Lets get the ball rolling earlier than ever. Here are the top returners from last year's conference meet.
1. Wilkinson, Matthew. CAR
2. Mueller, Lucas. CAR
3. Primozich, Sam. STO
4. Lelinga, Ezekiel. BU
5. Grant, Garet. GAC
6. Wiel, Biel. UST
7. Stumbo, Andrew. GAC
8. Mendel, Ike. BU
9. Haire, Zach. UST
10. Ellefson-Carnes, Arne. STO
11. Lavey, Stephen. CAR
12. Santos, Ben. CAR
13. Johnson, Noah. GAC
14. Karrick, Macallister. UST
15. Sather, Zak. CAR
16. Nemanich, Thomas. SJU
17. Webb, Noah. SJU
18. Lyford, Derk. STO
19. Bowman, Henry. CAR
20. Wicklund, Ben. GAC
Team Scores:
1. Carleton: 44
2. Gustavus: 69
3. St. Olaf: 74
4. St. Thomas: 92
5. St. Johns: 150
6. Bethel: 177
7. Concordia: 240
8. Hamline: 281
9. Macalester: 385
10. St. Marys: 535
11. Augsburg: 544
For fun, here is last years predictions based on returners (Difference from actual score in parentheses):
1. Carleton: 43 (+7)
2. St. Olaf: 55 (+14)
3. St. Thomas: 61 (+2)
4. Gustavus: 141 (-32)
4. Bethel: 141 (+36)
6. Concordia: 160 (+46)
7. St. Johns: 186 (-43)
8. Macalester: 244 (+7)
9. Hamline: 387 (-247)
10. St. Marys: 400 (-66)
11. Augsburg: 601 (-282)
My surface level analysis
- Freshmen are less likely to impact teams with stud returners
- Biggest positive impact came from comeback runners (Fernando/Tremayne)
- Safe to say this year is probably not going to be as close as last year
Feel free to let the predictions/hot takes/trash talk roll in