Not much to see here, both teams have HUGE 1-5 gaps so not really indicative of what we will see from either side down the road. However do to the potential to add another low stick Olaf is my favorite at this point.
Not much to see here, both teams have HUGE 1-5 gaps so not really indicative of what we will see from either side down the road. However do to the potential to add another low stick Olaf is my favorite at this point.
Everyone is talking up Eau-Claire, why? I'm not very impressed with their lineup so far. Yeah they beat an Olaf team without Brown, but at this time of the season I don't think it means much. It's tough to speculate because you don't know whose just sitting or injured. I think one thing is clear, if either team loses ANYONE in their top 5 there is going to be an insurmountable gap and leave the door open for deeper teams. I hope for Olaf's sake that Brown isn't hurt because if that's the case then they can kiss their chances of repeating good-bye. Over the long term I think teams like La Crosse or NCC have the know-how and the experience to be the cream of the crop come late November. Speaking of which, why is no one talking about NCC's performance last week, mixing it up with the D1 guys at that Illinois St. meet?
Also, who all is going to be at the Brooks Oshkosh meet? Are we looking at the typical National preview meet of the top teams in one place?
That's the annoying thing about D3 XC is you have to guess because there's no decent reporting. Most other sports you'd know what the deal is with Jake Brown. Maybe he's injured, or maybe he was just feeling under the weather (he didn't run spectacularly at an early Alumni 5K race) and was held out of yesterday's meet to play it safe.
It appears last year's #5 guy Calvin Lehn is still not healthy, so it will be a challenge for the team to defend their title. However, 1500 stud Paul Escher is doing well, and if he keeps improving it'll be great news for the team.
I know some people at Olaf, Jake Brown is healthy. Unclear why he didn't run, this is the time of year when illnesses are rampant at college campuses..
At this point, I would argue that NCC has become the clear cut favorite- not just because of their early performance but because of depth.
So far, in the one 8k North Central has run, they put 3 under 25 and another 2 right at 25:04, with roughly a 30 second split. Yeah courses may be different so its tough to compare times but a 30 second gap to #1 kelleher who was 3rd in the 10k outdoors has to mean that their top 5 is in pretty good shape right now.
St. Olaf loses to Eau Claire without Brown and Lehn- who you would hope would be back at the end of the year. But at the same time, the lack of depth shown (a 2 minute 1-5 gap?) shows that a single injury to one of Olaf's top guys could mean the difference between top 2 and not even trophying.
Eau Claire didn't look all that impressive either. Their top guy ran pretty well (transfer from Minnesota) but they had almost a minute gap from 1-2 and they appeared to be full strength running their returnees from last year plus the transfer and the freshman.
Williams got dusted by St. Lawrence last week so its tough to tell if they'll be a team to contend for a trophy or not. Same with St. Lawrence- tough to really tell based off 6k times whether either are top tier contenders or just top 10 contenders.
Central won easily over Wash U- and yet looked incredibly unimpressive. 70 second 1-5 gap, top man only 25:20 on a fast course (Crain from NCC ran 24:20 here last year), Horton clearly hurt or out of shape as their 4th man. And they're supposed to be the #5 team in the country? With 1 guy sub 25:40?
Honestly- I'd say this has to be considered a down year for D3. Lax ran decent in their opening 8k- but only had 1 guy break 26 (and a 40 second gap between their 1 and their 2). Haverford and Calvin both seem to be hitting major down years in the programs.
I think maybe by the end of the year, if St. Olaf gets healthy, it could be a pretty big battle between them and NCC, but for now, it really does seem across the board to just be a down year in general in terms of team depth/strength.
Its far to early in the season to be making judgements about whether it is a down year or not. Most teams are still in heavy training and shouldn't be running impressive races anyways. I see nothing wrong with teams shooting to podium at nationals losing to other teams of lesser caliber if they are truly peaking at nationals. I actually think it is going to be a rather deep year once we see Olaf, NCC, Williams, Eau Claire, and Central start racing at their potential later in the season.
New England: Slow weekend, most teams didn't race except at UMass Dartmouth.
From the MIAC thread:
[quote]Rankings wrote:
St. Olaf...were without Jake Brown, who has a minor knee injury that is not expected to keep him out for long. The Oles are hopeful that Calvin Lehn may be back in time for MIAC but will certainly not be at his best if he makes it.[quote]
I would agree that NCC should be the favorite at this point, but it's still early. I still think St. Olaf has a chance to get back to form by end of season.
Clear kut? wrote:
Central won easily over Wash U- and yet looked incredibly unimpressive. 70 second 1-5 gap, top man only 25:20 on a fast course (Crain from NCC ran 24:20 here last year), Horton clearly hurt or out of shape as their 4th man. And they're supposed to be the #5 team in the country? With 1 guy sub 25:40?
The course ran significantly slower this year I think in part because of the heat that day. If I recall correctly, Chicagoland was looking at a high of 85 or so that day. Last year at the same meet it was near perfect running weather (and course may have been potentially a little bit short...a problem that may have ben rectified). Don't read to much into the times, but will agree that WashU looks to have lost a step or two. Hopefully they'll come together at the right time this year, they do have a history of doing that.
Lucy Cheadle 21:03 for 6k there. Seemed fast.
GoBears wrote:
Lucy Cheadle 21:03 for 6k there. Seemed fast.
Implying that is fast for her.
anrand wrote:
GoBears wrote:Lucy Cheadle 21:03 for 6k there. Seemed fast.
Implying that is fast for her.
It is faster than she ran all last year...
Anyone know why Williams blew up against SLU a few weeks back? Cotton looked strong, but it seemed as if the rest of the squad massively under-performed.
Heard they weren't racing all out. Not sure if thats true or not...
First real test for New England this weekend at Purple Valley: Williams, Colby, Middlebury, Tufts, Amherst, and MIT
The saratoga invite is the most prestigious in the land. To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. Everyone was running all out.
The Wheaton course was a full 5 miles for guys. The girls course was only 30 meters or so long.
The course has been short in past years, which should explain the huge time gap.
Amherst gonna take home the gold, the true NESCAC purple.
Pre-nats in Wilmington, Ohio. Times seem awfully fast.
http://timerhub.com/getHytResults.php?page=finishtimingresults.com/2014/09-27-NCAA/140927F002.htm
Doug Exeter wrote:
Pre-nats in Wilmington, Ohio. Times seem awfully fast.
http://timerhub.com/getHytResults.php?page=finishtimingresults.com/2014/09-27-NCAA/140927F002.htm
Seem fast? the course is clearly short- unless you're saying that this North Central team is the best team ever in Division 3 history by a huge margin. 5th guy at 24:05? I'd bet it has to be a minute short.
Still, NCC with 16 points and a pretty good spread is impressive none the less
So you don't think a guy that ran 4:30 pace for three miles, 6 months ago can run 4:45 pace for 5? Hmm sorry bud, but stop trying to make these times closer to your pr... Sucks to suck, bro