Wisconsin adidas XC Invitational 2014Oct 15, 2014 by Meg Bellino
Chaotic Wisco Invite
Chaotic Wisco Invite
Men's Teams: Arizona, Arizona State, #11 Arkansas, Boise State, #13 BYU, Columbia, Dartmouth, #20 Eastern Kentucky, Edinboro, Florida, Florida State, Georg
Men's Teams: Arizona, Arizona State, #11 Arkansas, Boise State, #13 BYU, Columbia, Dartmouth, #20 Eastern Kentucky, Edinboro, Florida, Florida State, Georgetown, Guelph, Harvard, Illinois, #14 Indiana, #7 Iona, Iowa State, Lamar, #14 Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, #17 New Mexico, #3 Northern Arizona, Notre Dame, #18 Oklahoma, #9 Portland, Princeton, #19 Providence, #2 Stanford, #10 Syracuse, Texas A&M, #16 UCLA, #22 Washington, Weber State, #15 Wisconson, William and Mary
What to watch for: #2 Maksim Korolev and #3 Joe Rosa of Stanford headline the stacked field of 16 Saucony Flo50 ranked teams. Can they repeat their 1-2 performance from their home meet earlier this season? Unfortunately we won’t see #5 Jim Rosa, as he posted on Instagram earlier this week (Speedy recovery, Jim!). This will mark the first time #2 Stanford and #3 NAU meet up, armed with their full(ish) squads. #9 Futsum Zienasellassie and #16 Matt McElroy will need to stick with Korolev and Rosa if they want their team at the top. Look out for individuals #11 Stanley Kebenei of Arkansas, #15 Mason Ferlic of Michigan and #17 Abbabiya Simbassa of Oklahoma to shake things up with the top pack and lead their teams to an upset. We saw #16 UCLA come within reach of NAU two weekends ago, and with this many ranked teams in the field, valuable Kolas points are up for grabs.
Predictions: Korolev, Rosa, and Zienasellassie will turn heads, with Zienasellassie taking the individual title. NAU should be a shoo-in for the team title, and bold move: #7 Iona puts together a full squad and upsets #2 Stanford in a move that will surely shake up Kolas points for everyone.
Women's Teams: Arizona, Arizona State, #4 Arkansas, #20 Boise State, #19 Boston College, BYU, Columbia, Cornell, #18 Dartmouth, Duke, Edinboro, Florida, #6 Florida State, Georgia, Guelph, Harvard, Indiana, Iona, #8 Iowa State, #1 Michigan State, Minnesota, #11 New Mexico, #10 UNC, Notre Dame, Ohio State, #23 Providence, San Fran, SMU, #7 Stanford, #17 Syracuse, Texas A&M, Toledo, #24 UCLA, Vanderbilt, #9 Virginia, #13 Washington, Weber State, West Virginia, #16 Wisconsin, #15 William and Mary
What to watch for: #1 Michigan State vs. #4 Arkansas will surely be the matchup of the day. The Spartans and the Razorbacks have been dominant this season, but have yet to face stiff competition. Wisconsin will be a test of who has a better number one. Arkansas’ #3 Dominique Scott will have to fend off #10 Rachele Schulist and #14 Leah O’Connor if the Hogs want the team title. The depth of these teams is quite similar, so the battle of who has the better frontrunner could solve this mystery. Individuals #1 Shelby Houlihan of ASU, #2 Emma Bates of Boise State, #5 Colleen Quigley of Florida State, #6 Kate Avery of Iona, #7 Elise Cranny of Stanford, and #8 Crystal Nelson of Iowa State will vie for the top positions in Madison. Not too shabby of a field.
Predictions: Houlihan’s got this race in the bag. It’s a fast course and she’s the speediest in the field. We’ll see how the pace goes out, but if it’s fast, look for Stanford’s Cranny to make a run at a title, as well. In the team battle, the Razorbacks will improve from their runner-up finish last year and take the crown away from MSU. Upset alert: #8 Iowa State and #9 Virginia will take out #7 Stanford and #6 Florida State for some Kolas magic.