Official 2015 Heps XC thread

Princeton men will very likely repeat. Looking back at the heps results from last year, Princeton still would have won without their seniors. Princeton also looks to have a lot of depth which makes it much harder to beat them since they can afford to have a few people have bad days and still win.

Who are the frontrunners to challenge then? I know last year almost every team seemed to have a chance in the week leading up and then Princeton dominated. Maybe Princeton will be more dominant leading up this year but any challengers?

On the women's side I'd actually call Princeton, which returns almost everyone, the early favorite...though Dartmouth, which took more of a graduation hit, could have enough to be a serious contender.

Hard to know for third, which should be extremely competitive, but perhaps Cornell can overtake Columbia. The Big Red will be senior-laden, so this might be their best shot for a while. I'd definitely keep an eye on Penn to move up, as well.

NOTE: My knowledge of what rookies each of the schools is bringing in...is zip. But I never let simple ignorance keep me from having, and expressing, a strong opinion! And besides, last year frosh numbered something like five among the top forty finishers--perhaps the days of counting on a recruiting class to "get the job done" are waning.

Cornell for the win. The dark rojo days are well in the past now.

bigredmachine8787 wrote:

Cornell for the win.

Dunno--though I was interested to look at last year's results and see that Cornell graduated only one of its twelve competitors in last year's meet (http://www.leonetiming.com/2014/XC/IvyLeague/), while Princeton graduated three of its top four runners.

If I were a betting man I'd still go with PU as the presumptive favorite.

I suspect it'll come down to whoever had the most productive/healthy summer.

Harvard's announcement of newcomers:

http://www.gocrimson.com/sports/xc/2014-15/releases/20150724hp5mj9

Incoming middle-distance and distance runners excerpted below. (FWIW I am very impressed--H usually recruits well, but this bunch has several *outstanding* prospects. And that's not counting their additions in the explosive t&f events.)

MEN

Austin Gilbert | Distance

Ridgefield High School | Ridgefield, Conn.

Mile – 4:14.03

3000m – 8:32.15

2 Miles – 9:14.12

NXN Northeast Regional Champion

"Austin is a tremendous talent. He's a proven winner and has been guided by an outstanding coach at Ridgefield, Bryan Kovalsky. I'm looking forward to working with Austin." Jason Saretsky, The William W. "Bill" McCurdy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country

Joshua Kellebrew | Middle Distance

David Douglas High School | Portland, Ore.

200m – 22.18

400m – 48.93

800m – 1:53.31

-Oregon 6A State Champion in 800m

"Josh has great versatility and is exceptionally fast for a middle distance runner. He has the ability to contribute in multiple relays and individually at 400 and 800 meters. I am excited to have him join our squad." –Coach Wales-Dinan, Associate Head Cross Country Coach

Nick Linder | Middle Distance

Providence Day School | Charlotte, N.C.

800m – 1:53.35

Mile – 4:14.74

3200m – 9:13.13

"Nick is a great competitor who knows how to win races. He comes from a great program at Providence Day that is well coached by Ben Hovis. We can't wait to add Nick to our middle-distance group and also see him mixing it up with our top distance guys." Jason Saretsky, The William W. "Bill" McCurdy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country

Joe Luongo | Sprints / Middle Distance

St. John's Prep | Danvers, Mass.

300m – 35.25

400m – 49.19

600m – 1:18.84

800m – 1:51.54

-Massachusetts State Recorder holder in the 600m

-Ranked US #2 in the 600m in 2014 & 2015

"Joe is a fierce competitor who has great strength and range as a long sprinter. He established himself as one of the best 600m runners in US history and should be an immediate impact athlete during the indoor season. He combines with Marshall and Kellebrew to bring Harvard one of their best 400-800m classes in school history." – Coach Mangiacotti

Myles Marshall | Middle Distance

Kingwood High School | Kingwood, Texas

400m – 46.93

800m – 1:48.43

1000m – 2:24.43

-2014 World Youth Champion in 800m

-8th Fastest 1000m in US history

"Myles is a once in a generation type runner. He has competed at the highest level that high school athletes has to offer and he has come home a champion. Myles combines incredible speed with exceptional speed endurance and has the capacity to be a multiple Ivy League Champion and All-American. I am thrilled that he will be wearing Crimson this year." –Coach Wales-Dinan, Associate Head Cross Country Coach

Samuel Oh | Middle Distance

Aldai E Stevenson High School | Lincolnshire, Ill.

800m – 1:56.77

1600m – 4:15.48

3200m – 9:18.75

-Finished 6th at the 2014 Illinois 3A State Cross Country Championships

"Sammy has impressed us since he attended the Complete Track and Field Clinic at Harvard the summer before his senior year. He has a great competitive streak, is a tremendously hard-working and will be a great addition to our distance group." Jason Saretsky, The William W. "Bill" McCurdy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country

Collin Price | Distance

St. Margaret's High School | San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

1600m – 4:23.07

3200m – 9:00.00

-Finished 4th at the Division 5 California State Cross Country Championships

"It is great to add a talent like Collin to our program. He has a fantastic work ethic and comes from a wonderful family. We are excited for him to join our distance group and believe he can thrive in our program like his older brother, Brandon has." Jason Saretsky, The William W. "Bill" McCurdy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country

Kieran Tuntivate | Distance

Charter School of Wilmington | Wilmington, Del.

Mile – 4:11.58

3200m – 9:06.30

-Finished 7th at NXN Southeast Regional

"One of the best milers in the country, Kieran has a nose for racing and never seems to back down from a challenge. Following his high school career, it was great to see him dominate the competition in Delaware and how he always seemed to mix it up in the national meets. We can't wait to add him to our distance group this fall and also see him making big contributions on the track." Jason Saretsky, The William W. "Bill" McCurdy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country

Nathan Williams | Distance

Carlsbad High School | Carlsbad, Calif.

1600m – 4:22.38

3200m – 9:06.63

"Nathan ran one of the fastest times at the California State Cross Country Championship his senior year and it has been fun seeing him back that up with some outstanding times on the track. He is a great talent that we are excited to welcome to our program." Jason Saretsky, The William W. "Bill" McCurdy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country

WOMEN

Erin Dietz | Distance

Bedford High School | Bedford, Mass.

Mile – 4:56.97

3000m – 9:37.41

5000m – 16:36.16

-2014 Footlocker National Cross-Country Finalist

-2-Time Massachusetts State Champion in cross country and track

-2nd Place at US Jr. Nationals 3000m qualifying for Pan-American's

-3rd Place at US Jr. Nationals 5000m

-2nd Place at 2015 NBON 5000m

-4th Place in 2014 NBON 5000m

"Erin will bring needed toughness on the cross country course. She is experienced and willing to hurt. I am very excited she has decided to pursue her collegiate goals at Harvard!" –Coach Wales-Dinan

Malia Ellington | Middle Distance

Community School of Davidson | Davidson, N.C.

800m – 2:09.81

1000m – 2:53.23

Mile – 4:50.58

3200m – 10:30.07

-2015 Adidas Dream Mile Qualifier

-17-Time North Carolina State Champion in cross country and track.

-2013 World Youth Champion in Triathlon

"Malia is one of the most versatile runners in the country. She has incredible range and can compete in anything from 800m to 6k cross country. She is primed to continue the middle distance success that Harvard has had over the past two years." –Coach Wales-Dinan

Kathryn Gillespie | Middle Distance

Central/Team West | Dollar, Scotland, U.K.

-800m – 2:07.44

-1500m – 4:18.05

-3000m – 9:37.16

"Kat is a phenomenal middle distance runner. She has the ability to come to Harvard and rewrite our record books. I couldn't be more excited to welcome her to our program and have her help us continue to develop a culture that strives for excellence." –Coach Wales-Dinan

Miranda Sadler | Middle Distance

Bristol Grammar School | Bristol, U.K.

800m – 2:12.60

1500m – 4:26.72

"Miranda is an accomplished middle distance runner that will add strength to an already deep group of 800m and 1500m runners. I believe she will be ready to contribute right away!" – Coach Wales-Dinan

Yale men:

http://www.yalebulldogs.com/sports/m-xc/2014-15/releases/20150601i2tdat

Again, just excerpting the MD/D guys.

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Zach Capello, Distance, Shreveport, La.

Personal Records:

800m: 1:57.91

1,600m: 4:18.88

3,200m: 9:18.02

High School Accomplishments: Four-time individual state cross country champion... 1A Champion in the 1,600m and 3,200m at 2015 Louisiana Outdoor State Championships.

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Dylan Lesko, Middle Distance, Mercer Island, Wash.

Personal Records:

800m: 1:54.45

High School Accomplishments: Placed fifth at Washington State Track Meet in 2014.

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Trevor Reinhart, Distance, Marin, Calif.

Personal Records:

5k (cross country): 14:59

High School Accomplishments: 2015 California D5 State Cross Country Meet champion... Placed seventh at Footlocker National Cross Country Meet.

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Pascal Ungersboeck, Middle Distance, Zurich, Switzerland

Personal Records:

1,500m: 3:58.32

3,000m: 8:29.38

5,000m: 15:00.86

with gtown men going through sanctions this xc season i think Penn men might surprise and get 2nd in mid-atlantic region

i think princeton will still win heps, penn 2nd

but at regionals

1) nova

2) penn

3) princeton

4) penn state

And Yale women (MD/D only):

http://www.yalebulldogs.com/sports/w-track/2014-15/releases/20150602rvav88

Andrea Masterson, Seattle/ Lakeside High School

Long Distance

High School Bests:

1600m- 4:55.38

3000m- 9:49.82

5k (XC)- 17:13.55

High School Accomplishments: Two-time Washington State Individual Cross Country Champion.

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Kate Zendell, Suffern, N.Y./ Suffern High School

Long Distance

High School Bests:

Mile- 4:47.21

2k Steeplechase- 6:51.88

3,000m- 9:56.80

High School Accomplishments: 2014 New Balance Outdoor National Champion in 2k steeplechase.

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Gabrielle Rinne, Truckee, Calif./ Tahoe-Truckee High School

Middle Distance

High School Bests:

800m- 2:12.85

High School Accomplishments: Runner-up at Nevada State Cross Country Championships...2014 Sacramento Meet of Champions winner in the 800m.

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Ellie Atkinson, Cardiff, Wales, UK

Middle Distance

High School Bests:

1,500m- 4:30.32

High School Accomplishments: Third-place finisher at the Welsh Athletics Indoor International.

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Emma Lower, Seattle/ Garfield High School

Middle Distance

High School Bests:

800m- 2:12.44

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Caroline Beakes, Bethesda, Md./ Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School

Long Distance

High School Bests:

Mile- 5:00.08

3,000m- 9:49.76

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Emily Kaplan, Washington D.C./ Georgetown Visitation Prep High School

Long Distance

High School Bests:

1,600m- 4:56.70

2 Mile- 10:57.03

High School Accomplishments: Three-time DCSAA Champion…Runner-up at New Balance Outdoor Nationals in 3,200m.

Columbia (again, only MD/D given below):

http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=43607&SPID=3877&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210184194&DB_OEM_ID=9600

Men's Recruits

Dan Dracup | Distance | Ithaca HS, Ithaca, N.Y.

Personal Bests: 800m - 1:55.13, 1600m - 4:19.11, 5th at 2014 NY State XC Championships, 2014 NXN Qualifier, 12:17.40 VCP 2.5

Dante Hay | Middle Distance | Maria Carrillo HS, Santa Rosa, Calif.

Personal Bests: 400m - 50.20, 800m - 1:52.36

Tyler Italiano | Distance | Syosset HS, Syosset, N.Y.

Personal Bests: 1600m - 4:22.30, 3200m - 9:14.40, 7th at 2014 NY Federation XC Championships

Maneet Khaira | Distance | Sunset HS, Portland, Ore.

Personal Bests: 800m - 1:57.01, 1500m - 3:58.03

Josiah Langstaff | Middle Distance | Lincoln HS, Portland, Ore.

Personal Bests: 400m - 50.75, 800m - 1:51.36, 2015 Oregon 6A State 800m Champion

Johain Ounadjela | Distance | Carlmont HS, Belmont, Calif.

Personal Bests: 1600m - 4:10.73, 3200m - 9:12.07

Solomon Rice | Distance | North Central HS, Indianapolis, Ind.

Personal Bests: 800m - 1:55.98, 1600m - 4:14.87, 3200m - 9:28.53

Sam Ritz | Middle Distance | Germantown Academy | Philadelphia, Pa.

Personal Bests: 800m - 1:50.72, 1000m - 2:27.28, 1500m - 3:47.85, Mile - 4:08.67, 3200m - 9:17.33, 3rd place in Mile at 2015 New Balance Indoor High School Nationals

Alek Sauer | Middle Distance | Pennsbury HS | Yardley, Pa.

Personal Bests: 800m - 1:51.00, 1000m - 2:31.68, 2015 Pennsylvania Outdoor State 800m runner-up

Lucky Schreiner | Distance | Campo Verde HS | Gilbert, Ariz.

Personal Bests: 1600m - 4:13.45, 3200m 9:08.10, 2014 Arizona State 1600m Champion, 2014 Arizona State 3200m Champion

Dan Schumacher | Distance | Naugatuck HS | Naugatuck, Conn.

Personal Bests: 1600m - 4:21.38, 3200m - 9:36.70, 7th at 2014 New England XC Championships

Charlie Theiss | Middle Distance | Ward Melville HS | East Setauket, N.Y.

Personal Bests: 800m - 1:53.96, 1000m - 2:30.35, 1600m - 4:18.57

Chris Thompson | Distance | Voorhees HS | High Bridge, N.J.

Personal Bests: 1600m - 4:19.05, 3200m - 9:15.73

Brian Zabilski | Distance | Saugus HS | Saugus, Calif.

Personal Bests: Mile - 4:14.12, 3200m - 8:49.38, 2014 California State Cross Country Champion, 2014 NXN Qualifier, 2015 CIF Southern Section Masters 3200m Champion

Women's Recruits

Emily Acker | Distance | Albany Academy | Rexford, N.Y.

Personal Bests: 1500m - 4:43.71, 3000m - 10:04.40, XC - 17:53, 2nd at NY 2014 XC State Championships, 9th at NXN 2015 New York Regional Championship

Annie Fanta | Middle Distance | Bath HS | East Lansing, Mich.

Personal Bests: 800m - 2:17.89, 1600m - 5:14.23

Jenny Goggin | Middle Distance | Greenwich HS | Greenwich, Conn.

Personal Bests: 800m - 2:20.79, 1000m - 3:03.56

Erin Gregoire | Distance | Beaverton HS | Beaverton, Ore.

Personal Bests: 800m - 2:18.12, 1500m - 4:42.70, 3000m - 10:14.11, XC - 18:21, 2nd at Oregon 2015 Outdoor State Track Championships in the 3000m

Jamie Grimstad | Distance | Chapin School | New York, N.Y.

Personal Bests: 1500m - 4:59.03

Libby Kokes | Middle Distance | Grant HS | Portland, Ore.

Personal Bests: 800m - 2:17.75, 1500m - 4:55.74

Sarah Macdonald | Middle Distance | St. Clemente's School | Toronto, Canada

Personal Bests: 800m - 2:14.62, 1500m - 4:41.49

Rebekah Mills | Distance | Caesar Rodney HS | Camden, Del.

Personal Bests: 1600m - 5:16.93, 3200m - 11:17.90, XC - 18:50, 3rd at DE 2014 Outdoor State Track & Field Championships

Jillian Murray | Middle Distance | Georgetown Visitation Prep School | Chevy Chase, Md.

Personal Bests: 400m - 58.36, 500m - 1:18.98, 800m - 2:14.75, 1000m - 3:09.98, 2nd at the D.C. 2015 Indoor Championships in the 600m

Julia Sienski | Distance | Edison HS | Huntington Beach, Calif.

Personal Bests: 800m - 2:17.19, 1600m - 4:55.04, 3200m - 10:33.43, 5th in the 3200m run at the 2015 CIF Southern Section Division Finals

Laura Walsh | Distance | Chatham HS | Chatham Township, N.J.

Personal Bests: 1000m - 3:05.57, 1600m - 5:11.28, 4th at NJ 2015 Indoor State Meet in the 1600m

Nina Zweig | Distance | Brearley School | New York, N.Y.

Personal Bests: 1500m - 4:54.07

Those were all the official announcements of recruits that I could find, by the way. Most of the others may well wait until the school year has begun.

So Colombia had 14 mens distance recruits, Harvard 9 and Yale 4? Do some teams have more roster spaces than others? That's a huge discrepancy.

league wrote:

So Colombia had 14 mens distance recruits, Harvard 9 and Yale 4? Do some teams have more roster spaces than others? That's a huge discrepancy.

And not only that, but the discrepancy of rerouting classes across the league is enormous in terms of talent as well. I think it's amazing that Princeton, Columbia, and Harvard (and oftentimes Yale as well) bring in unbelievable recruiting classes, with half a dozen or more kids who have run sub 4:12/9:05/15:20 while the other Ivies are lucky to even get one. When it comes time for Heps in XC though, the other Ivies, especially Dartmouth in most years but also Penn/Cornell as we saw last year (and Brown in other years), can be competitive with and even beat those top recruiters. I don't know if it's a testament to the coaching ability of the lesser recruiting schools or they just know how to find more untapped talent, but it's pretty remarkable that they can compete.

Rank the Ivy coaches: ?

Who's the best at developing talent and who's the best at wasting it?

As a 15:30 5k running in HS, where do I go?

The Cornell guy (Zeb Lang--RoJo's successor) seems to be doing a pretty good job of developing the guys he brings in...surprised a lot of folks at last year's conference meet. But a bunch of other Ivy coaches have also had good success.

By far the most wasted talent is from Saretsky at Harvard. They get a couple sub 9:00 guys and tons of guys around that every single year and only have been top 4 at Heps once in the past 20+ years. Kinda sad to see that talent wasted. Same goes for the many Yale coaches in recent memory. Shame to see so much top talent not lead to Heps titles or even top 4 team performances.

Princeton gets equal talent and and dominates most years so Dolan/Vig have been great at developing talent. Harwick at Dartmouth has taken middle tier talent (not even close to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia's) and routinely turned it into top half of Heps teams. I think that's the most impressive.

What are the walk on standards at most of the Ivies? I think the small rosters actually hurt these programs compared to larger rosters at schools like Williams and even other D1 schools. Some of the Ivies seem to have Zero depth and can barely put together 12 healthy guys for HEPS...

Most of the Ivies have few walk-ons. A typical class might have 5-6 recruits and then a couple kids who were not recruited who were technically walk-ons but typically ran in the 9:20s and/or in the 4:17-4:22 range for the mile.

As for depth, you're dead wrong. I remember some recent years when the top teams (Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth) had a 12th guy at least capable of around 25 flat on a course like Princeton. Now, those 10-11-12 guys might not run 25 flat on the day, but they're at least capable of that and have PRs around low 25s and 14:30-14:45 for 5k. Not stellar times I realize, but pretty strong for the 12th guy on a team. Also, those teams have had guys left off the Heps roster who've run low 25s on the season there is certainly depth beyond the 12th man. Even for the rest of the league, those teams can easily have the 12th/13th guy be mid 25s.

Kraken wrote:

Rank the Ivy coaches: ?

Who's the best at developing talent and who's the best at wasting it?

As a 15:30 5k running in HS, where do I go?

I would say Dolan (Penn) is the best. He did a great job at Princeton and built a consistently strong distance program, and Penn has shown great improvement in the couple of years that he has been there. In addition to developing the talent that he has (Penn had a slew of 14:20-14:40 5k guys this year), he has also developed some of his runners to be amongst the very best in the country (Awad and Cabral, for example).

I would probably rank Harwick (Dartmouth) second. Consistently strong as well.