MAC XC 2007

messiah by an inch

hmm lets see..

We got Eanes returning for Messiah.. had a great track season (4:10, 15:00, 32:2?) and Black who had a great freshman year in xc but was injured during the spring.

Etown lost a load of Sr. runners 4 from their top 7? donovan, bres, theobald, cohan? And are returning some injury prone guys like st. clair and B. bear. And some other guys who only have mediocre track seasons.

I think if messiah turns in 1-2 freshman into the top 7 they should be ok. They have a few mid distance guys that should help out in cross (hager and kaufman).

But history shows that etown will win after all they have won the past 8. I think thats the end of the line, i dont think they'll make 9.

dual meet hypothesis

messiah 1,2,5,6,10= 24

etown 3,4,7,8,9= 31

I think it will be a little bit closer than that. The returning guys from Messiah had better track seasons than E-town, no question about that. However, E-town showed more of a focus on the longer distances and had a bunch of their guys who were not varsity in 06' run low 16s. I think it really comes down to what teams put in the work over the summer. Over the years I have interacted with members from both teams, classy people all around. Best of luck to all of the MAC runners who put in the work over the summer.

Using last year's results, with seniors and those moving to the landfill conference removed, the meet scores like this

Messiah: 1,3,8,11,19 = 42

Etown: 4,9,10,12,21 = 56

DeSales: 2,13,18,22,33 = 88

LVC: 5,14,16,17,39 = 91

So, what does this mean? Not much. Messiah is better on paper. This doesn't include St. Clair who sat-out the MAC meet last year. It also does include stud recruits. However, most importantly it doesn't account for the work put in over the summer.

In 2005, Widener was far and away the best team on paper. However, Etown edged them out 40-41.

paper is cheap

Anyone konw what the course at Delaware Valley College will be like?

The course really isn't a good one at all and I'm not quite sure why they chose it for the MAC meet. The starting area is in the middle of a soccer field and about 150 meters into the race you make a fairly sharp left onto a cowpath that stays rather narrow for the first mile or so. Lots of turning and uphills that first mile. At around the mile marker, the ground is very rutty and uneven. Then you go down a hill and into the back section, which basically has you do various loops around a bunch of fields. The past two years our team has opened up there and we really do not look forward to it at all. I wish I was just being overly critical, but I really cannot stand this course. However, regionals is to be held at Lehigh campus, so everyone can get their fast times in there :)

The course will have to meet some minimum standards for the MAC meet. They are outlined in the MAC championship booklet. I have been told that there will be a good deal of work done on the course from the time they host their invite leading up to MACS.

I also hear the course is pretty fast, narrow, but pretty fast. Fast times mean nothing, certainly on short (Paul SHORT) courses. Cross country is only about one thing - overall place.

Lehigh... man.. everyone goes on and on about how "fast" it is....

After running there.... I don't believe it lives up to its hype at all. Yes it doesn't have any significant up-hill climbs, but it's not the pancake-flat-you'll-run-faster-times-than-you-ever-imagined-holy-crap-I'm-sprinting course that everyone makes it out to be...

In reality, it's got a lot of sharp and sudden turn going this way and that way, and like you never get into a consistant paces. You have to slow down into the turns. I felt like I was constantly running a fartlek work out.

Now, it's certainly faster than dickinson's course or.. most other places for that matter... but it's not any faster than running on your typical golf course.

I think it gets it "fast" reputation from high school races which stay closer to the stadium, where it probably is quite fast.

it's definately going to be a dual meet that's for sure

What do you predict?

I think Buffalo will win the MAC. They have an excellant coach and a really veteran team.

yeah, buffalo huh??

here are the reginal polls.

Mideast Region

Preseason

1. Haverford

2. Allegheny

3. Carnegie Mellon

4. Dickinson

5. Johns Hopkins

6. Salisbury

7. Elizabethtown

8. Swarthmore

9. Muhlenberg

10. Messiah

I guess we will have a better idea after paul short.