The Wood Report

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

2012 NCAA XC Conference Championships Preview

The Wood Report’s Conference Preview

compiled by Isaac Wood (@isaacegbertwood)

Here’s my outlook of the conference meets coming this weekend. I’m adding some predictions to the conferences that are sufficiently deep enough to make it interesting. I’ve added links to each conference’s Cross Country page for further information. Props to Spencer Gardner for some editing help.
-Isaac Wood

Atlantic 10
Adding a consistent Butler team to the A-10 is a nice get for this conference. Jim Spisak from Duquesne has looked good all year and will win this meet, but Butler’s men are solid and have a good enough pack to clean up the rest of the field for the win.

ACC
This will be an exciting race featuring two up and coming teams Duke and Virginia Tech, tried and true Florida State, and a team whose stock went sky high to rock bottom in a week’s rankings, Virginia. Returning champs NC State have looked mediocre all year and can only hope that a possible return of Andrew Colley will make things a little bit better. A healthy and fit Mark Amirault will help Virginia running with Zach Gates, they could potentially make a push for a conference championship. If David Forrester and Zak Seddon are a go and fit, the Seminoles are way too deep for any of the other competitive schools in this conference. Jakub Zivec and Breandon O’Neill have been consistent 1-2 all year and it should be the same unless we see something different out of Forrester and Seddon. Will Mulherin should win the meet (he looked good at Pre-Nats, only to get better, plus the race is in Blacksburg).

Predicted Top 10	Team Predictions
Will Mulherin - Va Tech Jakub Zivec - Fla St. Breandon O’Neill - Fla St. Andrew Colley (?) NC St. Zach Gates - Virginia Leoule Degfae - Va. Tech Mark Amirault - Virginia Mike Moverman- Duke Seth Proctor - Fla St. Matt Sonnenfeldt- NC St.	Florida State Virginia Tech Virginia Duke North Carolina NC State

Big East
The Big East may be the most intriguing of conference meets because there are 4 teams that all have legitimate chances to win. Notre Dame looked great at home, struggled at Wisconsin. Villanova and Georgetown both looked pretty good at Paul Short, and without their top runners a piece, ran mediocre races at Pre-Nats. Syracuse has been okay all year, running well at Toledo and then a solid 11th place finish at Wisconsin. Villanova is the defending champion, but will their depth hurt them we will see. Having three strong runners up front might be too much for Syracuse’s depth. Louisville will improve upon last year’s race with two solid Kenyan freshman Ernest Kibet and Japhet Kipkoech.

Predicted Top 10	Team Predictions
Mark Dennin - Georgetown Matthew Mildenhall - Villanova Jeremy Rae - Notre Dame Sam McEntee - Villanova Jordy Williamsz - Villanova Ernest Kibet - Louisville Andrew Palmer - Syracuse Andrew Springer - Georgetown Japhet Kipkoech - Louisville Martin Grady - Notre Dame	Villanova Syracuse Notre Dame Georgetown Louisville

Big Sky
This race is basically a race for 2nd and 3rd as NAU has this race all but won. Brian Shrader, Futsum, and McElroy will lead the charge for the Lumberjacks. John Coyle will be solid for Weber State . Nate Jewkes and much improved Ryan Barrus will be at the front for Southern Utah. Montana State has a solid front runner as well in Christian Soratos. NAU will look to continue their streak of five consecutive Big Sky Conference Championships.

Predicted Top 10	Team Predictions
Brian Shrader - NAU Nate Jewkes - Southern Utah Futsum Zienasallassie - NAU John Coyle - Weber State Christian Soratos - Montana State Matt McElroy - NAU Ryan Barrus - Southern Utah Nathan Weitz - NAU Mike Hardy - Weber State Caleb Hoover - NAU	NAU Weber State Southern Utah Montana State

Big 10
Just a few days ago it looked like the team to beat for the Big 10 Cross Country Championship was Michigan or maybe Indiana. This week Mick Byrne announced that Mo Ahmed and Reed Connor were not going to redshirt and that they would be competing this weekend. That drastically changes the outlook for the conference meet this weekend. Wisconsin now has the best three runners in the conference and possibly the best top 3 in the country. Dan Lowry will assert himself in the mix and look for Robby Creese to bounce back from a poor showing at Wisconsin. Zach Mayhew and Andy Bayer are solid contenders for a top 5 finish as well, especially Mayhew, who has looked solid and consistent all season long. Minnesota has had an up and down season and hopefully can pull their depth together for a strong finish.

Predicted Top 10	Team Predictions
Maverick Darling - Wisconsin Mo Ahmed - Wisconsin Dan Lowry - Michigan Zach Mayhew - Indiana Reed Connor - Wisconsin Andy Bayer - Indiana Hunter Mickow - Illinois Alex Hatz - Wisconsin Mark Beams - Michigan Pieter Gagnon - Minnesota	Wisconsin Michigan Indiana Minnesota Michigan State

Big 12
A very top heavy Big 12 Championships might prove to be the best conference meet of the weekend. With #1 Oklahoma State, #6 Oklahoma and #7 Texas, and arguably the hottest runner in the country, Kennedy Kithuka from Texas Tech, this is going to be a very fun and exciting race to watch. Texas has been somewhat of a letdown this season, but look for them to turn things on for this meet especially with Dohner and Merber getting their first meet of the season out of the way. Oklahoma looked pretty good at Wisco even with Kevin Williams and Bill Kogel their normal 1-2 running subpar (Kogel had a side ache). Patrick Casey stepped up in their poor race and if he does the same, the Sooners might give Okey State a run. Oklahoma State cruised to an easy victory at Chili Pepper and as much as these other teams are solid, there is no team in the nation as deep as the Cowboys and they should win the Big 12 easily, their 5th in a row. The Big 12 has two other teams in the top 30, Iowa State #25 and Kansas #30, but this conference is so deep, that they won’t place anyone in the top 10, maybe top 15.

Predicted Top 10	Team Predictions
Kennedy Kithuka - Texas Tech Girma Mecheso - Oklahoma State Tom Farrell - Oklahoma State Kevin Williams - Oklahoma Craig Lutz - Texas Shadrack Kipchirchir - Oklahoma State Ryan Dohner - Texas Bill Kogel - Oklahoma Kirubel Erassa - Oklahoma State Patrick Casey - Oklahoma	1. Oklahoma State 2. Texas 3. Oklahoma 4. Iowa State 5. Kansas

Big West
Cal Poly’s men should repeat as champions. Look for David Cardona to win individually again.

Conference USA
This isn’t really much of a contest because Tulsa’s men are good enough to destroy the field. Anthony Rotich of UTEP, on the other hand, will win the race by at least 30 seconds, but Chris O’Hare will lead his crew to a very strong finish and team score.

CAA
William and Mary looked real good at Paul Short early on in the season, but that race proved much weaker than many people had anticipated. William and Mary did not look good at Pre-Nats where they were beat by multiple teams behind them in the rankings. It doesn’t matter here though because no one in this conference will even match up with William and Mary and they will get the win here. This will be William and Mary’s 19th conference championships in 22 years and 12th in a row.

HEPS
This year’s Heptagonal Championships will feature an exciting dual meet between Columbia and Princeton. To be fair, Harvard has one of its best teams in years and proved that after finishing 28th at a loaded Wisco Invite. In all reality though, Columbia and Princeton will keep the pace up at front the majority of the race and it will be a battle between a bunch of no names from Columbia and Jason Vigilante and his Princeton Tigers. Columbia’s awesome depth should prevail, especially in a smaller meet.

Predicted Top 10	Team Predictions
Mike Murphy - Columbia Maksim Korolev - Harvard Alejandro Arroyo Yamin - Princeton Chris Bendtsen - Princeton Tyler Udland - Princeton Jake Seinko - Columbia Leighton Spencer - Columbia Mark Feigen - Columbia James Leakos - Harvard Will Geoghegan - Dartmouth	Columbia Princeton Harvard Yale Dartmouth

MAAC
The only reason why this conference is on this preview is because of Iona. They will dominate, like they have for the past 22 years. They are so good in fact, they should go 1-5 and score 15.

Missouri Valley
Indiana State has looked good all season led by freshman John Mascari. Look for him to get the win, but don’t be surprised when the team scores are closer than what you think when Southern Illinois makes a run at Indiana State. This will be Indiana State’s 4th straight MVC Championship.

Mountain West
New Mexico is going into this year’s MWC Championship ranked 12th in the country and will look to continue their four year winning streak in the conference. New Mexico is led by former walk-on Sean Stam, but also has nice new additions to the team this year Caldwell and Bitchell. Air Force has a solid program year in and out because of the great coaching of Juli Benson. They will put themselves in the mix with Isaiah Bragg leading the way. Boise State has their best team they’ve had in years and will look to assert themselves in front of Air Force early and should sneak by them for second. Barak Watson and Drew O’Donoghue-McDonald have been a solid 1-2 for the Broncos all season.

Predicted Top 10	Team Predictions
Sean Stam - New Mexico Luke Caldwell - New Mexico Adam Bitchell - New Mexico Drew O’Donoghue-McDonald - Boise State Isaiah Bragg - Air Force Barak Watson - Boise State Pat Zacharias - New Mexico Drenckhahn Jeremy - Air Force Garrett Zans - Wyoming Elmar Engholm - New Mexico	New Mexico Boise State Air Force Wyoming Colorado State

Pac 12
The top three teams in the Pac-12 are very close in comparison to the top teams in the Big 12, and in my opinion this is the better meet and here is why. The competition in this meet is much closer than the Big 12. Oklahoma State is so good that there isn’t any team in the country right now that can roll with them, besides maybe Colorado. That’s what makes this meet more competitive. Colorado, Stanford, and Oregon are all very good, along with the two best runners in the country from Arizona. Colorado won Pre-Nats and Stanford won Wisconsin and Oregon has looked better and better every race they run. Add a solid 15th ranked UCLA to the mix and this meet is absolutely loaded. Rather than explaining what will happen, just look at the predictions below (granted this race is so loaded, predicting a top 10 is very difficult to do). To explain my predictions, I feel like Oregon has looked better and better every meet and in a smaller race that is just as top heavy as Wisco, Oregon having three top tier runners compared to Stanford’s solid 5. Stanford has great depth and a really nice spread and they have just as much of a shot at 2nd as Oregon does.

Predicted Top 10	Team Predictions
Lawi Lalang - Arizona Stephen Sambu - Arizona Trevor Dunbar - Oregon Jake Hurysz - Colorado Parker Stinson - Oregon Joe Rosa - Stanford Blake Theroux - Colorado Miles Unterreiner - Stanford Jim Rosa - Stanford Ben DeJarnette - Oregon	Colorado Stanford Oregon UCLA Arizona State

SEC
Arkansas’s Fearsome Threesome in Fernandez, Haile, and Campbell lead the way for the best Razorback squad in a few years. Along side Arkansas is a really improved and still improving Georgia Bulldog program and Texas A&M and Henry Lelei. Henry Lelei gets better as the season goes along and will lead the race for the majority along with Arkansas top 3. Look for Arkansas to roll, but don’t be surprised to see Georgia pushing Arkansas for a nice 2nd place finish. Missouri has also had the best season their team has had in a while. Max Storms leads Missouri. Florida has an improved team this year with Mark Parrish at the front.

Predicted Top 10	Team Predictions
Henry Lelei - Texas A&M Kemoy Campbell - Arkansas Eric Fernandez - Arkansas Solomon Haile - Arkansas Matt Cleaver - Georgia Mark Parrish - Florida Lucas Baker - Georgia Luis Orta - Kentucky Max Storms - Missouri James Hodges - Texas A&M	Arkansas Georgia Texas A&M Missouri Florida

Southern
Paul Chelimo, Paul Katam and Abraham Kemboi own this conference and should go 1-2-3 and UNC- Greensboro will win back-to-back Conference Championships.

Summit League
UMKC Cosmas Ayabei will win the win the individual crown. North Dakota State is the top returning team in the conference. South Dakota State is the favorite, and Krsnak should win the individual crown.

Sun Belt
Returning champ Justus David of Middle Tennessee State is back to defend his crown, but he will have two up and coming runners on his heels the whole way. Daniel Mutai of Louisiana-Monroe has a had a strong season and Joseph Chebet of Western Kentucky is coming off of a Pre-Nats open race victory. Look for a very close finish between these three and Western Kentucky defending their team title.

West Coast
(This was done from an outside source as to avoid bias) Portland has much to prove at WCC Championships after dropping 12 spots in the polls and a 12th place finish at Wisco. They will look to rebound on their home course against BYU. Portland had a streak of 32 straight WCC Championships broken up by BYU last year and will look to avenge that this weekend. BYU has been solid all year with one of the deepest teams in the country. Jared Ward has proven himself as one of the top runners in the country over the past year. Rex Shields will look to regain his last year’s form, where he finished 22nd at NCAAs. Ward and Shields have a strong group behind them led by Tylor Thatcher and Jason Witt who finished 20th and 21st at Pre-Nats. Portland will look to break up BYU’s depth with top runner Scott Fauble and David Perry. If some of the Pilots younger runners can step up, they will give BYU a good run for the WCC Championship.

Predicted Top 10	Team Predictions
Jared Ward - BYU Rex Shields - BYU David Perry - Portland Scott Fauble - Portland Tylor Thatcher - BYU Jason Witt - BYU Conner Peloquin - BYU Lars Erik Malde - Portland Curtis Carr - BYU Jacob Smith - Portland	BYU Portland San Francisco Gonzaga Santa Clara

Friday, October 19, 2012

The Wood Report - Week 3

Last weekend's report on the Men's Top 30 Cross Country Teams in the NCAA. Once again, the top 5 individuals not on a top 30 team are highlighted at the end of this post.

Oklahoma State's Shadrack Kipchirchir

1. Oklahoma State-
10/13- Overview: Oklahoma State went down to Arkansas this weekend for the Chile Pepper Invitational. After one of the nation’s best, Kennedy Kithuka of Texas Tech, crossed the line the Cowboys went 2-6, and 10 (Girma Mecheso, Kirubel Erassa, Shadrack Kipchirchir, Shane Moskowitz, Fabian Clarkson, and Craig Nowak). OK State had a team average of 30:20 for 10k.

Outlook: The Cowboys look dominant right now and will look to prove their dominance next at the Big 12 Conference Championships. Oklahoma and Texas are formidable foes and will prove to be this team’s first big test.

2. Colorado-
10/13- Overview: Colorado looked amazing this weekend at the Pre-Nationals invitational in Louisville Kentucky, finishing 1st overall with a dominant 72-127 win over #3 BYU. Jake Hurysz was the real deal running with the leaders the entire race and finishing well in 4th place. Blake Theroux and Hugh Dowdy looked good finishing in 11th and 12th. Colorado's depth was unreal as they placed all 7 of their runners in the top 35.

Outlook: Things are looking real good for Colorado and should move up to the number 2 ranking behind Oklahoma State this week. Jake Hurysz is legit and with some nice depth and improvement from Theroux and Dowdy along with Pierce Murphy and Medina looking sharp these Buffaloes are a scary team. If they use Joe Bosshard at the end of the season and he is fit, it will make for a very, very competitive national meet.

3. Stanford-
10/13- Overview: Stanford was the biggest surprise of the week after winning the absolutely loaded Wisconsin Adidas Invite. The biggest surprise within the Cardinal team were the Rosa twins, who finished 17^th and 19^th. What is most eye-opening about the win this weekend was the 16 second spread from 1-5, without Erik Olsen in the mix.

Outlook: Pac-12 Championships are going to be fun with Colorado, Oregon, and UCLA all looking good right now. Stanford will need to keep the tight spread and hope their depth will prove solid enough to overcome Colorado’s unreal depth they showed at Pre-Nats. Also Oregon’s low sticks will be another challenge to overcome, but with they way they looked at Wisco, Stanford is going to give Colorado a run.

4. Iona
10/13- Overview: A 2^nd place finish at a better than Pre-Nats field at Wisconsin this weekend gives Iona the edge over BYU in the rankings this week. Iona has 4 very talented runners in Goose, Gillespie, Bayley and Clorley, but lack a 5^th. Iona’s top 4 placed 3, 8, 26, 27, but their 5 was 81^st. A 3^rd place finish from Gillespie is very promising for Iona considering that Bayley had a mediocre day.

Outlook: MAAC championships are up for Iona and the Gaels could run their 8-14 runners and still stomp on the field. Their next big test will be the NE regional when they will compete against Columbia who is currently ranked #10.

5. BYU-
10/13- Overview: BYU competed at the Pre-Nationals meet in Louisville Kentucky this weekend, getting their first chance to look at the course for Nationals in a month. Without All-American Rex Shields, BYU was topped for the first time this season, losing to Colorado 72-127. Top runner Jared Ward had a solid race for the Cougars finishing 8th overall. BYU basically had 5 in the top 40, (5th man Steve Flint was 41st), but it wasn't good enough to hold off a very strong performance from Colorado.

Outlook: BYU will next race for the West Coast Conference title against only real contender, Portland at Portland in two weeks. The Cougars will look to rebound from a less-than great performance at Pre-Nationals. Look for a healthy Rex Shields to help BYU and a tighter pack up front.

6. Oklahoma-
10/13- Overview: The Wisconsin Invite was a good proving ground for the Sooners as they ran well placing 3rd in the competition. Normal number one man, Bill Kogel, was their 5th placing 48th overall. Patrick Casey ran big for the Sooners finishing 7th overall and stepping up from his normal comfortable mile distance to 8k.

Outlook: Next up is the Big 12's where they will have to battle top team in the country Oklahoma State. Oklahoma has some nice depth and room to improve. Bill Kogel had a side stitch at Wisconsin and did not run great, but when he is healthy the Sooners are a dangerous team at conference for the Cowboys of Oklahoma State.


7. Texas-
10/13-Overview: Led with strong performances by Craig Lutz, Rory Tunningley, and Ryan Dohner, the Longhorns looked better this week at Wisconsin placing 4th as a team. Craig Lutz asserted himself in the front of the pack from the gun and held on for a solid 12th place. Rock steady Rory Tunningley finished 20th and in his debut, Ryan Dohner, ran well finishing in 35th. Columbia transfer, Kyle Merber, looked rusty in his opener finishing in 93rd.

Outlook: Texas will look to add to the heat of the Big 12 Conference Championships up next along with Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. This could be the strongest conference championship race in the country and will provide Texas another opportunity to improve. Ryan Dohner will run better with more races under his belt and so will Kyle Merber. Apparently some of the Longhorns fell at the Wisconsin meet and could have been the cause to some poor performances towards the end of their top 7.

8. Oregon-
10/13: Overview: Parker Stinson looked much better this weekend at Pre-Nats than he did at Dellinger and really helped Dunbar and the Ducks up front for a 3^rd Place finish behind BYU. Their 23:45 team average was actually better than BYU’s, but their lack of a 5^th runner (the case for many teams) is Oregon’s biggest problem. DeJarnette continues to prove his legitimacy as Oregon’s next best guy behind Dunbar and Stinson.

Outlook: Pac 12’s are going to be a great challenge for Oregon, but with two nice low sticks, and an improving DeJarnette, if the Ducks can get their 4-5 to step up you never know what might happen this up coming weekend. Look for Dunbar for the win and Stinson a top 5 finish, that will definitely help Oregon’s chances for a Pac 12 Championship.

9. Arkansas-
10/13-Overview: Arkansas has 3 real solid runners up front leading the charge which led to a nice tie for 5^th place finish with Columbia at Wisconsin. Solomon Haile is back looking like he did in 2010 and Fernandez is picking up from he left off the 2011 season, and with a nice addition from Jamaica Kemoy Campbell the Razorbacks have a solid top 3. The bad news for the Razorbacks is that their 4-5 are no where to be seen placing 118^th and 150^th.

Outlook: The good news for Arkansas is that their top 3 are so good that they should win the SEC crown easily over Georgia, but will come back to bite them at the national and regional level.

10 . Columbia-
10/13- Overview: Columbia continues to shock the nation with solid finishes at every race they have run so far this year. Tying a legit Arkansas team for 5^th at Wisconsin, solidified their legitimacy as one of the top teams in the country. Mike Murphy this time led the way with a 22^nd place finish. Every race this season Columbia has had a different number one and that is Jake Seinko and Mark Feigen who were the Lions’ 2-3 at Wisco. Leighton Spencer was also right behind Feigen in a solid 64^th. The chronic plague of most teams is their 5 and Columbia is no different with their 5 finishing 104^th.

Outlook: The HEPS Championships are next for Columbia where they will face off against Princeton. Princeton has not been as good as Columbia has been all season and the Lions depth should prevail over Princeton.

11. Michigan-
10/13: Overview: Michigan moved up 13 spots in the rankings this week after a nice showing at Wisco finishing behind Columbia and Arkansas in 7^th. Dan Lowry is the real deal finishing 11^th individually. After Lowry Michigan has a nice pack of runners had a 13 second spread between the 2-5 runners.

Outlook: This might be the year that Michigan finally beats Wisconsin at the Big 10 championships, if the Badgers decide to redshirt Ahmed and Connor. If that’s the case Dan Lowry will push the pace up front and the nice pack behind him will prove too much for Wisconsin.

12. New Mexico-
10/13-Overview: New Mexico had an even bigger jump than Michigan in the rankings moving 16 spots up from 28^th. The Lobos’ nice couple of British transfers Caldwell and Bitchell along with former walk on Sean Stam looked nice up front for the Lobos and Arizona transfer Zacharias finished with a 6 second spread between the four. As has been the case for many teams, the Lobos do not have a solid fifth runner (140^th at Wisco).

Outlook: New Mexico will cruise to an easy victory at the Mountain West Championships. The Lobos need to get ready for a tough regional race in the Mountain region against BYU, Colorado, and top individuals Kithuka and Rotich.

13. Eastern Kentucky-
10/13-Overview: This weeks rankings are basically a combination of the results from Pre-Nats and Wisconsin as the next team behind New Mexico at Wisco, Eastern Kentucky are next up at 13^th. Ben Toroitich has made nice strides this year alongside consistent Soufiane Bouchikhi and finished 10^th and 13^th respectively at Wisco. The bad news is you have to go pretty far down the list of results to find the Colonels 3-5 (97, 121, 138).

Outlook: The Ohio Valley Champs are next for EKU and they should roll on the field there. Hopefully they can find some other athletes to step up in the 3-5 roll so the Colonels can make a push for a nice finish at Nationals.

14. Florida State-
10/13-Overview: Florida State ran to a solid fourth place finish at Pre-Nats with Jakub Zivec leading the way with a nice 10^th place finish. The 4^th place finish is even more impressive when you factor in the absence of David Forrester and Zak Seddon. If they can be healthy they will help out an already solid pack of runners.

Outlook: The ACC championships got a little more interesting with Duke and Va. Tech running quite well at Pre-Nats. If Forrester and Seddon run and are healthy, the Seminoles should roll to an ACC Championships, but if not, they better be ready to hold off two teams with a lot of momentum and confidence in Duke and Virginia Tech.

15. UCLA-
10/13-Overview: Lane Werley and Dustin Fay were a nice 1-2 punch for the Bruins as they continue to run well and placed 10^th as a team at Wisconsin. UCLA’s 3-4 look good and their 5 man Nohe Lema opened up at Wisconsin and will definitely improve as the season progresses. This is the best UCLA team in years.

Outlook: If Lema can step up and Fay run with Werley, this UCLA team might surprise some people at the loaded Pac 12 Championhips in the next weekend. The Pac 12 might be the best conference in the country, ok it is, and therefore UCLA will really be tested, but it will be much needed to help get them ready to compete for a spot at Nationals during the Regional meet in 3 weeks.

16. Syracuse-
10/13-Overview: A nice :23 second spread from 1-5 helped the Orange to an 11^th place finish at Wisconsin. Sophomore Andrew Palmer led the team with a 56^th individual finish.

Outlook: Next up for the Orange is the Big East Championships. Syracuse is the highest ranked team in the Big East, but will be pushed by Georgetown, Villanova and Notre Dame up front. Look for The Orange’s nice depth and spread to keep them in the hunt for the win.

17. Portland
10/13-Overview: Portland finished 12th overall at the Wisconsin Invite this weekend. Scott Fauble and David Perry led the way finishing 32nd and 38th. Without solid 3rd runner Lars Erik Malde, things did not look great for the 5th ranked Pilots. Freshman Jacob Smith ran well followed by senior Jared Bassett in 92nd and 98th respectively.

Outlook: Portland will next be at the West Coast Conference Championships and will look to knock off defending champs BYU. This will be a tough task for a young Portland team. Things will be better for them with Lars Erik Malde in the mix.

18. Duke-
10/13- Overview: The Blue Devils may have had the most impressive run of the busy weekend placing 5^th overall at the Pre-Nats Invitational. Duke’s top four went 39, 48, 50, 52 proving nice grouping, but their fifth was once again the factor for them placing back in 98.

Outlook: The ACC Championships are also going to be very competitive this upcoming weekend with Duke rounding into nice form late in the season, Florida State and Virginia Tech all in the mix. Duke should give Florida State a run for their money for the title, especially if they continue to run the way they did at Pre-Nats.

19. Tulsa-
10/13-Overview: Without top man Chris O’Hare the Tulsa still ran well this past weekend at Pre-Nats finishing 7^th as a team. Andy Heyes stepped up as the team leader finishing 15^th overall. Tulsa’s 5^th man looked better and ran closer to the top 4 this week which is good news for Tulsa. At Notre Dame, Tulsa was great through 4 but lacked a 5, so if their 5 runs that well the rest of the season and O’Hare in the mix, this is a solid team, that might have a shot at a podium spot.

Outlook: Conference USA Championships are up next for the Hurricane where they will chill for an easy win and get ready to make a push up front against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in the Midwest Regional.

20. Wisconsin-
10/12- Overview: Without top returner Mo Ahmed and number 2 Reed Connor, the Badgers were drilled at their home invitational this weekend. The one bright spot for Wisconsin was Maverick Darling who looked sharp finishing in 5th place right behind one of the nation's overall top returners Henry Lelei.

Outlook: Without Mo Ahmed and Reed Connor, this is a totally different Wisconsin squad. It will take a very strong performance at the Big 10 Conference Championships to take home the title, especially with Michigan looking strong this weekend at Wisconsin.

21. Virginia Tech-
10/13-Overview: Will Mulherin (13:41 5,000 pr) led the way for the Hokies in a solid performance at Pre-Nats surprising Tulsa and some of the best Big East schools finishing in 6^th place overall. Mulherin contributed only 6 points to the scoring and the rest of the depth looked nice except for a 124 finish from their five. Leoule Degfae was also solid for the Hokies finishing 19^th.

Outlook: Virginia Tech is looking in great shape coming into the ACC Championships and will probably have the lowest stick with Mulherin getting the win. If this is the case and Degfae runs well and the Hokies get an improved 5^th runner, you may see a new ACC Champion this year, Virginia Tech.

22. Northern Arizona-
10/13-Overview: Brian Shrader and Futsum Zienasallassie were a strong 1-2 punch for NAU at Wisco taking 29^th and 31^st respectively. Futsum’s other freshman teammate Nathan Weitz was third on the team in 112^th. Matt McElroy did not have a strong race and was most likely sick or hurt. With McElroy healthy they have a nice 1-3 up front. NAU placed 13^th as a team.

Outlook: Big Sky championships at home are next for NAU and they should roll with little resistance and prepare to make a run for a strong Regional race, in two weeks, to make the National Championships.

23. Princeton
10/13-Overview: A disappointing 14^th place team finish at Wisconsin puts Princeton at an interesting spot behind Columbia going into the HEPS championships. The Tigers had a nice performance by Alejandro Arroyo Yamin finishing in 29^th overall and Chris Bendtsen was solid in 59^th. Having two scorers in the 100’s hurt Princeton.

Outlook: Columbia has nice depth and should prove difficult to beat at HEPS, but with Vig at the helm, do not be surprised to see the Tigers coming around at the right time and look real nice this weekend in the conference championship.

24. Indiana-
10/13-Overview: Indiana may have one of the best 1-2 punches in the country with Andy Bayer and Zach Mayhew, but after that the team drastically drops off. Mayhew looked strong this weekend at Wisco finishing 6^th individually and Bayer ran ok finishing in 23. The next placer was Adam Behnke in 124. A 1:06 spread is a pretty gap to overcome going into the Big 10 Championships.

Outlook: Look for Mayhew and Bayer up front at Big 10’s with Maverick Darling and Dan Lowry. If somehow the Hoosiers can close the gap from 2 to 3 they might have a shot to pull off an upset, but don’t count on it.

25. Villanova-
10/13-Overview: The Paul Short invite proved to be deceiving as the winner from that race, Villanova, went to Pre-Nats and finished a disappointing 8^th overall as a team. Without leader Sam McEntee, who was out because of illness, Matthew Mildenhall led the way for the Wildcats placing 32^nd overall. Freshmen Robert Denault and Jordy Williamsz ran well in the 2-3 spot finishing 53^rd and 57^th, respectively.
Outlook: With McEntee in the mix Villanova should be a strong contender for the Big East crown this weekend. Because their 5^th at Pre-Nats was 130^th with McEntee there, the Wildcats have a strong 1-5 and will pressure Syracuse and Georgetown at the Big East meet.

25. Iowa State-
10/13-Overview: Iowa State’s men’s team came out of nowhere and out of the shadow of their women’s team this weekend finishing in a solid 16^th place as a team. Led by Alex Dillenbeck in 41^st and Mohamed Hrezi in 50^th.

Outlook: The Cyclones have a brutally tough Big 12 Championship race this weekend. If Dillenback and Hrezi can continually be solid and get some momentum from the women dominating the field, maybe the Cyclones get third, but probably not. Fourth place in a tough conference is definitely legit, especially in the Big 12.

27. Georgetown-
10/13-Overview: Finishing a mere 13 points behind conference foe Villanova, Georgetown placed 9^th overall at the Pre-National Invitational in Louisville Kentucky. All-American Andrew Springer ran a decent 32^nd and former prep star Darren Fahy was 70^th alongside teammate Miles Schoedler in 71^st. This race was run without top Hoya, Mark Dennin, who was resting.

Outlook: Similarly to Villanova the top runner from G-Town did not compete at Pre-Nats. With McEntee in the front for Villanova and Dennin for Georgetown, the Big East championships will be a battle up front for individual honors.

28. Georgia-
10/13-Overview: Senior Matt Cleaver continues to lead the charge up front on this improving Georgia program. Cleaver finished 46^th overall and helped the team to an 18^th overall finish, 16 points behind defending national champ Wisconsin, at their home invite. Regular 2-man Brandon Lord struggled a bit to a 111st finish, but Lucas Baker ran well for the Bulldogs for a 74^th finish. Georgia held off SEC foe Texas A&M by 7 points.

Outlook: The SEC championships are up for the Bulldogs and will have to run a fantastic race to give Arkansas a scare up front, and to hold off Texas A&M. The good news for Georgia is they do have a nice pack and with Lord running better, they should be headed for a second place finish.

29. Texas A&M-
10/13-Overview: Texas A&M finished just 7 points behind Georgia for a 19^th team finish at the Wisconsin Invite. Senior stud Henry Lelei looked great finishing 4^th individually. Coming off a 26^th place finish last year Lelei seems to be in great shape heading towards the back end of the season.

Outlook: With Lelei looking so good, that will be good news for the Aggies as they will need him to continue to lead this team and have some help from James Hodges and Curry to solidify a nice pack behind him. The SEC Championships will be tough with Arkansas and Georgia, but look for the Aggies to give Georgia a run for the 2^nd place team, especially with a nice low stick from Lelei, getting the individual victory.

30. Kansas-
10/13-Overview: After an impressive run at the Rim Rock Classic with a ridiculous 1-5 spread, the Jayhawks continue to have maybe the best spread in the country and proved it at the Wisconsin Invitational. Covering the course with all 5 scorers in 19 seconds of each other, Sophomore Reid Buchanan led the team in 71^st and consistent man Don Wasinger and Gabe Gonzalez finshing in the top 100 in 91^st and 96^th, respectively.

Outlook: The good news is that this is the best Kansas team in years, the bad news is that they are in the Big 12. Look for their 1-5 spread to be something around 10 seconds, but not finishing higher than 5^th at the Big 12 Championships this upcoming weekend.

Top Five Individuals- (not on a team in the top 30)

Lawi Lalang (Arizona): Lawi continues his dominance in NCAA Cross Country by winning the Wisconsin Invite, breaking his own course record of 23:10, running 23:03. That’s especially incredible, since the pack started out much slower this year than they did the year before.
Stephen Sambu (Arizona): Always under the shadow of Lalang, but ever as consistent Sambu also broke the course record behind Lawi, finishing in 2^nd at Wisco in 23:07. This 1-2 (maybe the best ever) will have a nice push up front at the Pac 12 championships this weekend. Maybe Dunbar or Hurysz can give them a run.
Kennedy Kithuka (Texas Tech): Kithuka absolutely rolled at the Chile Pepper Invitational finishing the 10k race in 28:53, beating the next finisher by almost a minute and a half. Kithuka has been dominant all season and has now won 4 straight individual titles. Look for him to do the same thing he did to OK State at Chile Pepper at the Big 12 Championships.
Anthony Rotich (UTEP): Rotich looked really good, pulling away from legit Paul Chelimo at the Pre National Invitational, good enough for first running 23:01 for 8k. Rotich will dominate the Conference USA Championships with only competitor Chris O’Hare from Tulsa in the front with him.
Paul Chelimo (UNC Greensboro): Chelimo continues to look good, but not great this year, finishing second behind up and coming Anthony Rotich of UTEP at Pre-Nats. Chelimo and Rotich were side by side for most of the race until the UTEP star threw down a nasty surge and Chelimo did not respond. He still is a contender and will look better towards the end of the season, and especially by Nationals.