Except that several current GV runners have broken 25:00 or ran under 25:15-25:20 on other courses in years past on courses that don't regularly produce super fast times. The true tale is told when you compare how GV's runners finish as compared to how runners from regional and conference foes finish in the same race on the same day this year. If you think for one second that GV's pack is a group of 25:15-25:20 runners and that is what they would have run at the All-Ohio meet then you are wrong sir. Unless I'm to believe that runners who don't beat GV in XC and don't beat GV in track can run near 25:00 on "slower courses" but somehow GV's runners can't... I may not agree with the person who claimed Trusty wouldn't be in GV's top 7 (because he is a real ind. Champion contender) but you are severely underrating and understating the ability of GV's top 7. I mean, GV has a runner (Stephen Fuelling) who finished 25th at xc nationals last year that was quite close to Emmorey and Witt last year. They have a runner, Showerman, who did quite well at GLIACs, regionals and took 50th at xc nats last year who is struggling to be top 5 for GV this year.
The beauty with xc is that every team will have to line up and race. And the record over the last decade shows which teams do that at GLIACs and at regionals. After the MSU meet last year, not one GV runner ran sub 25 the rest of the season. But tell me how they did at GLIACs, regionals and nationals...