What We're Most Excited For In NCAA Conference Weekend
What We're Most Excited For In NCAA Conference Weekend
The FloTrack staff writes what they're most excited for during the NCAA conference championship weekend.
We've previewed the Big 12 Conference and Pac-12 Conference extensively, but here are a few other NCAA conference races the FloTrack staff is excited for.
Can Syracuse get it together?
Outside of Palo Alto, Syracuse has the most remaining potential on its roster and the best shot to step up and knock off Northern Arizona. Check out their vital trio of Colin Bennie, Philo Germano, and Joel Hubbard:
Bennie 06, Germano 28, Hubbard 89 @ Wisco 2015
Bennie 08, Germano 39, Hubbard 47 @ NCAA 2015
Bennie 14, Germano 28, Hubbard 38 @ Wisco 2016
Bennie and Germano are basically as good as they were at this point last year, while Hubbard is significantly better. And that's without accounting for Iliass Aouani. The Lamar transfer beat Germano and Hubbard by eight seconds at Penn State, and had a strong race at Panorama Farms. At Panorama, the Wisconsin competitors directly in front of and behind him went on to finish 32nd and 40th in Madison, where Aouani was 86th.
If Germano and Hubbard can improve half as much as they did from Wisco to natties a year ago and Aouani can run in Terre Haute the way he did in Charlottesville and State College, the Orange could defend its title. But that's a lot of ifs in a sport where depth is often needed.
As head coach Chris Fox put it, they certainly have the right personnel; we'll see if Fox can push the right buttons. ACCs on Friday will be the next test.
-Dennis Young
Michigan vs. Penn State could be very, very close
Defending champions Penn State were only eight points ahead of Michigan at Roy Griak, and then three weeks later, Michigan looked much better when they finished third at Pre-Nats. If PSU can put their top 3 (Tessa Barrett, Liz Chikotas, Jillian Hunsberger) in front of Michigan's No. 2, this team battle could be lit. The Wolverines will likely have Erin Finn winning her third Big Ten individual title, but they'll need strong performances out of Avery Evenson and Gina Sereno to defeat the Nittany Lions.
And what about Michigan State? The once-dominant Spartans were 19th at Wisconsin, one of their worst finishes in recent years. Was All American Rachele Schulist's Wisco performance (134th) really indicative of her fitness or just a bad day? She and Ali Wiersma could be a dangerous 1-2 threat, but only if healthy.
-Meg Bellino
Is the next NCAA superstar lurking in Conference USA?
The Middle Tennessee State men have flown under the radar this season. They quietly have finished top two at every meet they've competed in this year. However, they have yet to face nationally ranked top 25 competition. The Blue Raiders opted to run a low-key meet instead of travel to Indiana for Pre-Nationals two weeks ago.
While it will be interesting to see how Middle Tennessee State stacks up against #13 UTEP, the real question will be to see how freshman Jacob Choge performs at a championship meet. Choge, younger brother of 3:29/12:53 man Augustine Choge has finished a close runner-up to Louisville All-American Edwin Kibichiy twice this season. With a conference title on the line, will we see Choge take another step forward and give UTEP's Jonah Koech a run for his money? If so, Choge could be the wildcard challenger for Edward Cheserek in November. After all, Choge is the best distance runner in the NCAA right now who has yet to face Cheserek in his career.
-Gordon Mack
New Ivy Powers Emerge
For the first time in over 40 years, the Penn men's team has a real shot at winning the Ivy League Cross Country Championships this weekend. The last time the Penn men's team won a cross country conference championship was in 1973 (Navy won the Heps in 1974, and Penn was the first Ivy team), which makes this championship a long-anticipated event for the Quakers. The team is currently ranked No. 2 in the Mid-Atlantic region after finishing 20th at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. Penn is on an upswing after qualifying for last year's NCAA Cross Country Championships--the team's first NCAA berth since 1975. Five of the top seven from last year's NCAA championship team have returned to compete this year.
Watch the Penn men win the 2016 Championship of America 4xMile with an epic kick:
The women's team race will be a battle between No. 20 Yale, No. 22 Harvard, and Penn. The teams most recently faced off at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational where Yale finished 11th overall and beat Villanova, UCLA, Penn, and Harvard. Yale hasn't won a conference championship since 2001, Penn hasn't won since 1990 and Harvard hasn't won since 1985. Based on several impressive regular season performances (1st at Paul Short, 11th at Wisconsin), Yale should capture the conference title this weekend over Penn and Harvard. Either way, the top three teams should provide a mix-up in the championship which has seen Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell and Columbia reign over the past 15 years.
-Taylor Dutch
Related Content:
Best Active XC Conference Streaks
ON THE RUN: Cubs, Cleveland, Conference Weekend
Full Breakdown of Loaded Pac-12 Women's Race
The Pac-12 Men's Race Will be the Best of Conference Weekend
Big 12 Men's Race Preview
Big 12 Women's Race Preview
FloTrack Predicts Conference Champions
Can Syracuse get it together?
Outside of Palo Alto, Syracuse has the most remaining potential on its roster and the best shot to step up and knock off Northern Arizona. Check out their vital trio of Colin Bennie, Philo Germano, and Joel Hubbard:
Bennie 06, Germano 28, Hubbard 89 @ Wisco 2015
Bennie 08, Germano 39, Hubbard 47 @ NCAA 2015
Bennie 14, Germano 28, Hubbard 38 @ Wisco 2016
Bennie and Germano are basically as good as they were at this point last year, while Hubbard is significantly better. And that's without accounting for Iliass Aouani. The Lamar transfer beat Germano and Hubbard by eight seconds at Penn State, and had a strong race at Panorama Farms. At Panorama, the Wisconsin competitors directly in front of and behind him went on to finish 32nd and 40th in Madison, where Aouani was 86th.
If Germano and Hubbard can improve half as much as they did from Wisco to natties a year ago and Aouani can run in Terre Haute the way he did in Charlottesville and State College, the Orange could defend its title. But that's a lot of ifs in a sport where depth is often needed.
As head coach Chris Fox put it, they certainly have the right personnel; we'll see if Fox can push the right buttons. ACCs on Friday will be the next test.
-Dennis Young
Michigan vs. Penn State could be very, very close
Defending champions Penn State were only eight points ahead of Michigan at Roy Griak, and then three weeks later, Michigan looked much better when they finished third at Pre-Nats. If PSU can put their top 3 (Tessa Barrett, Liz Chikotas, Jillian Hunsberger) in front of Michigan's No. 2, this team battle could be lit. The Wolverines will likely have Erin Finn winning her third Big Ten individual title, but they'll need strong performances out of Avery Evenson and Gina Sereno to defeat the Nittany Lions.
And what about Michigan State? The once-dominant Spartans were 19th at Wisconsin, one of their worst finishes in recent years. Was All American Rachele Schulist's Wisco performance (134th) really indicative of her fitness or just a bad day? She and Ali Wiersma could be a dangerous 1-2 threat, but only if healthy.
-Meg Bellino
Is the next NCAA superstar lurking in Conference USA?
The Middle Tennessee State men have flown under the radar this season. They quietly have finished top two at every meet they've competed in this year. However, they have yet to face nationally ranked top 25 competition. The Blue Raiders opted to run a low-key meet instead of travel to Indiana for Pre-Nationals two weeks ago.
While it will be interesting to see how Middle Tennessee State stacks up against #13 UTEP, the real question will be to see how freshman Jacob Choge performs at a championship meet. Choge, younger brother of 3:29/12:53 man Augustine Choge has finished a close runner-up to Louisville All-American Edwin Kibichiy twice this season. With a conference title on the line, will we see Choge take another step forward and give UTEP's Jonah Koech a run for his money? If so, Choge could be the wildcard challenger for Edward Cheserek in November. After all, Choge is the best distance runner in the NCAA right now who has yet to face Cheserek in his career.
-Gordon Mack
New Ivy Powers Emerge
For the first time in over 40 years, the Penn men's team has a real shot at winning the Ivy League Cross Country Championships this weekend. The last time the Penn men's team won a cross country conference championship was in 1973 (Navy won the Heps in 1974, and Penn was the first Ivy team), which makes this championship a long-anticipated event for the Quakers. The team is currently ranked No. 2 in the Mid-Atlantic region after finishing 20th at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. Penn is on an upswing after qualifying for last year's NCAA Cross Country Championships--the team's first NCAA berth since 1975. Five of the top seven from last year's NCAA championship team have returned to compete this year.
Watch the Penn men win the 2016 Championship of America 4xMile with an epic kick:
The women's team race will be a battle between No. 20 Yale, No. 22 Harvard, and Penn. The teams most recently faced off at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational where Yale finished 11th overall and beat Villanova, UCLA, Penn, and Harvard. Yale hasn't won a conference championship since 2001, Penn hasn't won since 1990 and Harvard hasn't won since 1985. Based on several impressive regular season performances (1st at Paul Short, 11th at Wisconsin), Yale should capture the conference title this weekend over Penn and Harvard. Either way, the top three teams should provide a mix-up in the championship which has seen Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell and Columbia reign over the past 15 years.
-Taylor Dutch
Related Content:
Best Active XC Conference Streaks
ON THE RUN: Cubs, Cleveland, Conference Weekend
Full Breakdown of Loaded Pac-12 Women's Race
The Pac-12 Men's Race Will be the Best of Conference Weekend
Big 12 Men's Race Preview
Big 12 Women's Race Preview
FloTrack Predicts Conference Champions