Stanford rested Ben Johnson (BenJo), their #4 at both the Stanford Invite and Pre-Nats. Word is he has a soft-tissue problem in a foot but may be ready for NCAAs.
Also, Brendon Gregg, in top-7 last year, is just now training after suffering a stress fracture or reaction back in September. Likely will redshirt.
Regarding the 2003 team that won NCAAs with Hall, Dobson, Sage, Robinson, etc.: Their #7 runner, Seth Hejny, took 33rd, thus making All-American honors. The 2003 team is still the only men's team in NCAA history to have all 7 runners earn AA status. Not even the UTEP team of 1981 can claim that distinction.
If you would like a preview of NCAAs coming up, look no further than the Stanford Invite back in September. Stanford's Big 3 let Dave McNeil get as much as a 30-second lead; he won by 4 seconds. Also check out the splits at Pre-Nats: Chelanga was 14:25 at 5k in his race, Stanford's Big 3 was 14:45 in their race. The Stanford guys eventually finished 2 seconds faster than Chelanga.
In other words, if Chelanga or McNeil or anyone else take off at a sub-29:00 pace, Stanford's trio will let him go and control the chase pack. But, like at Pre-Nats and today at Pac-10s, with 2k-3k to go, the trio takes off.
Chelanga will likely win if he has the same record-breaking performance as last year. However, through today's results, it's very reasonable to expect Stanford's Big 3 to go 2-3-4 with McNeil looking like the only other runner who could beat them or break up the trio.
Stan Ford Jr.