This week we get a look at our defending men’s champions as well as the rest of the Mideast Region.

Men’s Teams
Last year, Allegheny was the team to beat until the regional meet, when the Gators suffered a shocking collapse and Haverford emerged as a national title contender. Behind national champ Anders Hulleberg, the Goats upended top seeded North Central (Ill.) to take home the title, with Dickinson a mere six points from finding themselves on the podium as well. The region graduated a lot of talent from the top squads, but I almost guarantee that whoever wins this region will be on the podium this November, and they will certainly be a threat to again bring the national title back to the Mideast. As for the number of at-large bids, the region got three last year, but without Allegheny’s fifth place finish, the region might have only gotten two. I would expect only two bids this year, as aside from the top two or three squads, there isn’t an exceptional amount of depth in the region.

Honorable Mention: St. Vincent
The Bearcats were a surprise sixth place finisher last year, but they were over 100 points out of fifth place. Still, they return four of their top five who all were solid (though unspectacular) performers on the track this spring. Simply comparing track and cross country results from last year, I would argue that they are the fifth best team in the region.

5. Allegheny
Though as noted above, St. Vincent looks better (or at least equal) on paper, I have to give the nod to the Gators, a powerful program that is just two years removed from a third place finish at nationals. Though they collapsed in the postseason and graduated five of their top seven, it’s too soon to call this a rebuilding year. They bring back Patrick McLaughlin (15:23) and Mike Vlah (1:53) from their nationals squad and will be helped by 15:05 guy Bobby Over, but after those three they have no one that broke 16, 34, or 10 flat during the spring. With that apparent lack of depth, Allegheny will need some major help to get back to nationals this year.

4. Carnegie Mellon
After a third place finish on their home course at regionals, the Tartans have to do some rebuilding of their own as they graduate their top three runners. However, unlike Allegheny, they have some help for returning varsity members Evan Gates, Mike Standish (1:53), and Matt Jacob (15:43). Though they probably won’t be able to replace last year’s frontrunners, Rob Morchard (15:09), Kyle Andrews (15:31), and Josh Newby (9:39) should at least ensure Carnegie Mellon a place on the line at Oshkosh.

3. Elizabethtown
The Blue Jays return four of their top five and could try to upend the region’s top two squads if everything falls into place. The key will be Eric Reichert, who finished 16th at regionals and then 11th at nationals. No typo there—less people beat him at nationals than at the regional meet. If he continues to race like he did at nationals, then Elizabethtown could steal an automatic bid to nationals. But even if he can’t, they should still safely secure the first at-large bid. Miler Russel Speiden (3:53), Colby Miller (14:59), Charlie Larsen, Aaron Focht (15:23), and Stephen Welsh (15:48) should be enough to keep the Blue Jays ahead of everyone but the Centennial Conference powerhouses.

2. Dickinson
In almost any other region, the Red Devils would be the class of the field. They return four from last year’s fifth place national finish, and based on both that and track results, they have one of the best group of returners in the nation—despite having no returning All-Americans. We’ll cover their top three of Dylan Straughan, Henry Mynatt, and Omar Hyjek below, but if you want to win a national title you need more than just three good guys. Luckily for Dickinson, they also have last year’s seventh man David Breen (15:09), Andrew Fine (14:56), and three other returners sub-15:30. Unless something goes very wrong, these guys should at the very least secure at automatic bid to Oshkosh and give the defending regional and national champs a run for their money.

1. Haverford
This could easily be a down year for the Fords. They graduate their top three, are coming off a fairytale season, and have traditionally been better at track than cross country. However, they have the storied Tom Donnelly at the helm and have more than enough firepower to replace what they lost to graduation, making them a veritable threat to be the first repeat champions since Calvin won back to back titles in ‘03/’04. Returning cross All-Americans Eric Arnold and Jordan Schilit will be discussed more below, as will be all-region returner Tim Schoch and track star Ivo Milc-Strkalj. However, as I mentioned above, the key to winning a national title is depth, and in that regard the Fords have almost everyone beat. Peter Kissin (14:53), Brian Sokas (14:58), Andrew Sturner (30:52), and Faraz Sohail (30:59) all didn’t make the varsity squad last year, and they would be frontrunners for almost any other team out there. With those guys hungry for a title to call their own, I see no reason why Haverford won’t, at the very least, take care of business at the regional meet.

Men’s Individuals
The region had seven All-Americans last year, five of them coming from Haverford’s championship squad. Seven of the top ten regional finishers graduate, leaving a big pretty big void to be filled. Also of interest is the fact the entire top sixteen at regionals came from teams that qualified to nationals, and this year promises to be no exception. In fact, aside from Reichert (previewed below) and 800 meter star Tyler Newhook of Messiah, the top ten could be filled entirely by Dickinson and Haverford.

5. Tim Schoch/Ivo Milic-Strkalj (Haverford)
Unlike your typical cross country stars, Schoch excels at the middle distances, finishing third at nationals in the 1500 and winning the Centennial Conference in the 800 and 1500 outdoors and the 800 and mile indoors. He was eleventh last year at the regional meet, making him the fourth fastest returner. Milic-Strkalj is unique in the fact that he did not run at the regional meet and yet still gets mentioned amongst my “top five.” He wasn’t good enough to be included in Haverford’s top seven during cross country season last year, but his track prowess has shown that he deserves to be mentioned: he ran 14:47 as a freshman before focusing on the shorter distances this year (3:50, 8:25i).

4. Henry Mynatt/Omar Hyjek (Dickinson)
As freshman, these two were extremely impressive. In general, Mynatt was the faster of the two, finishing 13th regionally and 62nd nationally. In addition, he ran 14:48 outdoors and scored points in both the 5k and 10k in the extremely competitive Centennial Conference Championships. Meanwhile, Hyjek—the team’s sixth man at regionals—was the top Dickinson finisher at nationals, and though he wasn’t quite as impressive in the longer track races (15:02), he did pretty well for himself in the 1500 (3:53).

3. Eric Reichert (Elizabethtown)
As mentioned earlier, Reichert finished behind more people at the regional meet than he did at nationals. However, that regional race appears to have been an anomaly. Reichert was fourth in 2009 and was an All-American that year, as well. Unfortunately, after a solid indoor season (14:56), he appears to have missed the outdoor season, likely due to injury. Hopefully he can return to the form that made him the region’s top returner from the national meet.

2. Eric Arnold/Jordan Schilit (Haverford)
Arnold was fifth in the region last year, a cross country All-American, and the final All-American in the 1500 at nationals. He will likely be the leader for Haverford as he enters his senior season, and he will obviously want to exit on a high note. Schilit, on the other hand, had his track seasons curtailed (likely due to injury). However, he returned to run 3:58 and 14:52, showing he is well on his way to repeating (or bettering) his 31st place finish at nationals.

1. Dylan Straughan (Dickinson)
Straughan was third at regionals (and the top returner) before coming up just shy of All-American honors at the national meet. However, he really impressed during the track seasons, as he took home four top three finishes from the Centennial Conference meets, including a victory in the 5k outdoors over most of Haverford’s and Dickinson’s top guys (including cross country national champ Anders Hulleberg and steeplechase national champ Kent Pecora). Though I would bet the field, Straughan is a clear preseason favorite to take home the Mideast championship, and if history repeats itself, he could find himself bringing home a national title as well.

Women’s Teams
Last year Johns Hopkins won its third straight regional title by a comfortable margin before going on to place sixth at the national championships. However, they have their work cut out for them to repeat as champions. Their main competition graduate one scorer apiece, and all will be looking to take down the reigning champs. Last year the region got three at-large bids, and they should again get two or three this year, depending on the circumstances.

5. Grove City
Finishing just two points out of fourth place was enough to secure the Wolverines a spot at nationals last year, but they have a lot of work to do if they want to repeat that feat, though they do return four of their top seven including frontrunners Sara Fisher (17:48) and Ella Smith (18:20). As with most teams, depth will be an issue—there are a number of teams that are a piece or two from sneaking into the top five. Right now, Grove City appears to be the best of this bunch, but one good recruit can make all the difference while a lack of any emergent scorers could end a season one meet too early.

4. Haverford
Though the Fords return six of their top seven from last year’s fourth place finish, they will have trouble improving upon that performance. The rest of the top four squads return most of their scorers as well, and Haverford doesn’t appear to have the frontrunners to keep pace with the rest of the region. Emily Lipman will look to continue her cross country success, but she was not as impressive in her junior year campaign as she was in the year prior. After Lipman, the Fords have a lot of depth, but on paper it appears to be too far back to put them in contention for an automatic bid to Oshkosh.

3. Dickinson
The Red Devils are another team that returns all but one scorer, but unlike Haverford, they have the star power to mix it up at the front of the race. Catherine Campbell is a three time all region runner and was fourth last year before turning in a solid track season (17:41, 36:25), and she was shadowed by teammate Taylor Ludman (17:38, 36:31) who also scored some major points at the Centennial Conference Championships and even defeated Campbell at nationals in the 10k. After those two, though, the Red Devils could be in trouble. Emily Miller looks to be a reliable scorer, but Dickinson will need to increase the size of that chase pack if they have hopes of improving upon their second place regional finish and dethroning Johns Hopkins.

2. Elizabethtown
The fall promises to feature an exciting battle between the Blue Jays from Elizabethtown and the Blue Jays from Johns Hopkins. Elizabethtown has a young but stellar top three comprised of last year’s top runner Taryn Shank (17:50i) as well as two rising sophomores who both qualified for nationals in the 10k: Traci Tempone (17:40, 36:24) and Eileen Cody (17:40, 36:36). Behind those three, Elizabethtown could have some issues with depth. Much like Dickinson, they will need one or two more runners to bring home all-region honors if they want to challenge Johns Hopkins.

1. Johns Hopkins
These Blue Jays lose a bit more than Elizabethtown, but they still return their top two from regionals, Cecilia Furlong and Lara Shegoski. Both ran 17:37 indoors, but Furlong missed the outdoor season due to injury and Shegoski missed most of the outdoor season as well. If those two aren’t healthy this fall, Johns Hopkins will have a lot of trouble defending its title. However, the Blue Jays do have the most depth in the region and are the safest bet for taking home the regional title. Along with two other returning varsity members, Johns Hopkins will be relying on help from Holly Clarke, fresh off an impressive first year of collegiate track (18:23, 37:51).

Women’s Individuals
Though it was tough to pick between the top teams, picking the top five individuals is next to impossible in this highly competitive region. The top runners race often—and generally go back and forth—making it tough to decide on five (or six) to preview. Left out are Elizabethtown’s impressive trio, Dickinson’s Taylor Ludman, and Johns Hopkins’ Lara Shegoski. All of those women I just mentioned have a chance of not only cracking the top five but also winning the region, so I did my best to discuss them when covering their respective teams above.

Honorable Mention: Emily Lipman (Haverford)
Lipman gets an honorable mention not because she has outperformed Ludman, Shegoski, or the E-town girls, but because she is such an interesting case. She finished 10th in the region as a freshman, 2nd in 2009 (and was an All-American), but was only 16th last year. However, her 5k time has continued to improve. During track season, she was almost always near Ludman of Dickinson, so on paper I would say she is not quite amongst the top five but certainly within the top ten. That being said, she has the potential to exceed expectations, so it will be interesting to see how her season goes.

5. Cadee Rockwell (Moravian)
Rockwell is among the many threats for the individual title. She was only 17th last year, but her impressive track campaign included a 17:31 indoor 5k and a 36:39 10k early in the outdoor season. However, in her final race of the spring she fell to both Ludman and Lipman in the 10k, providing further evidence for how much parity there is among the numerous contenders.

4. Sheena Crawley (Franklin and Marshall)
Unlike most of her competition, Crawley is a middle distance specialist who excelled in the 1500 this outdoor season (4:28). She proved that she can go the distance with the region’s best by finishing 11th in the cross country regional meet last year, and she will be especially dangerous if the race becomes tactical. Crawley swept the four major middle distance titles in the Centennial Conference (800i, Mile, 800o, 1500), and her spring culminated in a trip to the national meet and an All-American finish.

3. Emily Wobb (Carnegie Mellon)
Wobb was third at the regional meet last year and posted track times in the same range as most of the region’s best (17:40), so I see no reason why she won’t again be in contention for top honors. As a member of the UAA, Carnegie Mellon didn’t race the Centennial Conference women all that often during the winter and spring, but Wobb did do well against top competition from other regions.

2. Catherine Campbell (Dickinson)
Similar to all the other women in contention, Campbell posted seasonal bests of 17:41 (17:33i) in the 5k and 36:25 in the 10k. Though those times are not personal bests, Campbell was the fourth place finisher at regionals last year and lost to no cross country returners in all four of her Centennial Conference races, making her stand out (ever so slightly) above the rest of the competitors. However, she, along with teammate Ludman and Elizabethtown’s Tempone and Cody, raced the 10k at nationals, and Campbell finished behind both Tempone and Ludman. Like I keep saying, any of these girls can win on any given day.

1. Cecilia Furlong (Johns Hopkins)
Furlong deserves the top spot after winning the region last year, although she has not competed since early February due to injury. Still, in the short time while she was healthy, Furlong defeated most of what promises to be her top competition this year. If she can be at her best come November, then the regional title will belong to her. If, however, she slips up, top honors are completely up for grabs.

That’s it for the Mideast region. The very unpredictable New England region will come next week!