Official 2025 NESCAC XC Thread

Id like to appologize as ive been proven wrong; Bates and Williams will not be duking at NESCACS because bates put an absolute shi#ter of a performance up today. How do they have 10 guys sub 9:10 in the 3200 PRESEASON and still are running 26 minute 8ks. I will appologize on that fact but this race did expose Williams for the absulote fradulent clowns they are. This is potentially the most flaccid performance possible for a program with such high recruiting prowess. Explain how Tufts rested Jonah Rizzler (who violated the williams top runners by 30 seconds at Kent State Invitational) and still submitted the Ephs with ease (not to mention the other 4 teams who took turns giving rambunctious backshots to this sorry squad). Wow. This is a program known for peaking in October and hibernating through both track seasons, but this is a new low; this year they couldn’t last as long as @#1 Ephs Supporter with his pet hamster. Looking at the other Cac performances, it seems Amherst was sleeping at the wheel today as well but they also didn’t appear to be at full strength. Everyone is hating on Wesleyan for not bringing their A team but don’t sleep on the Cards. Noah Mahomes, a key contributer had a sneaky solid race and Leo Calhoun is a sure lock for Nescac champ if Rizzler doesn’t bring his A game. That being said, hear is the updated Nescacbooty power rankings:
1: Tufts
2: Wesleyan
3: Amherst
4: Williams
5: Midd
6: Bates
NA: The shi#ters

Word is that Williams and Tufts have finally agreed to a merger. This makes sense after years of doing the same workouts and races, and also their shared love for 4:06 miler Jamie Norton. Together they aim to beat Tufts’ 2022 nationals score. Wesleyan has announced they will be ducking NESCACs in response.

F*ck my stupid f*cking chud life. I can’t believe Williams sold that hard. I bet my entire life savings that they would be the top nescac team today but their
sub5 facecel headasses sold so hard and got 5th f*cking place. I’m so f*cking mad right now you don’t even f*cking know what I’m going through. F*ck Williams and f*ck the entire nescac.

also how the f*ck does bates sell this hard after having the greatest preseason 3200 time trial of all time, way to peak for September guys.

No shot that Colby makes nationals, especially with rolled and chopped “Curtis Leachmen” on their roster. Colby should turn back to their old scattergram ways because the correlation between speed and attractiveness is evident when comparing him to his twin Emmett. Word on the street that he is sexier, faster and has bigger “mule” than his Colby counterpart

Conn was the fastest 8k I have ever seen this year! W pr

post coming soon...conn was exciting af though

Wow. There were some upsets this weekend at Conn College.

First, Tufts made a great case for their nationals run. Coming within 20 points of a fully functioning Johns Hopkins is a good indicator of their ability as a team. Williams maybe didn't have the day they wanted, but I would not say this is indicative of their fitness or racing ability. NESCACs will still favor the Ephs because with less people in the race and a smaller point total for the back guys, putting 2 in front of Tufts one is much more helpful at a smaller race, especially if their back guys can move up as they have shown previously. I would not be confident that Tufts has Williams beat on the assumption that they can do it again because they've done it before, it is still going to be close.

Midd looked solid, not as impressive as their breakthrough at Paul Short, but they are still looking like they will perform well at NESCACs. I just worry that they don't improve at all time wise from here, as they usually don't get much faster over the course of the season. So if other close teams i.e. Amherst, or Colby improve the same way they have been, Midd could slip a spot or two at NESCACs. They have the speed needed, but if they don't put down some faster times I think there are some others that could. What I will say is beating Amherst is a huge step for Midd. Even though Amherst hasn't been having the best season, other than Paul Short which was incredibly impressive, they are still a ranked team and always have been. For Middlebury to take them down again furthers the argument for Midd to be ranked higher.

Amherst had a very high point at Paul Short, so to see this performance from them this weekend at Conn was a bit of a surprise. I figured that they had a rough start to the season because they were having some trouble somewhere along the line, and they had finally fixed it before Paul Short, but clearly I was wrong. Something didn't go as planned at Conn and now it becomes the question of their consistency and ability to perform when it matters.

Colby had an impressive day beating both Maine teams. They skipped Maine states for PreNats, and Bates went on to win Maine States. Maybe instead of running a rough day at Pre-Nationals, Colby should have shut down Bates at the beginning of the season because Bates has been claiming that they are the best Maine team. Colby being able to put it together on the course today was showing of their level in the Cacs. I would say similarly to before, in a smaller meet with less filler runners, Colby will outperform because of their pack running. I'd say be on the lookout for a good Colby performance in 2 weeks.

Bates. I don't know where to start. Not the day I expected. With that being said, again this week was a show of their depth with some guys stepping up into the shoes of their top guys who didn't have the best day. The guys are getting faster through the season, and if they drop faster times again at Cac's the same way they have every race so far, they could shake up the ranks. I think they it will come down to a few points with Colby at NESCACs, their top guys just need to run as they know they can. Side note, maybe if they stopped trolling on this page and spent their time training they would be more consistent/better. I still have them on upset alert and their depth will serve them well once NESCACs rolls around. Arguably they have 15 guys who can run in their top 7, so if some have bad days there are plenty to step up, and now their Coach doesn't have to chose who is in which race. Lastly, I think we can all agree that 2 mile time trials do NOT correlate to XC.

Bowdoin, they definitely had a day of their quality. I wouldn't say great because I think Seamus carried with very little support from the rest of his team, but what else can we expect. I think this year they won't be as competitive in the CAC's but I would also argue that they are in a rebuild period. I would expect more of hte same out of them for the rest of the season.

Wesleyan that was very lame of you.

And Trinity is Trinity.

Let's not count out the Hamilton Continentals. They were off last week, but let's not let this take away from their stellar performance at the Hamilton Invitational. Huge performance against Clarkson and Morrisville State, I'm talking belt to booty. Nine guys under 27:00. I don't care how deep Tufts or Williams are, Hamilton is on the warpath. And don't get me started with Wesleyan ducking smoke at Conn. If Hamilton was there, they would've faced that comp head-on with no fear. I'm not saying we should crown Hamilton as your 2025 NESCAC XC champs (yet), but don't be surprised if the continentals are the ones who rip the title away from Williams' cold slimy grasp.

Anyone know why Riesner didn't run for Tufts? If he had been their top guy they would have beaten Hopkins...

Reisner "The Rizzner" was out of town but he is healthy and will be back for NESCACS. Tufts just know they can qualify regardless of having every runner and won't duck valuable competition experience like certain teams that start with a W and end with eslyan. Also Midd beating Amherst at Conn doesn't say anything because Amherst was sitting 4 of their top 7 at least. Amherst will be solid. And that's on Gregory Baldinucci.

Athletes nowadays are soft- skipping meets, going abroad, barely running mileage- coaches need to push their athletes more and actually make them train for godssakes.

I think Reisner skipped because that's just how weak society is now. Reisner never would've skipped if it was the 90s. I remember the days when Michael Jackson was dangling babies out of 5th floor windows by one leg. That baby is an adult now, perhaps with permanent brain damage, but he will always have that moment.

Why is the williams top 5 unconventionally chopped?

Eli welch decided that looking like guy fieri will help him actually run fast

Malcom Oakes? With his baby face are we sure he's even eligible to run collegiately

Rick yanashia good job on being nescac player of the week. We all know the only reason you got it was because Jonah riesner didn't race this week. And hope your sunglasses don't fall off or else you'll have to wear those big circular ones in your roster photo

And luke zanuk get some better earrings or else you'll never actually break 25

At least bug man elias graduated so that won't weigh you guys down

Compare that to the beautiful trinity team

Evan, Jack, Dolan... Absolutely stunning. Trinity might not be the fastest, but their looks will carry them a lot further than a "Williams Degree"

With it being a bye week for many, it is time to leave this silly discourse and address a real issue: how fast each NESCAC mascot would finish if they all raced an 8k together.

11: Wesleyan, Cardinal, 32:40. Coming in at last place as they so often used to before the glorious Liam Calhoun arrived, Wesleyan's cardinal would certainly win if flying were allowed, but in an NCAA-regulated 8K, the bird's little legs would simply be no match for the rest of the 'cac. When Leo Mayo lets Alex Kermath fly, I will let the cards fly.

10: Amherst, Mammoth, 29:30. Since Amherst switched from their racist "L*rd J*ff" to a mascot more aligned with their NESCAC hopes (extinct), their 8K time has unfortunately taken a hit. The mammoth is awesome in theory (and logo) but it would be absolutely mogged by it's less furry counterpart, along with many other mascots.

9: Tufts, Jumbo, 29:00. The Jumbo is large in size, and the Tufts men are having an equally massive season, but over 8k I fear the mascot's momentum would fall short like Wes at Paul Short. Elephants are also very sensitive animals, so there's no way Jumbo would get any rest living in the Tufts XC Party House (the pride of Somerville).

8: Williams, Eph, 28:40. Unlike Amherst (the real owners of purple in the NESCAC), the Ephs (whatever the f that means) have retained their racist mascot into the present day, showing again how Amherst is a better draft of Williams in every way. Like the Williams team, the Purple Cows performance would be flashy but unfulfilling.

7: Conn, Camel, 27:59. Squeaking just into the sub-28 range, and thus into Conn's top 7 since Matt and Jeffrey left, is the camel. Just like its college, camels are known to be docile beings that exist in a beautiful setting. Unfortunately their trophy cabinet is dryer than the Sahara, and would remain so even after this mascot race.

6: Colby, Mule, 27:58. Just like how a mule is a more disappointing version of a horse, so is Colby a B-tier Bowdoin. And when your only silverware is the "Maine State Championship," the situation is only more dire, but what would you expect from the second-best college in Waterville. Unfortunately their logo looks kind of awesome, but then you remember it is actually a mule (if it were a stallion or mustang that would be way cooler and more fitting).

5: Hamilton, Hamilton, 27:01. When the biggest thing to ever happen to your school is a completely-unrelated Broadway play, you know not to expect much. The last time anyone talked about Hamilton was the 18th-century, and their roster reflects that fact as they're being led by some dude named Johnathan Quinn, a name I am pretty sure is on the Declaration of Independence. Also Hamilton is in New York so they're a fake NESCAC, and with a name like that they should join Union in the Liberty League anyway.

4: Bowdoin, Polar Bear, 26:30. Ever since their glorious king Will Goddard left, the Bears have been lacking in talent on the course. Thankfully, they make up for it with the auraful man that is Axel Nzi, and that DNC money should kick in soon with their recent frosh class. Plus Ben Raphelson seems chill. Polar bears are also intimidating and fast, but they would get disoriented on Bowdoin's mess of a campus anyway.

3: Bates, Bobcat, 25:20. The love of L-A, the tanks of the Twin Cities, Bates have had issues filling Ned Farrington's big, beautiful shoes ever since he left for the only actual college in Maine, UMO. They do have the fastest Nikhil in the NESCAC, however, which ought stand for something. If a Bobcat ever stepped foot in Lewiston it would probably immediately die, but that's beside the point.

2: Trinity, Bantams, 25:05. Trinity would kill for a 2nd-place NESCAC finish, and they will probably hang this up in the rafters, especially with them being the 5th-fastest college in their own city. The Bantam would also immediately step into their top 7, allowing them to catch the New York frauds that are Hamilton. I was gonna put Trinity 10th, then I realized that bantams are lowkey fast.

1: Middlebury, Panther, 24:10. Unfortunately, just like the Midd men, there is nothing mid about their mascot. Despite the devastating loss of Alec Gironda's beautiful self, they carry on looking good and disappointing expectations. They also struggle to race well. Despite the recent slump clearly evident in the team's media pics this year, the panther would wipe the floor with the rest of the field, and George Madison would take great photos of it happening.

Embarrassing lack of ball knowledge. The real Tufts XC house is located in sunny Medford, Massachusetts.

It's time for the voting committee to hop off those frauds over at Wesleyan. They moved up six spots in the national rankings and what did they do to earn it? Resting their top guys and finishing 23rd at Conn? Tufts almost won the meet and moves up five spots, Williams doesn't race their best but still has a decent day and moves up one spot, Middlebury has a huge performance and gets bumped six spots, Colby punches above their weight and gets added to the rankings, and Wesleyan sits their top guys, loses to Vassar and gets moved up six spots. One of these descriptions is not like the others. Amherst also didn't race their top guys and understandably drops three spots, so why does Wesleyan get the benefit of the doubt here? Amherst also beat Wesleyan at Conn despite both teams lacking multiple starters, so why are they treated so differently in the rankings? Why do the cardinals get the benefit of the doubt while every other team has to prove themselves? This will all be resolved in two weeks at NESCACs when one of two things happens:

Scenario A: Wesleyan finally gets exposed at NESCACs, finishing 6th and plummeting in the national rankings (yeah that's right, Colby beats Wesleyan you heard it here first).

Scenario B: Wesleyan sits their top runners at NESCACs, finishing 9th but gets bumped up another six spots in the national rankings based solely off of speculation because who needs logic these days.

Regardless of which equally-probable scenario plays out, I am very excited to see what happens because either way the rest of the NESCAC will find it incredibly entertaining.

Absurd how Wesleyan frauds, who duck any competition and only race their all-benchwarmer team gets to move up 6 places in the rankings. However, I have to give extreme respect to the rankings for understanding that Middlebury is still such an ass team that they deserve to rank lower than Wesleyan.

USTFCCCA NESCAC rankings if ya nasty

Sources close to the situation say luke zanuk is putting in new earrings ahead of NESCACs. Maybe he can finally break 25 for real and maybe even become un-chopped!