Will Carleton find running mates for the big three? Will the Oles overpower the All-Conference lists with more random runners we've never heard of? Can the young Johnnies capitalize on a strong outdoor season to surpass Macalester?
Are the rumors of a 5th year Boone true and will he make the leap to challenge Bati?
What freshman are we excited about beside the Bethel and Gustavus class?
Oles big transfer going out Carls & Johnnies have big ones coming in
Freshmen classes- Oles Mac Bethel Gustys Cobbers Johnies
I look forward to that list being destoryed at carleton in 6 months but athletic.net looks better than we'd like for the oles
WAY too early cross list
Carls-Confrence track results should be a massive boost to the true kings of northfield
Mac-MAC PACK ATTACK young and getting better. I predict they win the majority of Miac xc champs in the second half of the decade
Oles-One more year till Phils power dies out and then their toast. They always stumble at big races so I think they fail to do anything really special in cross like they did in track.
So I take it Lloyd young of st. john's is not coming back, even though he technically has another year of eligibility for cross, so that leaves Grove, Cavanaugh, Stencel and maybe Hensel or Allen.
Macalester's only loss is Fendig? And they get Crotteau and Olsson back, so they'll be moving up in the ranks
Carleton you mention the big 3. Is Melville fifth yearing? Or do you think Lyness is just going to step up enough to be with Gabe/Roy
And besides the obvious loss of kelly, st. olaf also loses Lynn, Curtis and Estrada.
basically, any other notable fifth years out there?
Phil actually helped recruit the sophomores and Bretscher has been coaching the 1500 runners with help from Byv from Atlanta. It will be a while before his influence goes away.
Olaf returns Skemp, Turlington, Hartney, Coffey, Manzur-Strandlund, Deaver, Max, and possibly Cote? Deaver, worst guy in this group has run 15:04/25:34/9:28. Not to mention Fitzgerald ran 9:00. Anyone who doesn’t think they are the favorites is nuts. Favorites doesn’t mean they will win, but even Indy joining Roy/Gabe will need big performances from their transfer and freshmen.
The Johnnies/Mac squads could also be scary good this year. A healthy Carter Grove is an absolute game-changed. Hope to see him back at full form. Would be awesome to see the MIAC split up the WIAC dominance because Stout and Platteville should be top 30 teams this year. I’m a little worried the top MIAC won’t beat any either of those two and still can’t beat La Crosse & Whitewater.
Unfortunately for the Oles I have it on good authority that Deaver is in trouble for biting people, could miss the entire season. Power trying to cut down on that on his team.
Anyone thinking they have a shot at winning any MIAC race next year should just meander over to Mo's Strava. Might as well give up Cal, Gabe, Kevin.
Nobody in the MIAC is fast enough to straight up beat him (like Gregg/Patzka) so the only choice would be for a top team to sacrifice someone to drag him out way too fast for ~2 miles.
He tends to go with the leaders even if he probably shouldn't so if someone could crank out a low ~9:00 ish first two miles, wear him out and let the field run him down they could have a chance, obviously that doesn't work if Mo holds back... for cross he'll be tough to beat.
Anyone thinking they have a shot at winning any MIAC race next year should just meander over to Mo's Strava. Might as well give up Cal, Gabe, Kevin.
Nobody in the MIAC is fast enough to straight up beat him (like Gregg/Patzka) so the only choice would be for a top team to sacrifice someone to drag him out way too fast for ~2 miles.
He tends to go with the leaders even if he probably shouldn't so if someone could crank out a low ~9:00 ish first two miles, wear him out and let the field run him down they could have a chance, obviously that doesn't work if Mo holds back... for cross he'll be tough to beat.
Kelly tried that in the Fall, but it didn’t work. It did pay off Indoor. Bati owned him outdoor though.
Lowkey looking productive during my internship when I'm actually writing the most accurate MIAC writeup ever in the style of the UAA thread.
1. St. Olaf. They return 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 24th and a lot more depth with 7 athletes under 15:20. Turlington improved to 14:28 and Skemp dropped a solid 30:08 giving them a formidable 1-2. Heartney ran from 3-5 last Fall and after running 3:50 and sub 15 he'll look to join high school teammate Manzur-Strandlund in making a jump into the upper echelon of the MIAC. Fitzgerald could be an X-factor after running 9:00 in the steeple.
2. Carleton. The big two of now juniors Gabe/Roy will expect to be joined by the rapidly improving Indy. All three will be top ten in the MIAC and put a scare into the Oles. If Lange, Bernstein & sub 16 man Simon CT improve at the rate we've expected from a Ricks athlete, they will only need a freshman to add some depth. The loss of Melville and Bowman is not insignificant and opens the door for the Johnnies to break up the Northfield lovefest.
3. St. John's. If Carter Grove returns to form, this Johnnies have a tremendous shot at topping Carleton. And we can certainly immensely talented sophomore class make huge strides after a year in the Maxwell/Tim Miles training program? The duo of Kaluza/St. Peter finished 27th and 28th last year we can expect them to follow strong Springs and MIAC scoring to be top 15 in XC. Look for Max McCoy (9:49 steeple), Cole Stencel, and 15:10 5ker Eamon Cavanaugh to make noise with their strong pack running.
4. Macalester. I want to put them higher, but so much depends on a resurgent Tor and Nick Ihrke. McKee will take Will Kelly's role of being a Grinder's grinder and grab his first top ten MIAC finish. The improvement of Tyler Edwards has been momentous and his 14:53/31:15 PR's make him a great fourth man. If is the No. 2 runner they Scots can expect to remain in 4th. Does Crotteau have remaining eligibility? His 8:36 3K PR suggests a huge upside if healthy.
5. Gustavus. Nick Breuer needs some friends. Can McCullough emerge as an elite training partner? Or will Nick continue training by chasing Brendo on his bicycle. Can Tyler Smith be the same runner on the grass that he is on the track? He didn't show a result last Fall, but holds a 26:16 PR. Rumors of an incoming elite class could make a big differences for the Gusties.
6. Bethel. Will Graber/Thompson return for yet another year? Can Lelinga figure out the 8K. Will Hootie Hage be the man from Day One? Kalsnes running sub 10 and sub 16 shows he has the potential to greatly improve over his 98th place finish in the 2023 MIAC Championship.
6. Concordia. The expected development of the "Future" and the Future's brother, the Hanna Cavinder of the family could lead the Cobbers past the Gusties into the top half of the MIAC. Coach Van Beek has proven her teams will be ready when it matters, but they'll need a 5th year from Nowacki and a strong recruiting class to move up.
8. St. Scholastica could finish much higher, but I'm not really sure who has eligibility. The All-American low stick in Boone is hard to forget, but without the Robin to his Batman, he'll be forced to rely on several unknown commodities. Nathan Neu just missed honorable mention honors last year and could be a difference maker for the Saints. Douglass is another formidable distance runner that has yet to see the level of success on the grass. If Tucker somehow has another Fall, look for them to ascend into the top half of the MIAC and another Coach of the year award for their coach.
9. Oft-injured Grant Schneider is a significant difference maker for Saint Mary's and solid freshman campaigns by Smyth and Fitzgerald leave the Cardinals with optimism to improve on their 10th place finish in 2024. Look for some newcomers to challenge for other scoring spots.
10. Augusburg - despite having perhaps the best athlete in the history of MIAC running, the lack of depth keeps Augsburg toward the bottom of the league. A strong freshman track season by Oty creates some cause for optimism but the graduation of track ace Asfaw means Bati will be in serious need of reinforcements.
11. Hamline. LiaBratten had a terrific track campaign, running sub 10 for the steeple. Only two other athletes clocked distance results in the Outdoor season. The Hamdogs will need a significant recruiting class to move up in placings.
Lowkey looking productive during my internship when I'm actually writing the most accurate MIAC writeup ever in the style of the UAA thread.
1. St. Olaf. They return 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 24th and a lot more depth with 7 athletes under 15:20. Turlington improved to 14:28 and Skemp dropped a solid 30:08 giving them a formidable 1-2. Heartney ran from 3-5 last Fall and after running 3:50 and sub 15 he'll look to join high school teammate Manzur-Strandlund in making a jump into the upper echelon of the MIAC. Fitzgerald could be an X-factor after running 9:00 in the steeple.
The last of the Coffey's will hopefully have something to say this season as well.
Lowkey looking productive during my internship when I'm actually writing the most accurate MIAC writeup ever in the style of the UAA thread.
1. St. Olaf. They return 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 24th and a lot more depth with 7 athletes under 15:20. Turlington improved to 14:28 and Skemp dropped a solid 30:08 giving them a formidable 1-2. Heartney ran from 3-5 last Fall and after running 3:50 and sub 15 he'll look to join high school teammate Manzur-Strandlund in making a jump into the upper echelon of the MIAC. Fitzgerald could be an X-factor after running 9:00 in the steeple.
The last of the Coffey's will hopefully have something to say this season as well.
Who do you think wrote this manifesto of Ole love? The Cavinder twins reference gave it away. The guy is obsessed.