Official DIII Nationals Thread

Dammit, why can I never fine these stupid things. Where are they? Checked RaceberryJam, Trackshark, the meet website, NCAAsports...

strange declarations wrote:

Poor choice of the night goes to Amherst, who declared two girls in the 10k, Steeple, and 5k. Why run the 10k when they're much better at steeple? I would have pegged Shauneen for obvious winner in the steeple, but not anymore...

There is no more honest effort rule so they can enter and fake out of any events they want.

perhaps she feels that it is a challenge that she would like to go out on - Yout did it last year. She is 3rd in the 10k so it is nto like she is a middle of the pack, and the other girl is ranked equally in both. Maybe thier coach is nuts but maybe this is what they wanted to do as they have confidence in their ability and toughness - we will see after this coming weekend

RFXCrunner wrote:

Dammit, why can I never fine these stupid things. Where are they? Checked RaceberryJam, Trackshark, the meet website, NCAAsports...

The page I found entries on (NB: still unofficial until 2pm Sunday) had this URL:

Don't know whether that's helpful--not sure how much ground that URL covers.

Anyway, I was sorry to see that none (apparently) of NYU's provisional guys made the meet. They just have Abdallah (5/10), Williams (5), and Phillips (10)--the Double-L Crew. Still could take home four all-Americans, to go with their four from cross country and six from indoor.

PS--Is there truly no longer an honest-effort rule??? Boy, that's about the last thing the sport needs...

8 guys doing 5/10 double. Leer also doubling. 5 fastest runners in 5k will all be doubling, so the pace will drag. Once again the D3 5k ends up being the weakest race of the meet.

Enteries are not final, but of the fastest 5k guys, none willing to try to outkick Leer.

The others will be loittering in the 5k hoping for an AA cert.

They ran the times and it is their right to enter all the races for which they qualified, but as Andrew Carnegie said, "Put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket".

The 5k title might as well be brought to Leer by room service now....

Off the Grid wrote:

...as Andrew Carnegie said, "Put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket".

Pretty sure that was Mark Twain (in Pudd'nhead Wilson).

boggs is the wild-card here. spent most of the season rounding into shape and now looks ready to rock and roll. he's not doubling, and he's run the kick out of leer before (last year). if he's smart, he'll be the one pushing the pace up front if it's lagging.

Leer didn't run the 5k last year. Boggs was the only one trying to run after Yout.

I believe he's referring to xc last year, which is 8k which plays more into boggs hands anyways. I still think Leer is strong enough to win the double, and I don't think he'll have to completely rely on his kick to win.

And my picks to click in the 800 are Pennington and White from NCC.

You've gotta be kidding me. There's no way you can just brush off all the other names in the 5k. None willing to outkick Leer? I'm pretty sure anybody is willing to try to outkick him in order to grab a national title. He has 3:41 1500 speed and he's obviously one of the strongest for the 5000, but that doesnt mean that he's a set winner. I also don't see the pace dragging if the majority of people doubled; everybodys legs are going to be pretty tired, so I couldn't see anybody being comfortable on letting the race come to a sit and kick. Granted; 8 of the guys are running a 10k whereas Leer is simply running a 1500. That obviously could play in to his favor. I'm not trying to discredit anyone, I'm just trying to make sure that you don't do just that. By saying that Leer already pretty much won the 5k is a slap in every other competitors face.

The steeple is absoultely crazy this year, when was the last time a 9:11 was the slowest time to get in?

I am hazarding a guess that because the other top 5 times (aside from Leer) will be doubling back from the 10, they will be tired (yes, tired, fatigued, spent etc....), the pace will drag, and he will walk away with it in the last 300.

By not committing to the 5k alone (whereas Leer will be on his 3rd race), these guys are giving it away because they see a better/easier chance to win the 10.

Who knows...maybe Leer will do as Bak did: blow up and finish last.

But i'd bet even money Leer:the field in the 5k. Maybe more like 1:2

umm, leer didn't win the 5k indoor. I am pretty sure that's reason enough to not say he is a shoe in to win the 5k.

Ellen's running the 10K because she wants to get back for her graduation weekend. She also definitely has more potential in the 10K than the 5K (can't break 5:00 in the mile but can run 16:28). The question is whether she really knows how to run the 10K yet. We'll see next weekend.

Nate - Why aren't you running the steeple?

This is the fastest (by last qualifier) in the last 7 years. I don't know about before that. The previous fastest in that span was 9:12.44 in 2003 for the Nats at SLU.

800 predictions anyone?

MK wrote:

Nate - Why aren't you running the steeple?

Partial tear in my ACL(from when I DNFed at states), unfortunately. Not bad enough to knock me out forever, but bad enough that I won't run for 4-8 weeks, depending on when my doctor clears me.

I could probably have tried to run it, but it would have been stupid of me, as a complete tear generally requires a 7-9 month rehab. Plus, Hunter Norte now gets a shot at AA, whereas I would have been pressed to finish without hurting myself.

Its a disappointment for sure- I feel like I had a lot more in me this season, but thems the breaks. Unfortunate accident, but at least I got away without surgery (that is assuming the PT they have me doing fixes it up enough to run on).

The steeple field is ridiculous this year! I am so jealous of the guys that get to run, it would have been an awesome race. The 1500 isn't too shabby either, with 10 guys under the auto qualifier. I wonder how they're going to readjust the standards next year?

Last year, Calvin, NYU, and Cortland ran some amazing races at the National Meet for Cross Country. The NYU guys had four provo marks, Cortland had three guys Auto in the 10k, but Calvin brings only ONE runner to Nationals. With six AllAmericans in track, I expected a little more. Christiansen (14:32) and Dehaan (9:12) are the only two who have done anything decent on the track. How is the that guys like Finnegan, Gries, VanKampen all in the top 20 in Cross can't manage to even hit a provo time?

Gary Garcia might be one of the guys who could outkick Leer. I never saw him run until just this past weekend at North Central, but he was closing FAST. I'm pretty sure his last 400 of his 5k was in the 58 range. He made up tons of ground on Erichsen that last lap.