Though this summer is an extremely exciting time for track and field fans—the action at Hayward was exceptional and that at Daegu promises to be even better—there hasn’t been much to occupy the D3 fans out there. Well, unless you count watching Willamette alum Nick Symmonds continue his dominance in the 800, the fast-closing Pomona grad Will Leer finishing 4.5th in the 1500, and the countless other former D3 elites mixing it up with our nation’s top dogs.

However, I for one am already thinking about cross country, and so without any further delay, I bring you the first of eight weekly regional previews. I’ll give you who I think the top five teams and individuals are for bother genders, and maybe include some more teams or individuals in the deeper regions. We’ll start things off in what has traditionally been the weakest region, the South, and I’ll try to go in some sort of ranked order before finishing up with the best region (at least, on the men’s side): the Midwest.

South Region-Men
Last year, only the automatic-qualifying top two teams made it to nationals—Lynchburg and Centre—and the squads finished 26th and 32nd, respectively. Barring a breakout year for the region, again only two teams will make the big dance, and we can expect another tight battle between lots of teams for the coveted top two spots. In all regions, one strong recruit can make a huge difference, but especially in a region with not quite as much depth, freshmen can turn a fringe top five team into a nationals-qualifying contender. It will be interesting to see if any new names pop up during the first few weeks of the season, but until then, let’s take a look at whom I consider to be the top returning squads and individuals:

Teams
5. Guilford
Last year’s seventh place squad looks poised to continue to emerge onto the regional scene, with frontrunner Derick Kosgei coming off a strong track season that saw him dip under the 15 minute barrier in the 5k. Last year’s rookies Chad Norton and David Cason are also coming off strong track seasons and will almost certainly be up in contention for top places. Fellow rising sophomore and 800 specialist Dylan Skinner will be one of the keys for Guilford—they need fourth and fifth runners who can close the gap between their top three and the rest of the squad in order to contend with the region’s elite.


4. Centre
National qualifier Centre brings back three of their top five, but they lose regional runner-up Clinton Cahall along with their number three. They will rely on sophomore John Kieffer to lead the team, and after his solid steeple results outdoors (9:25), he looks prepared to do just that. The difficulty for the Colonels will be finding the depth to contend. Seniors Graham Campbell, Jack Santos, and Willie Polio will try to take some of the pressure off Kieffer, but they will need some other teammates to step up if they have dreams of returning to nationals.

3. Trinity (Tx)
Though Trinity graduated their top two from last year’s fourth place campaign, they appear to have an even tougher dynamic duo to replace the recent graduates. Rising juniors Sal Perdomo and Pancho Escobedo both rolled to 15:03 and 15:04 performances in the 5k, and looked poised to crack into the region’s top 10.  Fellow junior Mark Greene, senior Robert Edmonds, and sophomore Gerrardo Hernandez will need to come through for Trinity to have a solid scoring five at regionals.

2. Rhodes
Though Rhodes was a scant four points away from qualifying for nationals last year, they have some work to do if they want to improve on that performance after graduating two of their top five, including their number one runner from last year.  However, I expect them to come through this November, as I’m certain that they are hungry for redemption. Cody Beatty will be a frontrunner for the Lynx, but he will need lots of support from members of last year’s top five Tyler Catterton and Matt Grisham. Last year’s sixth man Will Hawes is a returning all-region runner and should be up near their top three, but they will need to find a fifth man in miler Evan Nelsen or rising sophomore Noah Brown in order to secure their place in Oshkosh.

1. Lynchburg
Many people remember Lynchburg solely due to 2009 national champion Ricky Flynn, but despite his graduation, the Hornets have only improved. They again graduated their top runner, but they bring back top-ten regional runners Cody Stanton and Nolan Compton. Stanton, last year’s top freshman, should be up with the top ten again, and behind him and Compton will be a slew of talented teammates: Daniel Cutright, Lawrence Minor, Brian Robinson, and William Orndorff. Lynchburg will need some of them to step in order to repeat as champions.

Individuals
5. Sal Perdomo/Pancho Escobedo (Trinity, Tx.)
Despite finishing 29th and 74th respectively at regionals last year, these two put together impressive track campaigns and will be trying to lead their team to a top-two finish. I expect to see them mixing it up with the lead pack, though only time will tell if they can finish with the region’s best. I gave this duo the nod over Stanton and Compton simply because of more impressive track times. That being said, I would be surprised if Lychburg’s pair finishes outside the top 10 given how well they performed last year (6th and 7th).

4. John Kieffer (Centre)
Last year’s 13th place finisher is coming off a great rookie year and after almost hitting the provisional mark in the steeple, he should be a lock to finish in the top ten. He, too, will be responsible for a lot of his team’s success, and I expect him to rise to the challenge and score some low points for his Colonels.

3. Jeff Chandler (Texas-Tyler)
The second fastest returner from last year’s regional meet will have his hands full if he wants to again find himself in the top five. His track times pale in comparison to the rest of the region’s best (15:34, 32:56, 10:19), but he clearly thrives in the fall, as his track times from the year prior were even less impressive. It will be interesting to see which Chandler shows up—the one who finished fourth at regionals, or the one who ran 32:56 in a 20th place effort at the Rhodes Open. I’m expecting to see the former.

2. Derrick Kosgei (Guilford)
The ODAC Cross Country champion has put together some stellar races over the past year, highlighted by his conference victory over eventual regional champ Sean Whitson as well as a sub-15 minute performance in the 5k at the Raleigh Relays. He finished fifth last year, and after a much improved track season, he will almost certainly contest for the win.

1. Sean Whitson (Virginia Wesleyan)
Though his team has graduated too many important pieces to still be in top five contention, Whitson is the defending regional champ and has the top 5k and 10k personal bests among all returners (14:57, 30:58). He has lost to Kosgei at ODAC’s both in cross and in outdoor track, but I think he should still be considered the favorite. That being said, I expect to see a great battle at both ODAC’s and regionals between these two competitors.

South Region-Women
The women’s half of the region is similar to the men’s in that there will likely be no at-large bids to nationals coming from the South. Last year the top two squads—Rhodes and Emory—ran away with the only qualifying spots, and this year will likely play out similarly.

Teams
5. Trinity (Tx.)
Rosemary Steup, the region’s top rookie last year and fourth overall finisher, will be leading the Tigers attempt to improve upon last year’s seventh place showing. They return their entire top six, four of whom were freshman, and should be able to crack the top five, though contesting for the top two slots is probably still a year or two away.

4. Christopher Newport
The region’s third place squad from last year returns all but their fifth runner, and they have a solid top four. However, they will have difficulty threatening the top two (last year they were 123 points behind second) unless they can find a fifth runner to close the gap between their top four and the rest of the team.

3. Centre
The Colonels return their top six runners, and unlike Christopher Newport, they do have a bit of depth. However, they’ll need to get their three through five to close in on top runners Bekah Rehkamp and Paige Farris if they want to improve on last year’s fourth place performance.

2. Rhodes
Though the Lynx are the defending regional champs, they graduate three of their top six and could be vulnerable if they can’t find the talent to replace those runners. However, frontrunner Taylor Stephens should give them some margin for error as the soon-to-be-senior is coming off a stellar track season after her second-place regional finish during cross country. Maddie Harrigan, Kalsey Dudziak, and Becca Olivarez should provide enough depth for Rhodes to again find themselves at nationals come late November.

1. Emory
After suffering defeat by a mere four points at regionals last year, the Eagles turned the tables convincingly at nationals, defeating Rhodes by 43 points to secure a 26th place finish. Returning regional champ Tess Gallegos leads a strong supporting cast, including five other members of last year’s varsity squad, in an attempt to win the regional title.

Individuals
5. Melanie Frank/Sara Gelb (Emory)
I’m giving this duo the nod over Maddie Harrigan of Rhodes after they posted stellar track performances. Frank, last year’s 11th place finisher, excelled in the 1500, running 4:42, while 13th place finisher Gelb was a steeple specialist, clocking in at 11:16.

4. Olivia Mills (Bridgewater, Va.)
Mills, the region’s sixth place finisher last year, is coming off a great track season that saw her cut almost a minute off her 5k time, culminating in a solid 17:32 performance at the end of the season. She also has the best wheels of the field, with a 4:39 1500 to her credit. If she’s with the leaders at the end of the race, she could just pull off the upset.

3. Rosemary Steup (Trinity, Tx.)
As previously mentioned, Steup was the region’s best rookie and fourth place finisher. Unfortunately, two of the three runners ahead of her also return, making it difficult to pick her to finish any higher than third. However, her 17:48 5k shows that she will certainly be able to mix it up with the top two, and could be in contention for the win in the final kilometers. Regardless, she will be a force to be reckoned with once the top two graduate.

2. Tess Gallegos (Emory)
Though Gallegos is the defending regional champ and was the winner by a solid ten seconds, I can’t consider her the favorite. At nationals, she was over twenty seconds behind regional runner-up Taylor Stephens, and during the track seasons her top 5k was a solid but unconvincing 18:04.

1. Taylor Stephens (Rhodes)
As noted above, Stephens was the top regional finisher at nationals and is fresh off a track campaign that saw her finish tenth nationally in the 10k. Further, she appears poised for a breakthrough, as this outdoor season she set large personal bests in both the 5k and 10k. Only time will tell if she can turn the tables on her regional rival, but I consider her the favorite until proven otherwise.

Well, that’s it for the South region. Tune in next Tuesday for a sneak peek of the West region.