Official 2021 NCAA Cross Country Nationals DI Live Discussion Thread

Wise Old Man wrote:

sourpunchkids wrote:

I project something in the low 28’s for the men’s 10k based off how fast the women ran today.

Serious track 10K coming. Does not favor Mantz. I’m looking for Teare doing much better than expected.

This aged well

The NAU dynasty continues. Expect more of the same for years. They got 2 studs coming in in Colin Sahlman and Puffer. And if Nico's brothers Lex and Leo and Aaron Sahlman come from the Newbury Park express the year after...

Grassrunner wrote:

TMADDDHASFNE wrote:

Mantz should turn pro tomorrow and start training for the 'Thon. A lighter and faster version of Jared Ward minus the 5 kids.

Mantz running style and strategy reminds me more of Pre. Bad-ass baller.

He's alcohol free pre

Yo, crazy statistic, Ryan Raff has run on 3 NCAA XC Title teams for NAU, and his best finish is 150th place. Has this ever happened before?

aguy wrote:

No one cares about cross country.

Including Y-O-U, dude, going out of your way to post on PAGE SEVEN of a message thread about the championships in a sport in which you claim no interest. You care, too. Obviously. Like so many of us. No one cares that you're a moran, or a maroon, or even a moron.

mounty wrote:

Thoughts:

Really impressed with Iowa State, OK State, and Arkansas! I didn’t realize how good they are through 4 guys.

BYU and Colorado not showing up

Notre Dame blow up. They completely neglect the entire season, make a mockery of our sport and hope to show up last minute and win. Bites them in the butt.

Overall it’s just crazy to see who rises and who falls due to the occasion alone. I think rankings are a more accurate picture of ability than the race itself because of this. However the game is to show up when it matters

I somewhat agree and disagree. Ofc it’s just one race but its the race and we saw teams and individuals we thought were top 10 guys and teams falter. I think cross rankings are fine but they should be taken less and less seriously because it’s different when ur at the championships and not that one invitational where all 5 of ur guys can be in the top 40. Also the jump to 10k as well. 1500 guys obviously handle 8k better than 10k. The rankings don’t factor in future performance and like all sports, it’s incredibly difficult to predict but that 2k jump is a big one

What a fantastic race and finish by both Orton and Mantz. Can’t wait to see what they both do on the next level. For whoever compared him to an alcohol-free Pre -is funny. The last two years have been “pure guts races” and he lived up to it to make sure he won. Whether grinding out a killer last mile to win by 22 seconds or a dead sprint 400 out, he is fun to watch.

After all his racing in the last nine months, hopefully he can rest up for a bit and start picking single events to focus all his attention and energy.

Excited to see who he signs with., What he did today I think shows that he made the right decision to increase his stock :-)

runnER/DR wrote:

dryeyes wrote:

How is Mantz a JUNIOR? Can someone explain this to me?!

2021 Junior(again)

2020 Junior(COVID doesn't count)

2019 Sophomore

2018 Freshman

2017 Redshirt

Didn't he go on a mission too?

just a regular guy in the neighborhood wrote:

runnER/DR wrote:

2021 Junior(again)

2020 Junior(COVID doesn't count)

2019 Sophomore

2018 Freshman

2017 Redshirt

Didn't he go on a mission too?

Yes graduated HS in 2015. 2 year mission to Ghana.

Yes, Mantz went on a mission to Ghana. He graduated HS in 2015. Another gutsy race... from the 24-year-old junior.

Interestingly, the heralded NM ladies pack did well despite finishing 3rd, 18 seconds 1-5 in a large fast race. They just ran into NC State, who also did 18 seconds with a faster 1st runner. NC State was 27 and 29 the two real races they ran this year so they overperformed today. BYU was only 44 - but they had the very fast "1".

Runtothelight wrote:

Yes, Mantz went on a mission to Ghana. He graduated HS in 2015. Another gutsy race... from the 24-year-old junior.

Cry about it

Anyone know what happened to Amanda vestri? Didn’t even start the race

commentor wrote:

Anyone know what happened to Amanda vestri? Didn’t even start the race

she and 2 team mates. Sound like maybe an illness.

Cross country is brutal. Things happen…the course,the elements, pushing yourself beyond exhaustion way to soon, I have seen a lot of brutal things happen even to the best runners in cross country. Teare will be back with a vengeance in track make no mistake about that

Agree. All this talk of this being a track race because it is Florida was misleading. This was not a track race. No track 10k has a hill. Running on mixed terrain, humidity, in other times heat. It makes it a tough race. Going out running sub 28 10k pace does not help either.

Thrilling meet to watch.

rojo wrote:

It should be a fun one tomorrow. Here is how you can follow it.

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2021/11/results-2021-ncaa-di-cross-country-results/

Observations:

NAU isn't going anywhere soon. The dynasty continues

Nico Young's trajectory is flattening

Charlie Hicks trajectory is getting steeper

Cole Sprout's trajectory is falling off a cliff

CO and BYU men's teams sucked in Tallahassee @ 10k.....but not as bad as Notre Dame

another observation - top 30 ladies ran a negative split - 3K at 9:55-10:00, finishing 19:51 or better.

Anyone feel like this was the most “meh” national meet in a while? I mean it was fine and I always love a good XC race, but I turned off the broadcast thinking, “well I’m gonna forget about that race is 48 hours”.

Girls race was an absolute snooze fest. It’s been 3 hours and I can’t remember a thing about the race besides NC State winning.

Boys race was fine. More of the same though. No one ever had a chance against NAU or Mantz. I guess ND was maybe the biggest surprise of the day…but it’s never fun watching a team implode. Boring course, boring races, hoping some new individuals and teams step up soon as Mantz still has another year left and it seems like NAU is stacked for the next decade.

Also, when will we agree that BYU just isn’t that good? Connor and Casey are studs, but my goodness their 3-5 is always a letdown.