, the IUP women are going to be a force in the battle for top 3.

- Katrina Spratford appears to be the favorite, but will not run unchallenged to the title. Bloomsburg's Victoria Davis, Slippery Rock's Stephanie Case and Edinboro's Kacey Gibson appear to be the major challengers to Spratford and the throne left vacant by Neely Spence. The rest of the top 10 should consists of (in no particular order) Corinne Fitzgerald, Rosie Mascolie, Emma Shank, Amanda Raudabaugh, Amanda Eismann, and Steph Beaudette.

If you know what you are looking for, there is plenty to watch at this year's PSAC meet and lots of intrigue.

wow, just realized i have major typo in this. Monroe is the clear favorite, not Fezza.

Diebel and Davis will take the individual titles, guaranteed.

What information am I missing that is causing everyone to pick against Monroe?

great races out there edinboro with a dominating victory over the field on the men's side and suprise 2nd place by ESU over lock haven, but speaking of lock haven Alex monroe for the win in the mens race. on the woman's side Spratford win's a nail biter against a tough woman's field and shippensburg win's a 6th psac championship in a row.

Thoughts about the race for those who were there?

Boro domination. They are definitely a top 10 team now

Nothing to do with the top teams but a surprise and big improvement from the Mansfield squad as compared to last year.

lol

No one cares about Mansfield

Invade ur psacer wrote:

No one cares about Mansfield

And you finished where at PSAC's? Oh never mind you won the race to checking the results fastest from your computer at home.

Them's fighting words, dude!

PSACer wrote:

I would pick Beegle over Blood in the last 400m of a steeple anyday, he made Hilton look like a little b***h.

5 Takeaways from the PSAC meet and the days after:

1) Edinboro's men can make a run at the top 8. I don't think they have any All American caliber athletes, but they have 7 guys that can finish in the top 100 and that will give them a chance to compete for the 8 spot.

2) Don't sleep on IUP. The women are legit, the men almost made top 5 and both groups seem to be showing year to year improvement. In his 4th year, head Coach Joey Zins might be in process of building a program that contends on a yearly basis.

3) Ship's women should be a top 8 team at nationals. On paper this team is as good at 3-7 as the 2008 team that got 6th at the national meet. They will need a healthy Steph Pryor to collect their third top 6 finish in 5 years.

4) The women are better than the men this year. It will be interesting to see if Monroe or Spratford finishes higher at the national meet, but after that it seems pretty clear that the women's teams and individuals are better on a national level than the men's teams and individuals.

5) The Lock Haven men were disappointing. Maybe they trained through, maybe East Stroudsburg ran the race of the year. Either way, this LHU team beat the ESU men twice this year, and then got handled at the conference meet. Regionals are at home and fully expect the LHU men to rebound and make the national meet, but that was not an inspiring performance.

Last comment, and it has nothing to do with racing. I don't understand the Mansfield mocking. Mocking teams from within our own conference makes no sense. It reflects poorly on us as a conference. Some teams begin the season with a goal to win the PSAC, some teams begin with a goal to finish top 10. After the injuries Mansfield has suffered this year, it may have been a goal to just get 5 healthy girls across the finish line. Personally I support and congratulate of the conference's teams in their accomplishments. In the greater running world 99.9% of the people who compete in the PSAC are insignificant specs that will never impact the national running scene. The people in this conference run because they enjoy competing, and from top to bottom they have goals to accomplish. Using this message board as a forum to belittle a team is ridiculous. Everyone gets defensive when folks from the RMAC or DI come into forum and remind us where we stand in the order of things; why would be do it to members of our own conference?

Standard Ethiopian wrote:

Nothing to do with the top teams but a surprise and big improvement from the Mansfield squad as compared to last year.

*To clarify, Men's team