'Cuse second wrote:
I wouldn't necessarily agree that Cuse might be lacking low sticks. It's possible, but they had 5 men within ten seconds of Mason Ferlic today. Last year at NCAA's, 10 seconds behind Mason Ferlic was good for 35th. I would say Martin Hehir established himself as a legitimate top-10 contender and Knight could be top-20 on the right day. On the right day I think we could see, say, a 9 stick, a 20 stick, and 3 more in between 25-40 which would make Syracuse a top-2 team. They also improved from Wisconsin to Nationals last year (8th at Wisco then 9th at NCAA's, beating New Mexico, Arkansas, and Columbia all of whom were ahead of Cuse at Wisco). Depending on Oregon's performance tomorrow, I see Syracuse as either second or third in the country right now.
Here is our instant analysis of the men's race where we lavishly praise Syracuse.
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/10/instant-analysis-mens-race-2014-adidas-wisconsin-syracuse-puts-clinic-arrives-national-stage/That being said, I'd think they are a year away from having the type of team you are talking about. THey've only got one senior in the top 7 so next year they could have that type of team, but Oregon and Colorado seem to be a step above everyone.
If Syracuse is a top 2 team , then why did they get smoked by Oregon in Boston?
Don't get me wrong, Syracuse's performance was special today.
But a top 2 team like Oregon has so much room for error. Races are a bell curve. The top 10 guys at NCAAs are way better than everyone else. Cheserek can run awful and still finish 10th. Same thing with Jenkins.
But Syracuse has little margin for error.
IF their top 5 today ran just 10 seconds per man slower, guess how many points they score?
192.
Now Coloraod does well with the pack running but it's hard to be top 2 without some big stars. Knight has that potential but he's only a frosh.
I hope the Cuse prove me wrong and get there this year, not next.