Top S/SE Region DIII XC Individuals/ Early Team Preview?

Oh please, plenty of programs he would compliment and be very friendly too all the time. Just last year in one of these S/SE threads someone complimented how congralutory he was to W&L at the Regional meet. So don't spread B.S slander. Definitely wasn't perfect but anyone who knows him knows he doesn't and wouldn't insult other programs intentionally or directly as you claim. Ridiculous.

Regardless hoping the best for CNU with a new coach and continued success despite the trials they've had to overcome this summer.

Is that you, barreau? I guess eye witness accounts and people who were there obviously have to be lying. How silly of me.

Time will tell how the south/se region will fare at regionals. I do know these teams have good coaches and some have young teams but with a lot of talent. W&L is one of them. I do know Baird has not been injured since his senior year in high school. Their coach has kept him at low mileage 40-45 mpw. This guy has a lot of talent. No telling what he could run.

Just my opinion but Baird has alot of catching up to do if he hopes to compete with the top guns in the region. I agree though he is talented but right now i would place him in the middle distance guys.I think guys like Reid, Hiegel, Lapointe and Gibson from Mary Washington have a big gap on the rest of the field.

Cooper Baird does not have a lot of catching up to do. Last distance race he ran from TFFRS was back in January. He has improved immensely in Track from a year ago so watch out for him in a couple of years. Plus a very smart coach too, not over training him like some coaches. There are other talented young runners coming ahead too so will be interesting to see how they run.

Baird is a very good athlete and may come into his own this year..No one is denying that . He has run well in the middle distances ..I believe a 1:55 800. a 4:22 1600.. but he has not as of yet translated that in the longer distances..For Example take last years DIII National where all these guys ran in the same race in the same conditions the results were ..Reid finished #40 25:00 JJ. Lapointe

#53 25:08, Jamie Hiegel #59 25:10.. Gibson from MW I dont think ran at Nationals but Cooper finished # 226 w 26:22.. Im not saying that to hurt your feelings or put down Cooper.. Cooper is a very good athlete who may do very well this year..but looking at the results you have to agree hes got a ways to go..Look at more recent results from track in the 5K Reid ran a 14:42 this year Hiegel ran a 14:46, Gibson from MW ran a 14:45 ..I believe Coopers fast 5K last yr was 15:33..Now no one is denying that Baird has the ability to run very well and could possibly challenge these guys but as of yet he has not..He will be on a fairly decent team though that I think will take the ODAC and could possibly make their way to nationals..

One other thing about Cooper I failed to mention..Ive seen him run many times and I hold him in high regard..Not only because I think he's a very good Middle distance guy but also because I think he's a great sportsman.. He and most of his team mates from WL represent their school very well and their coaches should be very proud of the team they have developed.. The Brandons have been excellent coaches on the track and in cross country..They are both class acts..I also think WL has to be the favored team to repeat as the top ranked school in the ODAC in XC for men..and probably for the ladies as well..So alot going on right for the running program at WL..

DlllGuy you are not hurting my feelings. I don't know Baird personally but I'm good friends from a teammate of his who has filled me in on him. I'm looking at Cooper's progression as a runner and what limited miles he is doing as a collegiate runner. His teammate has even said if he trained for the 5000 he could be a top contender. His 1500 meter time is 3:53 from Swarthore, look on TFFRS and is ranked 39th in the Nation (D3) which translates to a 4:11 mile time. His freshman year was very low mileage. He ran ok times, but this was expected with 30 mpw beginning of cross. Nothing to brag about but his coach purposely held him back due to an injury from his senior year in high school and started running in June of 2016 from being off all year. His 15:33 is from May 2016, again on very low miles and not training for this event in track. Fall 2016 was good and better than Fall 2015 but capable of faster times. Times have improved from freshman year and that's what his coaches wanted, slow progression. My friend said he was sick for a month end of cross country and felt really bad at Nationals but wanted to run. It happens, a bad race due to bronchitis. Probably should not of ran but you don't define a runner by one bad outcome in a competition. You look for consistency and progression in a runner from year to year. If a guy has speed you can work on the distance, it is the other way around where you have to work harder. Plus his good genes help too. So going by his track season 2017 and if he is healthy, he could have a good season. His coach is gradually increasing his miles and looking at him long term. His teammate who is a distance runner concurred that he was fit in May 2017 to run a high 14:20's but the coach was focused on him trying to qualify for the 1500 for Nationals. He was "killing it" as my friend said, on his track workouts towards the end of his season. He said he is just touching the surface of his training. My friend said he is unreal for the limited of miles he is putting in. Baird has progressed as a consistent runner and will be one everyone won't be surprised when he is one of the top runners by his senior year. Smart coach they have at W&L, taking it slow.

Does anyone know what the reaction has been at CNU regarding the new coach? Seems like everyone was awfully upset and blaming their Director when Barreau was out.

I'm not sure but it looks like she has very good credentials. I doubt if we will see any drop off in the CNU program as a result of the coaching change. As for other news..The ODAC XC preview came out and no surprises here .#1.W&L Bridgewater #2 Lynchburg #3..I do think W&L is vulnerable this year..They do have depth but they've lost some strong leaders from last years squad and it wouldnt take much for them to slip up and let BW squeeze by them.

You guys should retitle this thread the "ODAC + CNU Preview."

A lot of talk about CNU's coaching change, but not a word about Rhodes' new hire, Josh Clark. Rhodes has been building their men's distance program steadily the past few years, and now they have an NCAA champ who helped coach the WashU women to the team title last year. Watch out for Rhodes.

Best of luck to Josh as he embarks on his coaching career!

you know your right!! I wish I knew more about Rhodes..Of course I have followed Spencers career..One of the top distance guys in the S/SE Region but I have only seen Rhodes run a time or two.. However, I do think they have traditionally put very good teams on the table..and I doubt that this year will be any different. I saw them run at Nationals last year and was impressed they had three guys under 26 and all of them were sophomores..I think they only loose one of their top 5 to graduation so these guys are the real deal. I only wish I could see them run more often..I think where they maybe a bit soft is in the 5 spot..but with incoming freshman they may pick up some support there..but Fields,Voehler and Heam are as solid a top three guys you will see anywhere in the Region and Phillips a senior this year may add to that pack..They are a true threat to challenge the top teams in the region.. Thank you for pointing out our Virginia focus..One last word about teams under the radar..Trinity has been an up and coming program..will have to do some homework and see where they are this year.

Four, count them four south/southeast teams make the national preseason poll with CNU coming in at 8th,, Emory 21st, W&L 24th, and Rhodes rounds out our selections at 31..I think CNU will make some big time noise this year..and I also think Rhodes is under-rated.. I see them being a top 20 team moving past Emory and W&L who I feel could be a bit over rated. Excited to see this season get under way...

We should see things start to warp up in the next several weeks as we get closer to Conference.. Last week not much to report except that Spencer Fields from Rhodes posted a fairly decent time for this early in the season with a 25:43 8k effort. The CNU crew were at the W&M Invite where Grayson Reid finished with a 20:03 6k effort followed by JJ Lapointe's 20:08 6K effort..Tristan Lucy Spidel / Lynchburg finished his 8k in 26:17 effort.. MacKenzy Leroy from W&L finished in 26:55 for a 7.9k effort. Hiegel form Bridgewater ran a 27:33 8k apparently in a pacing effort for his team mates.. Next 2 weeks we should start to see the cards laid down on the table as these athletes and others (Emory) should start to display their all out efforts..

cnu was jogging. paul short is first test of the season for them. W&L and I believe Lynchburg(?) will be there as well.

Trinity looking good and W&L pacing each other not racing it...holding back it looks like some of their faster runners. Rhodes has three that are pretty strong.

Spencer Fields is the single most overrated runner in in the region. Break 15?! Lol! he couldn’t even break a wet noodle! Trash!

Yeah, you can't go by times especially if you are running in areas where the terrain is always pancake flat, TX , TN. You can start comparing when all teams are running at the same time and on the same course.

Spencer is a very good runner on par with the best in this region..I'm a big fan of his..