1) Nico Young - Brian Musau (advantage Young, experience, plus the way Young and Bosley work together up front. though Musau has looked incredibly comfortable this year considering its his first season. He almost looks bored crossing the finish line, like these races are too easy for him)
2) Drew Bosley - Alex Maier (coin toss, both experienced, Bosley likes to front run and push the pace, could hurt his kick in end. Maier should run like Graham Blanks did at Nuttycombe. Draft the entire race, once he sees Bosley is fatigued go for it)
3) Aaron Las Herras - Fouad Messaundi (slight edge to Fouad, though Las Herras is familiar with Virginia course. NAU's group mentality will help Herras. he needs to stay in touch with Young/Bosley. If they get away from him it could be trouble. Problem is Fouad will be doing the exact same thing. will come down to kick)
4) Santiago Prosser - Will Muirhead (slight edge Prosser. if Muirhead sticks with Fouad it'll help him. Muirhead needs a good start and force Prosser to chase. OKState has guys running 6-7 who could step up and beat Prosser, wheras I don't think NAU 6-7 guys can fill in if Prosser falters. they'd have to run the races of their lives.
5) Brodey Hasty - Jonas Price (I can't bet against Hasty's kick. the problem here is Hasty often starts in the middle as a pacesetter for his team. if Price has a good start and runs up with Fouad it might be too much of a gap for Hasty to overcome. just like in 2022, this is where the team race is probably won.
6-7 plus alternate) Corey Gorgas/Theo Quax/Kang Nuoak - Dennis Kiptenigh/Alex Stitt/Victor Shisama - have to give this to OkState. I could totally see Kiptenigh getting up to a 4th or 3rd spot and stealing the race. Gorgas has run well this season, if he sticks with Las Herras like he did at Nuttycombe it would be huge for NAU. but it's 10k, not 8.
I predict another tiebreaker with multiple protests.