No love for Kent state in the top 30?..They took down Wisconsin and Iona at Iona's own invite
No love for Kent state in the top 30?..They took down Wisconsin and Iona at Iona's own invite
Yeah right about Fernandez. The kid was cool as ice at NCAA outdoors and crushed people that qualified for the world champs. Jager and Fernandez are the future of US distance running. He may not be the favorite but there are about 10 guys this year that could win NCAA on the day. Chelanga has really only looked unbeatable at Pre-nats but I think if the chase pack had been a little more aggressive and a few guys could have scalped him at Nats last year. Shawn Forrest beat him at outdoors last year and i think German is a better runner. 3:55 indoors, 13:25 and a whole summer of healthy training. He is definitely one of the favorites and he was the clear #1 last year at OSU and will be this year as well.
mideast?? wrote:
Alabama didn't run their #2 (supposedly) even though Emmanuel Bor has been out of his top form for some time now. After a bit more thinking, I have changed my rankings slightly.
1. Northern Arizona
2. Alabama
3. Stanford
4. Oklahoma State
5. Colorado
6. BYU
7. Oregon
8. Syracuse
9. Portland
10. William and Mary
And I still hold firm to my belief that German Fernandez is not the CLEAR #1 at Oklahoma State. As to him being "injured" last year at NCAA cross, word on the street is that he DNF'd purposely. Dave Smith reportedly said himself that German couldn't handle the pressure, faked his achilles injury, dropped out of the race...but was back running again in a weeks time. Don't know if this is entirely true or not, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
John Kosgei will beat German Fernandez at NCAA's
it wasnt worth mentioning because until proven its a stupid f***ing rumor which slanders a kid with absolutely nothing to back it up, and until you have proof you are a piece of shit for saying it
Dont want to stir the shitt but no one has ever run faster than 13.25 and 3.55 at OK state.
Dont see how FG couldnt be number one.
As a former OSU insider, I get sick of the crapp I hear.
It is very soon in the season, at this time of the year constructive XC program only do thresshold and long run. Of course they are not going to kick ass !!
4 years ago we were ranked 25th, and we got 8th at national. OSU just had one accident last year ! and I would not even count it as an accident because one of their runner got injured ! Who thought they would get third two years ago ?
Dave smith is an incredible coach but most importantly he is great person who respect people more for what they are than for how fast they run.....that is maybe why he is such a great recruiter and can attract people like GF.
A mile on an indoor track and a 10k on grass aren't the same thing. That being said, I'm sure German will be a top 5 finisher this year if he finishes.
who won the big 12 last year ??? wasnt it GF ??
looks like he was the number one in the team...... next !
mideast?? wrote:
...
And I still hold firm to my belief that German Fernandez is not the CLEAR #1 at Oklahoma State...
John Kosgei will beat German Fernandez at NCAA's
Lots of people hold firm to lots of beliefs including Santa Claus, Bigfoot, and Sponge Bob Squarepants.
You just keep holding on there Bud, if it helps you get through the day.
midwest767 wrote:
No love for Kent state in the top 30?..They took down Wisconsin and Iona at Iona's own invite
I am a Wisco fan and Wisco did not have many top guys running, but, yes, Kent State deserves consideration because the rankings should not be purely forward-looking.
OK OK wrote:1) GF twice raced Derrick and Puskedra in XC earlier this year. Even while being banged up with a stress reaction he handled both of them each time. Contrast that to both Derrick and Puskedra beating JK and GM in their only meeting at NCAAs.
For Chris Derrick, you see, USA Jr. XC and World Jr. XC were out of season races run for personal amusement. Don't try and compare it to NCAA champ results.
OK OK wrote:2) GF ran away from both JK and RV with ease in every single XC race during the college season a year ago.
Uh, no, JK Beat GF at Midwest Regionals, GF was also 3rd on the team in one of the local invites. And, if you say "every single XC race," then you also have to include GF's DNF at NCAAs, no? GF didn't actually run away from JK with ease then. He spent the majority of the race well behind him, finally pulled level, and then promptly fell down. All this doesn't exactly prove his dominance over JK.
2008 results:
Cowboy Jamboree - Fernandez was the #1 runner. Does not really matter as RV, DC, and GF ran and finished together. JK did not run.
Pre-Nats - JK, GF, and CL run the Open race. They run together for the first 6k and GF wins easily over JK.
Big-12. - JK, GF, and RV run together for the first 6k. GF starts a drive to catch Songok and wins. JK 3rd by a considerable margin.
Regionals - JK, GF, RV, DC all run together and finished within 1 second of each other. They ran hard enough to qualify and nothing more.
NCAA - GF, RV, and JK ran together at the NCAA. As they started moving up to the second group, RV could not keep pace. When they got to the second group and ran with it for a while GF went down.
Those are all of GF's cross country races. German did not finish 3rd on the team in some local meet.
It's fine if you think JK (or GM or RV) are the number 1 runner on the team. That's your opinion and you will either be proven wrong or right, but at least get your GD facts correct. GF did not spend most of the 2008 NCAA considerably behind JK, and he did not finish 3rd on the team at some local invite.
FactChecker wrote:
2008 results:
Cowboy Jamboree - Fernandez was the #1 runner. Does not really matter as RV, DC, and GF ran and finished together. JK did not run.
Pre-Nats - JK, GF, and CL run the Open race. They run together for the first 6k and GF wins easily over JK.
Big-12. - JK, GF, and RV run together for the first 6k. GF starts a drive to catch Songok and wins. JK 3rd by a considerable margin.
Regionals - JK, GF, RV, DC all run together and finished within 1 second of each other. They ran hard enough to qualify and nothing more.
NCAA - GF, RV, and JK ran together at the NCAA. As they started moving up to the second group, RV could not keep pace. When they got to the second group and ran with it for a while GF went down.
Those are all of GF's cross country races. German did not finish 3rd on the team in some local meet.
It's fine if you think JK (or GM or RV) are the number 1 runner on the team. That's your opinion and you will either be proven wrong or right, but at least get your GD facts correct. GF did not spend most of the 2008 NCAA considerably behind JK, and he did not finish 3rd on the team at some local invite.
But it WAS a nice try by Not so fast. No?
mideast?? wrote:
Dave Smith reportedly said himself that German couldn't handle the pressure, faked his achilles injury, dropped out of the race...but was back running again in a weeks time. Don't know if this is entirely true or not, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
It wouldn't surprise me that Smith would blame German, after German ran Smith's stupid strategy of running in the back of the pack for the first 2/3 of the race. I guess German just didn't run in the back of the pack the "right way", or something. Oh well, another year to try the same dumb ass ideas again.
what goes around comes around wrote:
mideast?? wrote:Dave Smith reportedly said himself that German couldn't handle the pressure, faked his achilles injury, dropped out of the race...but was back running again in a weeks time. Don't know if this is entirely true or not, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
It wouldn't surprise me that Smith would blame German, after German ran Smith's stupid strategy of running in the back of the pack for the first 2/3 of the race. I guess German just didn't run in the back of the pack the "right way", or something. Oh well, another year to try the same dumb ass ideas again.
You two are complete fvcking idiots. You have absolutely no proof whatsoever that German faked his injury, or couldn't handle the pressure. To the contrary, he has run while hurt multiple times, including the WORLD junior XC champs (no, no pressure there at all); as well as running superbly in both indoor and outdoor track. Furhtermore, if you cannot produce a report that shows Dave Smith said German couldn't handle the pressure and/or faked his injury, then it never happened. In every interview with Smith I've ever watched or read, he has ony praised German for how he's handled everything.
Bonesauce wrote:
Based on what I've seen so far
1. Oklahoma State- Nothing this weekend made me think that they weren’t the best team in the country. Kosgei looked good as usual and Colby Lowe showed that he is much improved. Girma had an off day but I’m not worried about him. Throw in German and Vail and their top 5 could all be in the top 30 at NCAAs.
2. Northern Arizona- Looked real good at Oklahoma State without McNeill. Jordan Chipanagma looks like a threat to be top 10 at the NCAA meet and McNeill could finish in the top 5. Estrada is as good a 3rd man as there is in the NCAA and Ashkettle (All American in XC last year) and Osman make up a very talented top 5. I was tempted to put them #1 but I think Oklahoma State is a safer pick.
3. Stanford- Looked great last week at their home invite. Their front 4 packed together well and having a low stick the likes of Derrick helps a lot. I am assuming that Elliot Heath will regain his form from last track season. He did not run well last weekend but he was in the 5k outdoors so he will round into form soon enough.
4. Alabama- Went 1-2 a the Dellinger Invite and their top 4 all were under 24:00. The problem with them is depth. Their 5th guy ran well at Oregon and they were able to take home the win but at NCAA’s with a deep field that could be a problem. They also have no depth after their 5th guy. I’m not completely sold on Alabama because of their lack of depth but they ran really well so they deserve the ranking.
5. Colorado- Got a perfect score at the Shootout without Jordan Kyle running in uniform. The biggest thing to come out of the weekend is that Kenyon Neuman looks to be back in shape. He is a 13:42 5k guy and when healthy could be a top 15 finisher at the NCAA meet. Neuman, Medina, Tebo, and Thompson all ran really well. Running close to 25:00 on that course is very impressive and they had 2 guys under 25 and 3 just over.
6. BYU- I don’t know much about any of their guys but they ran well at Dellinger and have a very strong pack. These guys are really old and I don’t want to write any more about them.
7. Oregon- They have a solid group but they are going to miss Rupp and Kiptoo a lot. Centro and Puskedra are very good but after that they don’t have any great guys. The Mercados are good cross country runners but are so inconsistent. I’m not sold on Oregon at all.
8. Syracuse- They looked really good at Wisconsin, the problem is that they may have looked too good. These guys clearly rested for this meet and they have a history of peaking way too early. They finished 2nd to Wisconsin at Paul Short last year and ran really well. After that they were 5th at Big East and 5th in a weak Northeast Region. I’m trying not to be a hater here and based on their performance they deserve a top 10 ranking. I’m just not sold on these guys. I don’t think their legs will be there in November.
9. Georgetown- Bumbi looks like a sure top 10 guy. He was 13th last year and then ran 13:30 on the track. If you saw the video of the race you saw how relaxed he looked. Mark Dennin was a huge surprise finishing 4th just 3 seconds behind Bumbi. That will be huge for them if he can continue at this level. Levi Miller was apparently sick so I wouldn’t look into his performance too much. He was an All-American last year and he will be fine. The Hoyas have a really strong team and I think they will continue to improve more than some of these teams ranked ahead of them.
10. William and Mary- They looked really good at Oklahoma State and have a ton of depth. They don’t have a true front-runner but they have a group of really solid guys. I’ve heard rumors of Chrito Landry having a 6th year from cross and if this is true the Tribe could make a run at top 7 or so.
Mostly agree with this list.
And on the Big East chatter, I think the Hoyas will win if Bumbi and Dennin stay strong and Levi Miller is unsick. And I hope Syracuse doesn't fade out like last year...impressive race in Wisconsin.
"Rankings don’t matter. Polls mean nothing. This is no indication of how the teams may do on Nov. 23, the day of the NCAA Cross Country Championships. It doesn’t pain me in the least to say that Lananna is right; cross country running is so inherently variable that rankings are often rendered useless."
-Robert Husseman, sports writer for the Oregon Daily Emerald, U of O student newspaper.
I echoed this same sentiment to the Oregonian sports website the other day.
Conference and Nationals are all that matters. You do it on that day or you don't
its crazy the culture of running in eugene. if you dont think its sweet you are just hating.
It's amazing to me that some of you discount GF and RV as not being the two key parts that make OSU number one. Remember at the World X this year GF was the USA's #1 in the Juniors race and RV the USA's #1 in the seniors race. To perform that well in World X lead me to believe that they will be able to perform very well at NCAA"S. Track and Field News predictions for this years individual have Fernandez(2nd), Kosgei(5th) and Mesecho(6th for Auburn). I believe when the prediction came out they did not know Vail was running and Mesecho was at OSU. With Lowes great improvement they will be hard to be if all have a good day at NCAA's.
Make that hard to beat.