Saucony Flo50 XC Countdown: #27 North Carolina Men
Saucony Flo50 XC Countdown: #27 North Carolina Men
Probable Top Five:
JR Stephen Mulherin (8:16 3K; 14:16 5K; 85th NCAA XC ’14)
JR Mark Derrick (8:06 3K; 14:03 5K; 130th NCAA XC ’14)
JR Joe Sansone (8:18 3K; 14:24 5K; 194th NCAA XC ’14)
JR Mitch McLeod (8:20 3K; 14:32 5K; 30:13 10K)
SO Logan Carroll (4:14 Mile; 8:39 3K; 14:38 5K)
Impact Freshmen/Transfers:
N/A
Analysis:
The Tar Heels were dealt a huge blow when their #1 man Ryan Walling, who was 48th at NCAAs last season, transferred to Ole Miss. (Side Note: Ole Miss is going to be very good this season, just wait). With Walling transferring and John Raneri (87th at NCAAs) and Pat Schellberg (106th at NCAAs) graduating, UNC will have to hit the reset button after finishing 12th in Terre Haute last season.
Senior Stephen Mulherin will be counted on to fill Walling’s spot at the top of the lineup, as he was UNC’s #2 man with his 85th place finish at NCAAs. Mulherin is coming off a track season where he ran PRs of 14:16 and 29:59, so he will look to keep that momentum rolling as he leads the squad this fall.
Junior Mark Derrick was only 130th at NCAAs in 2014, but a big track season has him poised to improve on that finish in 2015. Derrick had a particularly strong indoor season, finishing 3rd in the ACC 5K and lowering his PR from 14:25 to 14:03 in the event. He may always run in the shadows of his older brother Chris Derrick, but he will play a pivotal role for the Tar Heels this season as their #2.
Juniors Joe Sansone and Mitch McLeod have similar PRs on the track, and are pretty clear cut as the 3-4 guys for Coach Mark VanAlstyne. Sansome has NCAA Championship experience with his 194th place finish last season, while McLeod should be primed for a big XC season after lowering his 10K PR by 40 seconds this spring.
The biggest weakness of this North Carolina team is their depth, as the Heels will struggle to find a reliable 5th man in 2015. For now, that spot appears to belong to sophomore Logan Carroll, who ran 14:38 on the track this spring as a freshman.
After a near top ten finish last season, the Heels are at risk to miss NCAAs coming out of the tough Southeast regional. We think they’ll just squeak in, but a single injury to any of the five men listed above will likely doom their hopes of toeing the line in Louisville.