NCAA XC Countdown #21: Virginia Men and Colorado Women

Aug 2, 2013 by Isaac Wood

For the next month, The Wood Report will be counting down projected team finishes in this year's NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, IN. Make sure to stay up-to-date with The Wood Report throughout the season. You should follow him on Twitter, too.

View the full NCAA Top 31 Countdown HERE.

#21

Virginia Men

Head Coach: Peter Watson (2nd Season)

2012 National Finish- 14th

Key Returners from 2012

Kyle King (So., 3:44 1500m, 13:55 5k, 8:57 3k Steeple)
Thomas Porter (Jr., 14:03 5k, 29:34 10k)
Drew Paisley (Jr., 14:26 5k, 30:13 10k)
Jack St. Marie (So., 14:34 5k, 30:58 10k)
Chris Foley (Jr., 14:03 5k, 30:04 10k)

Impact Recruits/Transfers

Connor Rog (Redshirt Frosh., FL Finalist 18th, 9:09 3200m)
Henry Wynne (Fr., 1:49.9 800m 4:10 1600m, 9:04 3200m, NBON Mile Champ)
Thomas Madden (Fr., 4:15 1600m, 8:56 3200m, 23rd at FL Finals '11)
Mike Marsella (Redshirt Frosh., 4:09 Mile, 8:49 3200m, 19th at FL Finals '11)

Season Preview

The defending Southeast Regional champions return in 2013 season, four of their top seven runners from 2012. The losses that they have are critical though as Zach Gates was an All-American performer and Mark Amirault was as good a no. 2 runner on any team in the country.

Coach Peter Watson has a very deep crew returning that has incredible upside.

Sophomore Kyle King is one of the best young distance runners in the country coming off of an impressive freshman campaign in 2012. After a good nationals race where he was the no. 3 runner for the Cavaliers, King, along with Thomas Porter, are the go-to guys for Coach Watson. A good track season where he broke the 9:00 mark for the 3k Steeple adds to his already impressive freshman PR of 13:55 for 5000m. With this kind of quality freshman year, it seems as if the sky is the limit for Kyle.

Junior Thomas Porter is the other possible no. 1 man for Virginia heading into 2013. Porter has proven himself on the xc course, but also was able to show his track ability this past spring. A 16th individual finish at Outdoor Nats in the 10k, Porter can now use that momentum to have a great summer and come ready to roll for this upcoming season. Porter has demonstrated his ability to improve year after year and that should remain the case this year.

Virginia also has some very good depth with solid racing experience coming back that can help fill out the rest of the top seven that the great recruiting classes they have had back to back years does not. Chris Foley, Jack St. Marie and Drew Paisley are all capable xc runners and the Cavs are going to need at least one of them step up to take this team to the next level.

After having two incredibly good recruiting classes these past two seasons, Virginia has a quality stable of guys that hopefully can immediately make an impact in their scoring. All of them have fantastic credentials and very good experience running at a high level.

Henry Wynne is the New Balance Outdoor Nationals Mile Champion from this past spring and is a legitimate competitor and proven champion. Thomas Madden is a sub-9:00 3200m runner, which generally translates as a great xc runner in college. He also is a former FL Finalist which is a good indication of his ability. Redshirt freshman Connor Rog and Mike Marsella are also FL Finalists from 2011 and after a year of solid collegiate level training under their belts, should be ready to step into the top seven this season.

Obviously Virginia is deep. Peter Watson has done a good job with the athletes he has been given and did a great job with his first recruiting class (post- Jason Vigilante). With the upside that his athletes have, it is only a matter of time when this squad is top-10 at NCAAs. Do not sleep on Virginia, a repeat Southeast Regional Championship is very possible which could lead to a top-10 finish in Terre Haute.

#21

Colorado Women

Head Coach: Mark Wetmore (19th Season)

2012 National Finish- 24th

Key Returners from 2012

Shalaya Kipp (Sr., 9:35 3k Steeple, Olympian in 3k Steeple)
Carrie Verdon (So.,16:14 5k)
Courtney Bouchet (Sr., 9:30 Open 3k, 10:30 3k Steeple)
Rachel Viger (Jr., 16:56 5k, 35:06 10k)
Allie McLaughlin (Sr., 9:23 Open 3k)

Impact Recruits/Transfers

Heather Bates (Fr., 4:56 1600m, 10:51 3200 (alt. mark), 12th NXN Nats)
Melanie Nun (Fr., FL Finalist '12, 10:57 3200m (alt. mark)
Erin Clark (Fr., 4:28 1500m, 9:32 Open 3k, 16:41 5k)
Hagen Reedy (Fr., 4:56 1600m, 10:21 3200m, 2 X NXN Nats Qualifier: 7th '11, 20th '12)

Season Preview

The theme of today's previews consists of solid returning veterans with potential outstanding young guns. Colorado returns in 2013 coming off of a somewhat disappointing 2012 campaign. The lone real bright spots came from the rise of Carrie Verdon and Shalaya Kipp getting fit in time to lead the Buffs. This year Colorado boasts an even more experienced squad with one of its best recruiting classes in the last few years.

Shalaya Kipp just recently hit the "A" standard again to qualify for the World Championships in Moscow and will therefore be coming back to Boulder and to the NCAA scene a little later on, similar to last season. This means that the now sophomore Carrie Verdon will need to step into a leadership role and establish herself as the no. 1 runner.

Verdon solidified herself as one of the top freshman in the land last season. A top ten finish at the Mountain Regional was big to help her team finish third and qualify for NCAAs. After a very good freshman year on the track where she ran a good PR of 16:15 for 5k, she should be able to translate that to even better performance on the xc course.

Colorado also brings back a core group of experienced cross country runners that are capable of being solid pack runners. Courtney Bouchet, Liz Tremblay, Rachel Viger and Jana Stolting, all have many seasons of experience running in one of the most quality programs in the country. The key will be keeping their 1-5 spread as close as possible. With Kipp and Verdon both being potential All-Americans, if these ladies can keep the spread tight, they will have a chance to do some good things at NCAAs.

A wildcard athlete that has not been talked about for a few years is Allie McLaughlin. As a freshman in 2009 McLaughlin was unreal. She placed fifth overall at the NCAA meet. Unfortunately since then, she has been flying extremely under the radar and has not been heard of. Allie is still on the roster and talent like that does not just fly away. If she can stay healthy and keep up some sort of volume, McLaughlin could be the darkhorse on this team and someone to watch out for as an individual at NCAAs.

To add to an already very good squad returning from 2012, Mark Wetmore has a terrific recruiting class to go along with them. Every single one of these girls are outstanding cross country runners that are also capable on the track. Each of them have experience running at a very high level in cross country which should allow them to immediately step in and roll with the Buffs main pack from the onset of the season.

Hagen Reedy of Buchanan HS in Clovis, California has two top-15 finishes at NXN and a very good 10:21 3200m PR. Erin Clark has already run times on the track that would make her Colorado's third best 5k girl on their team (16:41 PR). Melanie Nun is a local girl who was a Foot Locker finalist in 2012 and ran some very good races at altitude this past year. Heather Bates rounds out this class and adds another very quality high level cross country performer. Bates finished 12th overall at NXN in 2012.

With all of this considered the one factor that has not been mentioned in depth is Mark Wetmore. Year in and year out there might not be a better coach in the country in terms of development of athletes, scouting runners that have very high ceilings, and fine tuning his harriers to produce outstanding performances when it matters. This is a good team that could be great. The Buffs should be able to roll through the Mountain Regional and prepare themselves to peak at NCAAs. Every team in the country should be nervous at NCAAs with how quality this team is and how good Wetmore is at getting them ready at the right time.