DIII Central Region

I think Nebraska Wesleyan looks stronger than Luther on the women's side. Could be really close though between those two teams, St. Thomas, Carleton, and St. Olaf.

St. John's looked really good at MIACs. I think they win on the men's side.

i thought st johns looked alright. looked awesome through the first mile or so, and then their runners started falling back while hamline and carleton were coming on strong at the end. it helps that they have 1 major frontrunner and another solid man up front. i imagine they will win the regional, but there have been better upsets than that before, so who knows.

St. Johns should run away with the men's title. Wesleyan has looked pretty good and after last year I don't think you can count Luther out in championship meets. Carleton ran well at MIACs as did Hamline, but I think Grinnell and Wartburg will battle.

Erichsen will take the individual title with Busche winning the battle for second.

1. st johns

2. nebraska wesleyan

3. wartburg

4. carleton

5. hamline

6. luther

which individuals will go? i was at the miac champs and i thought st johns looked a bit weaker than last year. i'd be surprised to see them in the top ten at nationals.

All I know, is that I am David "Samson's" number 1 fan. What

a heartbreaker!

Matt Busche Luther...for the win!

SJU

NWU

Luther

Wartburg

Hamline/Carleton

Those are the teams that will go to nationals. Whoever said Grinnell is dreaming, they will not make it or even realistically battle. That is of course for the mens side.

Womens

NWU

Luther

St. Thomas

Carleton

Wartburg

Thats how it will go down.

Regional champs are Chris Dunker and Janet Dobyns, both should contend for top 10 spots at nationals.

Erichsen will most likely win. Dunker is solid and so is Busche, but Erichsen is better than both of them. He is just plain faster than the rest of the field. I would be surprised if he lost. Chenoweth could sneak up to second as well.

Top Ten Men:

Erichsen (St. John's)

Dunker (NWU)

Busche (Luther)

Chenoweth (Wartburg)

Fermoyle (St. John's)

Grant (Loras)

Timblin (NWU)

McKay (Luther)

Greeno (Bethel)

Hodge (Wartburg)

St. John's has the best one-two punch and their 3-5 are close enough together to win the team race rather easily. Luther has a better 1-5 than NWU, Grinnell, or Wartburg. However, NWU's and Wartburg's 1-2 could score place higher than Luther's so it will be close. I put Grinnell in front of Wartburg because their spread was 30+ seconds at their conference meet and Wartburg's 5 is too far from their 4. They will suffer from lack of depth for the first time in a long time.

Teams:

St. John's

Luther

NWU

Grinnell

Wartburg

Spencer has proven to be better than Dobyns in the past, but Dobyns has a better coach so I am going with Dobyns.

Top Ten Women:

Dobyns (Luther)

Spencer (Grinnell)

Borner (Bethel)

VanOosbree (Wartburg)

Theisen (St. Thomas)

Hubbard (NWU)

Brandenburger (NWU)

Louthan (Grinnell)

Umhoefer (Bethel)

Berry (Central)

NWU beat all the MIAC and IIAC schools at Tori Neubauer so they are my pick for now. The MIAC and IIAC schools will battle for the rest of the spots. St. Thomas is probably the second best team after NWU, but then it is a toss up.

Teams:

NWU

St. Thomas

St. Olaf

Wartburg/Luther/Carleton

Until Erichsen gets 1st in the region or better than 15th at nationals in xc, Dunker is better. Track times, and fast times on fast/short courses have little relevance in xc running. Dunker isn't a trackster, but has proven ever since his freshman year--regardless of how he looks during the year--that he shows up at regionals and nationals in xc. So, he is and should be the favorite until someone beats him.

Dunker

Erichsen

Busche

Grant

Fermoyle

Those will be the top 5 guys IMO. Should be some solid individuals, the region has the potential to get 4-7 All Americans this year. Hopefully the latter.

Spencer and Dobyns will be a good race. I say Dobyns takes it at the end though. The women's side looks like there could be 4-5 All Americans. But that is a little premature talk at this point I suppose.

erichsen did beat dunker: he crushed him at la crosse.

also, he ran a minute faster than dunker last weekend, and the course erichsen ran on is not a fast or short course.

if i were chris erichsen, i'd be worrying about being national (not regional) champ. if dunker has a strong race, he might beat fermoyle.

You're obviously an SJU runner or fan, but read what I posted. Dunker and NWU never run that great during the season. They show up the last two meets, when it actually matters. 24:44 winning by nearly a minute and not a fast/short course? Get out of here, maybe legit, but it was a fast course. Dunker might beat fermoyle? Get real, Dunker will beat him by at least 15 seconds. The kid is a gamer, he runs well at regionals and nationals. That's how NWU does it, year in and year out.

actually, i'm not a big fan of the johnnies; i just think that you're underestimating erichsen if you say dunker is the favorite and selling fermoyle short by putting him fifth. dunker may be a "gamer," but his performances thus far point out to me that he's not really close to erichsen's level. he may come on like you say he will, but for now i stand by what i said.

I agree that Erichsen is strong. I don't see him losing to anyone in the region. Dobyns on the women's side.

Men:

SJU

NWU

Luther

Carleton

Women:

NWU

Luther

St. Olaf

St. Thomas

erichsen is a great runner, and I wouldnt be surprised if he wins. Not in the least, I think he'll contend at nationals, but I also think Dunker will and being the defending champion I think that carries some merit. I know his performances so far look average, but go back in previous years and look at him. Same thing. Erichsen, Dunker, Busche, and Grant are all going to be ahead of Fermoyle and Chenoweth may as well get him too, along with McKay from Luther. He may end up in the bottom half of the top 10. He got waxed by erichsen, and erichsen is good but not that much better than the rest of the field.

Any word on which course St Olaf will use for regions?

Word has it that they are doing one loop around the pond and 6 loops around the soccer fields due to new construction of some sorts.

They're going to be using the same course that they ran at pre-nationals. It cuts off the long hill near the highway and you head across the soccer field twice. I was on the course yeasterday and its pretty firm.

Teams and Individuals who will make it to nats:

SJU

NWU

Luther

Carleton

Wartburg

Ben Grant (loras)

Dan Greeno (Bethel)

David Swanson (St. Olaf)

Carl Gladitsch (Bethel)

David Montogmery (Grinnell)

Dan Steinbrecher (Hamline)

Eric Osterhaus (Simpson)

gridler, dont say you arent a fan of the johnnies. it is evident you are. i agree erichsen will probably win, and has a good shot at national title. but dont saying he is selling fermoyle short by putting him at 5th. with the competition in teh race, i dont think it is selling him short. it is avery real possibility. dunker is better, and probably busche as well. mckay can also probaby beat him.