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

james carney was 2nd at the us 20k champs to dan browne. another good showing. hopefully he can continue running well to the olympic marathon trials in nov.

IUP Alumni Race 8k XC, August 25, 2007

1. Jorge Medina 27:14

2. AJ Kelly 28:21

3. Nate Shelly 28:35

4. Eric Shafer 28:35

No need to report after that...suffice it to say, huge gap b/w Nate Shelly and #2 guy (Phares).

Hoovis

Its very early, and im not sure what sort of effort was put forth by some of the other rock fellas, but the 1:11 second gap between 1-4 on only a 6k course is not going to get it done. Now i understand their number 1 is Weiss, but Geddis, and whoever their number 5 is need to work on closing that up a bit. A minute is fine on a 10k, but a bigger gap will be exploited by a dense edinboro pack.

just some thoughts... hope everyones classes are going well, im excited about some more results this weekend.

oh yeah, rough weekend for LHU. Never a good to start to get 1-8 by any team. Maybe PSU is going to do something this year.

Here's a novel idea. Worry about yourself instead of how the Rock team is racing or "what kind of an effort they put forth." They know what they are doing and in case you didn't notice the race was a DUEL MEET in Alaska. There were more moose than spectators for the race. The team is well aware of how good Edinboro is and of their ability to really race well when it matters. Harder efforts and better times will come later in the season.

Here's a novel idea, quit being so sensitive. Chances are the post you responded to was intended to get a rise out of someone at SRU. Looks like it worked. Everyone at Slippery Rock knows what they need to do, just laugh off stuff like that.

Even if that wasn't intended, then big deal. Teams on top always get the most criticism. Take it as a compliment that anyone is paying attention.

The course was 7.2k and very hilly in Anchorage. The Rock guys looked very tough. They are a top 10 team nationally no doubt.

man, that's pretty far to go for a dual meet.

Yeah, but Anchorge is freakin amazing at this time of year. If my school was willing to shell out the dough to send me there to race...I'd be all about it!

IUP has one decent Fr, he actually finished just ahead of me at the alumni meet. But most of the team looks as if they didn't run all summer. As of right now I'm on the DL with a bum foot (jorge the stairs in 411 claimed another victim)

I just hope we can beat Cheney this year...

technically bill is a sophmore, but chad is right, IUP is officially doomed. and theres no california dream to save us this time.

...but dont get us wrong, we still plan to run like hell. Watch out cheney.

damn it...those stairs are haunted or something. every year some one seems to have an "accident." how long are you out for chadero? Dont worry guys, you will beat Cheney. Just keep running hard this season and lets see how much the team can improve. Hasta le vista baby.

p.s Luke, I heard you claimed another victim.haha.

or rather she claimed me...

Philadelphia:In general, I agree with most of what you’ve written on these boards. However, I’m not sure I totally agree with this post. If you look at the results from the Rock’s Anchorage race, you’ll note that there was a 1:18 gap between their #1 and their #5 runner. While you think that is “not going to get it done” – I actually find it very impressive for a number of reasons:1.) We all know that Weiss is one of the top five runners in the nation. We also know that Weiss is incredibly diligent about putting in his miles over the course of the summer. So, having a fifth guy that close to a top fiver this early in the season bodes really well for a team. I’m confident Bluman and Geddis will get stronger and faster as the season progresses. I’m guessing same will be true for Ulrich, but he’s somewhat of an unknown. 2.) While most coaches love to have a 1-5 split that is under a minute, it’s definitely not a requirement to have a great team (even one capable of winning Nationals). Let me elaborate on this a bit. If you conduct a simple 1-5 gap analysis on the winning Men’s teams at D2 Nats over the past decade or so, you will note that many of these teams have a gap of under a minute. In fact, the same can be said of most top 7/top 8 teams (the difference here is simply that the top runner of a #1 team is significantly faster (30-60 seconds) than the #1 runner of a # 7 or #8 team…so, the entire “pack” is further back). However, this is certainly not always the case. In fact, the last two teams to win NCAA’s had 1-5 gaps greater than a minute. Last year in Pensacola, ACU had a 1:04 gap between Naimadu (the overall winner in 29:17) and Philip Birgen (who finished 24th). The year before that in Chino, CA, the Western State gap was even greater with Kelly Christiansen finishing second overall (31:10) and sophomore Cole Murch rounding out their top-5 by finishing 17th, 1:20 behind Kelly. And, these are not anomalies. Western has had 1-5 gaps greater than 1 minute on several occasions and managed to win Nats. In fact, last time Nats were held at the Rock, Aish won in 30:53 and their #2 runner (Josh Eberly…no slouch as he went on to run with the Hansons) was a whole :42 seconds back….and their #5 runner Scott Nagelkerke finished in 32:38…resulting in a whopping 1:45 1-5 gap. Despite this, Western still handily beat ACU winning 38-74. So, as I’ve outlined…one can have a great team with a 1-5 split greater than a minute. But, you will note above, there is one common element in all of these examples. Each of these teams I mention had a great #1 runner. Naimadu is one of the most celebrated runners in D2 history having won XC Nats three years in a row (2004-2006). Aish is an Olympian and New Zealand’s top distance runner…and also one of the most celebrated D2 Cross Runners (and perhaps the one with the biggest and most controversial reputation). Christiansen isn’t quite in that same group, but he was on teams with Oliver Bodor so they had a pretty good 1-2 punch. I’m not saying that Rock is going to go out and win nationals like the teams I’ve mentioned above. However, I am saying that the composition of the Rock team (a great front runner with a solid #2 and a strong #3 & #4) looks a lot like those teams above. And, in that regard, I think that they will not only be fine this year…I think that they will be damn good. It’s a long season and things could change, but looking at them right now, I think they are a top 5-6 team. And, that fact, along with the fact that Boro will be very good (a top 10 team on paper) ’s going to make it one damn exciting Cross season in the PSAC.P.S. What they hell happened to Matt Grey? Is he redshirting? Did he leave the Rock? Dude finished 19th at Regionals last year as a frosh...Hoovis

Philadelphia wrote:

Its very early, and im not sure what sort of effort was put forth by some of the other rock fellas, but the 1:11 second gap between 1-4 on only a 6k course is not going to get it done. Now i understand their number 1 is Weiss, but Geddis, and whoever their number 5 is need to work on closing that up a bit. A minute is fine on a 10k, but a bigger gap will be exploited by a dense edinboro pack.

just some thoughts... hope everyones classes are going well, im excited about some more results this weekend.

oh yeah, rough weekend for LHU. Never a good to start to get 1-8 by any team. Maybe PSU is going to do something this year.

hoovis not shooting down your analysis but i don't think you can compare national results to a dual meet in alaska. Nats. results were of a 10k race not a 7.2k race where weiss didn't appear to be pushed. However in the same vain i don't think philadelphia is all the way in the right. philly why don't you just wait a bit till the season gets going before tearing down one of the best teams in the psac. sorry for the rant but grad school class is really slow right now. good luck to everybody this weekend...

I guess I was making an assumption that the Rock team all went out and ran as hard as they could. I'm making this assumption based upon the following reasons:1.) You're in freaking Alaska. You travelled 3,000+ miles to run a meet. I'm guessing you're going to run hard. 2.) If they weren't running hard, Weiss and Reagan would've finished together...as would have Bluman, Geddis, and Ulrich. 3.) Two of your top five sat out last year so that you could have a great team in 07. Another guy transferred to come be a part of it. It's your first meet of that season. You're going to bust it. If they're all running as hard as you can...the gap is THE GAP regardless of the meet...the only difference is that Bluman, Geddis and Ulrich will have 40-50 runners ahead of them, instead of just one.Hoovis

DrewNesbitt wrote:

hoovis not shooting down your analysis but i don't think you can compare national results to a dual meet in alaska. Nats. results were of a 10k race not a 7.2k race where weiss didn't appear to be pushed. However in the same vain i don't think philadelphia is all the way in the right. philly why don't you just wait a bit till the season gets going before tearing down one of the best teams in the psac. sorry for the rant but grad school class is really slow right now. good luck to everybody this weekend...

hoovis,

1. Relax no need to get fired up about this lets just be glad people are talking about our conference.

2. Regardless of the fact if the rock went all out the course was 2.8k short of nationals length. the discrepency in length would of caused a LARGER gap even if and especially if the runners stayed the same speed. Weiss would of run continued to cover the 2.8k faster then #5 runner and the gap would of increased.

3. not trying to be obnoxious but calm down i agree with you the gap between their runners is small and anybody staying that close to an All-American bodes well for the rock.

Drew:

Hey man, I'm not fired up about this at all..other than excited that it's going to be a fun year to watch. I apologize if my message/tone implied otherwise. Those who know me, can attest I'm fairly animated...so, I'm sure that comes across in my posts.

And, you are definitely right on about the distance difference between a 7.2K race and a 10K. I'm guessing Weiss would've opened up another 30 seconds or so over that final 3K.

Know that I appreciate the dialogue and am excited that folks talk about the PSAC.

Hoovis

amen hoovis and pinto stop reading this and get to practice, see ya on friday

Finally had a chance to check out final scores for the WC prediction contest. Ended up being a close race -- a 3 way tie for first. Jorge, keep trying buddy :)

Hoovis

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