you left out the fact that he repped the US at jr world XC champs. and his 6th place finish at the OT in 2004 as an undergrad.
he's got an amazing range--1500-10k xc. i think he was also under-trained his last 2 years when gerard took over. now that he's back in OR with a coach that he has a better relationship with, he'll be able to fully realize his talent. i think he'll make it to the final of the 2008 trials, with the top 6 being:
Webb
Lukezic
Manzano
Sage
McClary
Leer