Official 2014 DIII Cross Country Thread

CH wrote:

Forgot to note. The above list of runners is impressive for Eau Claire. A WIAC championship is no guarantee but those saying they don't at least have a shot of beating LAX are dreaming.

My bets as of now:

1. St. Olaf

2. North Central

3. LAX

4. battle between Eau Claire and Williams.

LAX won't trophy this year.

I think JWU is the sleeper team. A lot of young talent

I think st. olaf is the sleeper team.

BR wrote:

I think st. olaf is the sleeper team.

Agreed. Although they should be considered one of the favorites for the national title since they return a strong trio of all Americans as well as their 5th and 6th runners from last year's national team, it takes 4 All Americans to go along with a strong fifth in the top 40-60 overall to contend. I do see a fifth runner in Meyer (last year's 6th guy) but they really need that 4th guy which is a mystery right now. Can Escher step up and become an all American caliber cross guy after a big outdoor season? Or can Lehn (if he even still runs) return to form after what seems like an injury plagued sophomore year and be that 4th all American required for st Olaf to repeat as national champs?

Also, NCC always is the preseason number one but who fills out the rest of the top 5? Central college returns everyone I believe and should be considered as a strong candidate for a spot on the podium his year. Eau Claire seems to make a decent case for a podium spot as well after rumors regarding the transfer of Thorson. However, their top 5 just doesn't impress me at this point. Yes, they have two all Americans in thorson and mugan, but Leitner hardly matches up with the other top teams' 3rd runners and eau Claire's 4, 5 has not proven anything. So I do think they will be a podium team this year but I predict atleast a 50+ point gap from the two clear best teams Olaf and NCC. Central and eau Claire seem to be the 3rd and 4th best teams in the country though.

Just curious, but when do pre season rankings come out?

Central loses Austin O Brien. That's a big loss, considering their 4 and 5 guys are not that strong. Unless Decker runs like he did his freshman year and some of the younger guys step up, Central will have a hard time placing higher than last year.

lax has one year left until the well runs dry, they arent gonna let the opportunity slip

Its all in the game though, right?

How can the well go dry in LAX when they are led by USATF LEVEL 3 instructor Derek Stanley?

Good joke.

The amount of WashU trolling in this thread is egregious.

Adam Kevin is rolling in his grave.

Central had a bad nationals race last year except for Eli Horton and O'Brien. Their other 5 all ran poorly. I would expect them to be one of the top teams. St. Olaf has to be the favorite and you never know with WIAC schools and their low academic standards. Those renegades always get some transfers from d1 schools. It will be the usual suspects...NCC, UWLAX, WashU, Williams, and Central probably in there too.

Who the f*$& is Adam Kevin? Also I know who you are, "little pineapple"....

Adam Levin wrote:

Who the f*$& is Adam Kevin? Also I know who you are, "little pineapple"....

little pineapple here. can't take credit for anything in this thread this year.

Pre-season rankings are out.

Lol.

interesting...

Geneseo's coach Mike Woods is retiring. Congrats to him!

http://geneseoknights.com/sports/genrel/14-15/woods_retirement

Go Go daddy wrote:

http://gold.flotrack.org/rankings/subjective/37

interesting...

Unless Flotrack has inside info concerning major injuries at NCC, they have just severely discredited themselves as having any knowledge about running whatsoever. 7th? They could run their 5-10 and get 7th.

2009 (NCC's glory year) and beyond: 1, 2, 1, 1, 2

1+2+1+1+2=7

Yes the illuminati is real

NCC puts 3 under 25 with two more very close in their first 8k, and Williams has reasonable showing at a 6k. The rest of the top 5 teams didn't race this weekend.

In other news, word on the street is Padgett accidentally ingested some bread and is vomiting heavily.