Cross Country Season on Flotrack 2013Nov 9, 2013 by Isaac Wood
Flotrack XC Rankings Women's NCAA Top Teams 20 - 11 (Week 5)
Flotrack XC Rankings Women's NCAA Top Teams 20 - 11 (Week 5)
Rankings guru Isaac Wood returns with his Flotrack NCAA XC Rankings. Though there were some major shifts in the poll, the picture for the NCAA XC Championship is starting to become a bit more clear. Below, Wood has listed the teams who will be making the NCAA meet, where they will finish in Terre Haute, and how many points they'll score. For the sake of brevity, we've broken up the countdown into three parts. Below are the women's teams from 20 to 11.
Click here to view 31 - 21.
Spectrum of emotions.
20 - Syracuse 524
Give Chris Fox and Brien Bell some credit as they have done an excellent job putting together a quality women's team at Syracuse this season. Going into the season I definitely would not have put much on Syracuse making the NCAA Championships, but they are almost certainly going to go (barring disaster at the Northeast Regional).
The 'Cuse had a good showing at ACCs finishing 3rd as a team behind Florida State and Virginia while beating quality teams like Notre Dame, Boston College and Duke. Margo Malone has come out of no where and become a legit All-American contender after her 9th place finish at ACCs. Coming from a 16:41 5000m PR to 9th in a stacked conference is a sign of quality coaching.
Meredith Speakman has also improved a ton from her 31st finish at the Big East meet last season to 15th at ACCs this past weekend.
To be honest, I thought for sure Brianna Nerud would need to be running out of her mind for Syracuse to be even average this season and Nerud (who spent her summer training and competing at the Pan Am Games in the 3k Steeple) was their no. 3 and placed 23rd.
A top-20 or better finish is a nice spot for Syracuse as Nerud should get better every race (same as Jessie Peterson who finished right behind Nerud at ACCs) and the Orange all of a sudden have some low-sticks that will keep them out of a high 20s team finish.
19 - San Francisco 478
San Francisco is such an interesting team. Besides Bridget Dahlberg, the Dons have yet find a consistent no. 2 - 7 all season long due to the team's interchangeable and talented athletes. Good thing Dahlberg transferred from Boston College as she has been a HUGE pickup for USF. She was far and away the best athlete at the West Coast Conference meet this weekend where she took home the individual honors and San Francisco won the team title easily.
Maor Tiyouri had her best race ever finishing as the no. 2 and 6th overall. San Francisco's usual no. 2 Eva Krchova had a rough day at WCCs finishing 10th (she could have beaten Dahlberg or at least been finishing hand in hand).
The Dons have a ton of solid pieces and it's just a matter of things actually clicking at the right time (what else is new). Jana Soethout, who qualified for NCAAs this past spring in the 10000m, had her first race of the season and was 22nd. She will improve each and every race.
San Francisco is a top-10 talented team, just needs to put it together when it matters. The West Regional is always really good, but don't be surprised to see USF beat a few Pac-12 schools and automatically make the Big Dance.
18 - Oregon 461
Whoa. I never thought Oregon would ever not be a top-10 team. Deep down I really still think they'll pull something together at NCAAs and at least finish somewhere in the 8-10 range, but as of right now, they do not look like that kind of a team.
Without a low-stick to be found, Oregon struggled a bit at Pac-12s and finished 4th as a team. Megan Patrignelli continued with her front-running ways and was the first Duck to cross the finish line (she was 17th overall). The good news for the Ducks is that their spread from 1-5 at Pac-12s was actually excellent at :19 seconds. This will serve them well as they will get better at Regionals and Nationals and that tight of a group will keep the score down at the bigger meets.
Lindsay Crevoiserat is getting back into the mix after her transfer from UConn (28th and no. 5 at Pac-12s). Maggie Schmaedick and Abbey Leonardi are providing some consistency in their pack (22nd and 21st respectively) as well. This team will get better, but we'll have to wait and see it happen because right now it's been a bit of an underwhelming year for the women of Oregon.
17 - Minnesota 406
This past weekend at the Big-10 meet had maybe the most underappreciated result from the weekend as a whole. How close was Minnesota to knocking off both Michigan and Michigan State?! With 68 points compared to Michigan's 55 and Big 10 title winner Michigan State's 43, the Gophers were only a fifth runner away from winning the conference title.
Much of this can be attributed to the outstanding performance from senior Laura Docherty, who was 3rd individually. Molly Kayfes and Maggie Bollig also had strong races placing 8th and 13th, respectively. Katie Moraczewski did not have her best day, and when she runs like she normally should, Minnesota will have a competitive no. 5 and is a team to watch for as we approach NCAAs.
Minnesota should auto qualify out of the Midwest Regional and will be looking at a possible top-15 finish in Terre Haute.
16 - William and Mary 403
Week in and week out, all of the love goes out to Emily Stites and Elaina Balouris (deservedly so). They could be the best 1-2 punch in the country. Finished 1-2 at their conference meet (Colonial Athletic Conference) was no shocker and William and Mary sweeping the field was not either.
Although this is nothing to be excited about, the Tribe do have some other solid pieces that are coming together. Michelle Britto, Meghan McGovern, and Dylan Hassett are all capable runners that will keep William and Mary in the hunt for a top-15 finish if they can over-achieve in Terre Haute.
William and Mary will also not struggle auto-qualifying out of the Southeast Regional and will be ready to roll at NCAAs.
15 - Stanford 398
I was a little bit shocked that according to the Kolas Calculator, that Stanford was not listed as a team to make the Big Dance. When it comes to regional rankings, it is hard to really gauge where a team stands. Ranking Stanford 5th in the West Regional on paper seems like the right thing to do, but you would have to think that the Cardinal gets it done next week at their regional.
The talent is there in Palo Alto and they should be pushed in by a team with points that Stanford does seem to be lacking. Jessica Tonn and Aisling Cuffe are money and Cuffe is flat out rollin' this year. Winning the Pac-12s is not easy, especially at altitude. Those two low-sticks have been huge all year for the Cardinal and Cuffe and Tonn will be begging their teammates for some help behind them (and every coach of a decent individual in the West Region who has a chance to get their athlete to qualify individually).
Cuffe after Pac-12s.
Cami Chapus, Rebecca Mehra, and Megan Lacy are the candidates to make giant improvements from Pac-12s to the West Regional and they will have to in order to ensure the team's trip to Terre Haute. If and when they get to NCAAs, the Cuffe and Tonn duo will both be looking at shoo-in All-American finishes and most likely top-20 finishes a piece, which will keep their total team score way down and thus the ranking at 15th.
14 - Washington 394
After the Bill Dellinger Invite, I was freaking out about how good UW was. It was hard not to. The Huskies crushed the field and Oregon at their home meet with 30 points to UofO's 52. UW placed five athletes in the top 15 and had all five of those girls finish before Oregon's no. 2. Granted, Oregon was probably tempoing the course, or definitely training through it, but it was still difficult not to think the Washington was a podium team. At that point in the year, there were many teams in the NCAA with solid runners through their no. 4, but no fifth runner. At Dellinger, it obvious that Washington was very good.
But ever since, things have not gotten any better. At Pac-12s, the Huskies were 3rd as a team, but were 36 points behind Colorado in 2nd. Katie Flood led Washington coming in at 11th overall and Justine Johnson and Katie Knight went 19-20, respectively. Washington has all of the tools to be a podium team, including a potential really good fifth runner if Megan Goethals can get fit fast (not saying she would be their fifth, but it would bump someone down who is still quality to the fifth spot).
The West Region will be indicative of how quickly Goethals is getting back into shape and will help us understand how good Washington really can be.
13 - Dartmouth 385
Well, Dartmouth isn't just Abbey D'Agostino. Even with the pretty much the undisputed best woman runner in the country, Dartmouth has some other horses in the stable. Placing all five of their athletes in the top 15 at HEPS, the Big Green went home with an individual winner and the team title for the first time since 1997.
They are going to be so dangerous as they enter the Regional and National part of the season. With having only 1 point coming from Abbey D' and the Big Green's 2-5 spread being only :30 seconds. This is more than just the Abbey D' show. Coach Mark Coogan is working magic in Hanover, New Hampshire. Take the low stick of D'Agostino and solid running from Dana Giordano (who is no slouch herself--5th at HEPS) and the other three scorers, and this is a definite top-15 program.
12 - Michigan 369
The year of the freshman dominance in the NCAA conference weekend was solidified on the last day of the conference meets where true freshman Erin Finn took home the individual honors at the Big 10 Conference Championship. The Wolverines were able to get five athletes across the line in the top-20 and with Finn's low-stick, Michigan had a solid day as a team finishing 2nd behind Michigan State. A 2nd place finish as a team at Big 10s this year is actually a very good performance considering the depth of the conference.
#flotobomb
The Wolverines will be fine as they should be able to squeak out an auto bid from the Great Lakes Regional and prep for a run at the top-10 at NCAAs in Terre Haute.
11 - New Mexico 354
At the Mountain West Conference Championships, no one was going to touch Emma Bates of Boise State. but besides Bates, the New Mexico Lobos dominated the field scoring 31 points and winning by nearly 30 points over Boise State. Sammy Silva led the way for the Lobos placing 2nd overall.
Silva received help from her teammates behind her with all five scorers finishing in the top-10. Charlotte Arter (the lone returner from 2012 that was in the top-5) ran well at the no. 2 spot for New Mexico, placing 4th individually. Nicole Roberts, Calli Thackery, and Heleene Tambet finished within :9 seconds of each other to round out the scorers.
New Mexico will have a fun battle with Colorado at the Mountain Region, but should be able to make it Terre Haute with little struggle.
There are a lot of wildcards on this squad that have been improving ever since their solid performance at Notre Dame. Heleene Tambet is very raw and has improved steadily. Also, Thackery and Roberts are starting to figure out the cross country scene in the NCAA. There is much upside in Albuquerque and Coach Joe Franklin should be excited about the future of this team going into Regionals and Nationals.
Click here to view 31 - 21.
Spectrum of emotions.
20 - Syracuse 524
Give Chris Fox and Brien Bell some credit as they have done an excellent job putting together a quality women's team at Syracuse this season. Going into the season I definitely would not have put much on Syracuse making the NCAA Championships, but they are almost certainly going to go (barring disaster at the Northeast Regional).
The 'Cuse had a good showing at ACCs finishing 3rd as a team behind Florida State and Virginia while beating quality teams like Notre Dame, Boston College and Duke. Margo Malone has come out of no where and become a legit All-American contender after her 9th place finish at ACCs. Coming from a 16:41 5000m PR to 9th in a stacked conference is a sign of quality coaching.
Meredith Speakman has also improved a ton from her 31st finish at the Big East meet last season to 15th at ACCs this past weekend.
To be honest, I thought for sure Brianna Nerud would need to be running out of her mind for Syracuse to be even average this season and Nerud (who spent her summer training and competing at the Pan Am Games in the 3k Steeple) was their no. 3 and placed 23rd.
A top-20 or better finish is a nice spot for Syracuse as Nerud should get better every race (same as Jessie Peterson who finished right behind Nerud at ACCs) and the Orange all of a sudden have some low-sticks that will keep them out of a high 20s team finish.
19 - San Francisco 478
San Francisco is such an interesting team. Besides Bridget Dahlberg, the Dons have yet find a consistent no. 2 - 7 all season long due to the team's interchangeable and talented athletes. Good thing Dahlberg transferred from Boston College as she has been a HUGE pickup for USF. She was far and away the best athlete at the West Coast Conference meet this weekend where she took home the individual honors and San Francisco won the team title easily.
Maor Tiyouri had her best race ever finishing as the no. 2 and 6th overall. San Francisco's usual no. 2 Eva Krchova had a rough day at WCCs finishing 10th (she could have beaten Dahlberg or at least been finishing hand in hand).
The Dons have a ton of solid pieces and it's just a matter of things actually clicking at the right time (what else is new). Jana Soethout, who qualified for NCAAs this past spring in the 10000m, had her first race of the season and was 22nd. She will improve each and every race.
San Francisco is a top-10 talented team, just needs to put it together when it matters. The West Regional is always really good, but don't be surprised to see USF beat a few Pac-12 schools and automatically make the Big Dance.
18 - Oregon 461
Whoa. I never thought Oregon would ever not be a top-10 team. Deep down I really still think they'll pull something together at NCAAs and at least finish somewhere in the 8-10 range, but as of right now, they do not look like that kind of a team.
Without a low-stick to be found, Oregon struggled a bit at Pac-12s and finished 4th as a team. Megan Patrignelli continued with her front-running ways and was the first Duck to cross the finish line (she was 17th overall). The good news for the Ducks is that their spread from 1-5 at Pac-12s was actually excellent at :19 seconds. This will serve them well as they will get better at Regionals and Nationals and that tight of a group will keep the score down at the bigger meets.
Lindsay Crevoiserat is getting back into the mix after her transfer from UConn (28th and no. 5 at Pac-12s). Maggie Schmaedick and Abbey Leonardi are providing some consistency in their pack (22nd and 21st respectively) as well. This team will get better, but we'll have to wait and see it happen because right now it's been a bit of an underwhelming year for the women of Oregon.
17 - Minnesota 406
This past weekend at the Big-10 meet had maybe the most underappreciated result from the weekend as a whole. How close was Minnesota to knocking off both Michigan and Michigan State?! With 68 points compared to Michigan's 55 and Big 10 title winner Michigan State's 43, the Gophers were only a fifth runner away from winning the conference title.
Much of this can be attributed to the outstanding performance from senior Laura Docherty, who was 3rd individually. Molly Kayfes and Maggie Bollig also had strong races placing 8th and 13th, respectively. Katie Moraczewski did not have her best day, and when she runs like she normally should, Minnesota will have a competitive no. 5 and is a team to watch for as we approach NCAAs.
Minnesota should auto qualify out of the Midwest Regional and will be looking at a possible top-15 finish in Terre Haute.
16 - William and Mary 403
Week in and week out, all of the love goes out to Emily Stites and Elaina Balouris (deservedly so). They could be the best 1-2 punch in the country. Finished 1-2 at their conference meet (Colonial Athletic Conference) was no shocker and William and Mary sweeping the field was not either.
Although this is nothing to be excited about, the Tribe do have some other solid pieces that are coming together. Michelle Britto, Meghan McGovern, and Dylan Hassett are all capable runners that will keep William and Mary in the hunt for a top-15 finish if they can over-achieve in Terre Haute.
William and Mary will also not struggle auto-qualifying out of the Southeast Regional and will be ready to roll at NCAAs.
15 - Stanford 398
I was a little bit shocked that according to the Kolas Calculator, that Stanford was not listed as a team to make the Big Dance. When it comes to regional rankings, it is hard to really gauge where a team stands. Ranking Stanford 5th in the West Regional on paper seems like the right thing to do, but you would have to think that the Cardinal gets it done next week at their regional.
The talent is there in Palo Alto and they should be pushed in by a team with points that Stanford does seem to be lacking. Jessica Tonn and Aisling Cuffe are money and Cuffe is flat out rollin' this year. Winning the Pac-12s is not easy, especially at altitude. Those two low-sticks have been huge all year for the Cardinal and Cuffe and Tonn will be begging their teammates for some help behind them (and every coach of a decent individual in the West Region who has a chance to get their athlete to qualify individually).
Cuffe after Pac-12s.
Cami Chapus, Rebecca Mehra, and Megan Lacy are the candidates to make giant improvements from Pac-12s to the West Regional and they will have to in order to ensure the team's trip to Terre Haute. If and when they get to NCAAs, the Cuffe and Tonn duo will both be looking at shoo-in All-American finishes and most likely top-20 finishes a piece, which will keep their total team score way down and thus the ranking at 15th.
14 - Washington 394
After the Bill Dellinger Invite, I was freaking out about how good UW was. It was hard not to. The Huskies crushed the field and Oregon at their home meet with 30 points to UofO's 52. UW placed five athletes in the top 15 and had all five of those girls finish before Oregon's no. 2. Granted, Oregon was probably tempoing the course, or definitely training through it, but it was still difficult not to think the Washington was a podium team. At that point in the year, there were many teams in the NCAA with solid runners through their no. 4, but no fifth runner. At Dellinger, it obvious that Washington was very good.
But ever since, things have not gotten any better. At Pac-12s, the Huskies were 3rd as a team, but were 36 points behind Colorado in 2nd. Katie Flood led Washington coming in at 11th overall and Justine Johnson and Katie Knight went 19-20, respectively. Washington has all of the tools to be a podium team, including a potential really good fifth runner if Megan Goethals can get fit fast (not saying she would be their fifth, but it would bump someone down who is still quality to the fifth spot).
The West Region will be indicative of how quickly Goethals is getting back into shape and will help us understand how good Washington really can be.
13 - Dartmouth 385
Well, Dartmouth isn't just Abbey D'Agostino. Even with the pretty much the undisputed best woman runner in the country, Dartmouth has some other horses in the stable. Placing all five of their athletes in the top 15 at HEPS, the Big Green went home with an individual winner and the team title for the first time since 1997.
They are going to be so dangerous as they enter the Regional and National part of the season. With having only 1 point coming from Abbey D' and the Big Green's 2-5 spread being only :30 seconds. This is more than just the Abbey D' show. Coach Mark Coogan is working magic in Hanover, New Hampshire. Take the low stick of D'Agostino and solid running from Dana Giordano (who is no slouch herself--5th at HEPS) and the other three scorers, and this is a definite top-15 program.
12 - Michigan 369
The year of the freshman dominance in the NCAA conference weekend was solidified on the last day of the conference meets where true freshman Erin Finn took home the individual honors at the Big 10 Conference Championship. The Wolverines were able to get five athletes across the line in the top-20 and with Finn's low-stick, Michigan had a solid day as a team finishing 2nd behind Michigan State. A 2nd place finish as a team at Big 10s this year is actually a very good performance considering the depth of the conference.
#flotobomb
The Wolverines will be fine as they should be able to squeak out an auto bid from the Great Lakes Regional and prep for a run at the top-10 at NCAAs in Terre Haute.
11 - New Mexico 354
At the Mountain West Conference Championships, no one was going to touch Emma Bates of Boise State. but besides Bates, the New Mexico Lobos dominated the field scoring 31 points and winning by nearly 30 points over Boise State. Sammy Silva led the way for the Lobos placing 2nd overall.
Silva received help from her teammates behind her with all five scorers finishing in the top-10. Charlotte Arter (the lone returner from 2012 that was in the top-5) ran well at the no. 2 spot for New Mexico, placing 4th individually. Nicole Roberts, Calli Thackery, and Heleene Tambet finished within :9 seconds of each other to round out the scorers.
New Mexico will have a fun battle with Colorado at the Mountain Region, but should be able to make it Terre Haute with little struggle.
There are a lot of wildcards on this squad that have been improving ever since their solid performance at Notre Dame. Heleene Tambet is very raw and has improved steadily. Also, Thackery and Roberts are starting to figure out the cross country scene in the NCAA. There is much upside in Albuquerque and Coach Joe Franklin should be excited about the future of this team going into Regionals and Nationals.