Track and Field Blogs - Justin Kopunek

Men's Northeast Regional – 2009 Ranked Teams: Iona #9, Syracuse #11, Providence #23, Columbia Others Receiving Votes

2008 Automatic Qualifying Teams: Iona, Providence 2008 At-Large Teams: None 2008 Individual Champion: Mohamed Khadraoui, Iona

Teams Outlook in 2009: For what seems like forever, Iona and Providence have had a strangle hold on the men’s auto-bids in the Northeast. The only team to have snuck in there this decade has been Dartmouth in 2001 and 2005. This year, both teams are major contenders again, but the favorite may be Syracuse. In 2007 the Orange just missed making the big dance when they placed 3rd, a surprise to some, but not to anyone who saw newly appointed Coach Fox filling their roster with Foot Locker Finalists. Last year they ran well mid-season, but finished a disappointing 5th at regionals and were left out. They run a tight pack you can read more about here and this seems to be the year for Syracuse to make it back to nationals for the first time since 1974. Providence looks great on paper, but they have not put it all together in a race yet. David McCarthy, 19th last year at NCAAs, has yet to race to his potential and they got trounced by Syracuse at Big East while running without Hayden McLaren. Iona has been a podium team at NCAAs the past 4 years and although this is certainly a rebuilding year, Iona should not have any problems qualify through to Terre Haute. The Gaels know how to peak and have the luxury of not having to race hard at conference, so they definitely could retain the regional title over Syracuse. All three teams listed above have done well enough during the season that which ever places outside the top three will earn an at-large bid. It would be the first time since 2000 that 3 NE men’s teams make it. The dark horse is Columbia. Last year the Lions placed 3rd with a very small spread, but they had not amassed enough points during the season to get a bid. This year seems to be the same (unless Princeton places top-2 in the Mid-Atlantic), so there best chance is to beat one of the top 3 teams ahead of them at regionals and get pushed in. They came through last year to upset some teams, but it seems most of their great races have come at Van Cortlandt Park and this year regionals is in Boston. Can they recreate the magic at Franklin Park and make the trip to NCAAs for the first time in program history?

Individuals To Expect Up Front: A 3:57 miler, McCarthy of Providence is always a threat and the top returner. His teammate, Lee Carey, has been racing consistently well all year and will be a major factor up front. Iona’s Ryan Sheridan may be the favorite based on the season; he was the 6th fastest runner out of all the races at Pre-Nationals. Anyone from Syracuse’s pack could be leading on a given day. Tito Medrano has led them much of the year and Pat Dupont was there top finisher at Big East in 4th. Jeff Scull, Dan Busby, and Brad Miller are all close behind. Harvard junior Dan Chenoweth is coming off a strong win at the Heptagonal Championships with Christian Escareno of Brown not far behind. Chenoweth was 8th at Pre-Nats. Other Ivy Leaguers that will be in the mix are Columbia’s duo of Brendan Martin and Kyle Merber, Cornell’s Nate Edelman, and Brown’s Duriel Hardy. A question mark is Erik van Ingen of Binghamton. He is a 4:01 miler coming off a win in the America East Conference, but how he will hold up over 10,000m has yet to be seen. The fast (compared to VCP) Franklin Park course should suit him decently well.

What you may expect to see…

1. Syracuse 2. Iona 3. Providence 4. Columbia 5. Dartmouth 6. Cornell

1. Sheridan (Iona) 2. McCarthy (Providence) 3. Chenoweth (Harvard) 4. Dupont (Syracuse) 5. Carey (Providence) 6. Medrano (Syracuse) 7. Escareno (Brown) 8. Scull (Syracuse) 9. Weller (Iona) 10. Martin (Columbia) 11. Edelman (Cornell) 12. van Ingen (Binghamton)

Men's Mid-Atlantic Regional – 2009 Ranked Teams: Georgetown #15, Villanova #20

2008 Automatic Qualifying Teams: Georgetown, Penn State 2008 At-Large Teams: Villanova 2008 Individual Champion: Andrew Bumbalough, Georgetown

Teams Outlook in 2009: The Georgetown men have earned a spot at nationals the last 11 years and this year should continue the streak. This team has experience as it is led by All American Andrew Bumbalough and has 3 graduate students and a senior in its top 5 from the Big East meet. Villanova is the obvious choice for the other auto spot, they were close behind GU this at conference. With a good overall team effort, the Wildcats could vie for the top spot in the Mid-Atlantic, but that would require Georgetown not at the top of its game. The region is having an off year as teams like Penn State and American, who have made the trip to NCAAs in recent years are really not where they have been in the past. The only team that seems capable of slipping into an auto-spot if one of these teams falter is Princeton. The Tiger have not done enough in the regular season to suggest they would have the points to get an at-large bid, so they will have to earn their spot by coming up big at regionals and upsetting one of the top 2. They were recently dethroned at the Heptagonal Championships, losing by only 1 point. They have a strong top 2, but the back end of the team will have to close the gap to have a shot at a top-2 finish. Navy is coming off a comfortable Patriot League win, but has not done enough this year to suggest they will be capable of beating ‘Nova and Georgetown.

Individuals To Expect Up Front: Bumbalough is the defending champion and he will certainly be back at the top again this year. He recently lost to Villanova’s Mathew Mildenhall by 0.2 seconds. He is a recent addition to the Wildcat roster as a freshman from New Zealand. Last year, GU had their entire top 5 in the top 11 at regionals and 4 of those 5 return. Besides Bumbalough they include Mike Krisch, Mike Banks and Levi Miller. Add to that sophomore Mark Dennin, Georgetown’s only underclassmen scorer at Big East. Villanova’s Dan Lewis should play a factor up front and they also have Hugo Beamish, who was runner-up last year, but has not been at top form so far this year. If he can round into form in time, Beamish will be mixing it up in the front pack. Princeton’s sophomore duo of Brian Leung and Donn Cabral will be leading the charge for the Tigers. Andrew Hanko of Navy is coming off a Patriot League win and Evan Kosgei of Lehigh was not too far behind. Penn State’s Vince McNally is the top returner not on Georgetown or Villanova with his 6th place finish last year as a freshman. Alex Lundy of Maryland and Kyle Murray of St. Joseph’s both qualified for NCAAs as individuals last year and will look to repeat. Murray’s teammate, Kevin McDonnell has also been running well this season as the Hawks top finisher at A10’s. Mike Stolar of Duquesne was close behind McDonnell at conference and should also be contending for an individual bid.

What you may expect to see…

1. Georgetown 2. Villanova 3. Princeton 4. St. Joseph’s 5. Navy 6. American

1. Bumbalough (Georgetown) 2. Mildenhall (Villanova) 3. Krisch (Georgetown) 4. Leung (Princeton) 5. McNally (Penn State) 6. Dennin (Georgetown) 7. Lewis (Villanova) 8. Cabral (Princeton) 9. Hanko (Navy) 10. McDonnell (St. Joe’s) 11. Gibney (Villanova) 12. Banks (Georgetown)

Men's Southeast Regional – 2009 Ranked Teams: William & Mary #8, NC State#16, Virginia #19, Louisville #24, Duke #30

2008 Automatic Qualifying Teams: William & Mary, Virginia 2008 At-Large Teams: N.C. State 2008 Individual Champion: Sam Chelanga, Liberty

Teams Outlook in 2009: This one is going to be a barnburner. 5 ranked teams that all should feel that they can land in the top 2 in this region and get an auto bid. An off race by a few runners, however, can have a great team way down in 5th hoping their regular season triumphs will get them to Terre Haute. If you have to name a favorite, it has to be William & Mary. The tribe has been consistently stellar all season and they do not compete in as tough a conference, giving them the advantage of training through that meet. They run with a tight pack and if they can keep that spread small and get that pack high enough in the race W&M will be looking at a repeat trip to Terre Haute. Coming into the season many may have considered Virginia to be the team to beat. Well, they were beat, as N.C. State took down the undefeated Cavaliers at ACCs. Both will be fighting for a top 2 spot, but both would be one of the first teams to receive an at-large bid if they finish outside of the top 2. Duke finished only 3 points behind Virginia at conference and should certainly be considered a threat to grab a top 2 spot. They have been running very well this year and will hope that will be enough to get them into NCAAs if they place 4th or 5th at regionals. The same goes for Louisville who finished 4th in the competitive Big East Conference. You can read more about Louisville here. Beyond these 5 nationally ranked teams is Virginia Tech who was 5th at ACCs, but it is highly doubtful they will be able to get one of the 31 spots in Terre Haute. They would have to beat one of these teams listed above and hope to get pushed in by that team.

Individuals To Expect Up Front: Individually this race looks to be more lopsided. The NCAA 10,000m record holder Sam Chelanga of Liberty should win this race with out any problems. The only question is if he will run a comfortable race, or really spin his wheels out on the course. After Chelanga, Emil Heineking of Virginia and Cory Thorne of Louisville are both coming off major conference wins. Heineking’s teammate Ryan Collins was only 2 seconds back and Thorne’s teammate Michael Eaton has been running very well this year. N.C. State’s 1-2 of Ryan Hill and John Martinez should both be up at the front. Hill won the Paul Short Invite in a sprint finish earlier this year. Freshman Patrick Campbell is not far off the Wolfpack’s top 2. Anyone of William & Mary’s scorers could end up in the top 10, you can read more about each one here. Duke is led by Bo Waggoner, who was 6th at ACCs and he is followed closely by teammate Cory Nanni. A miler in track, how Nanni will fair over 10k will be a huge factor for the Blue Devils. Virginia Tech and UNC also each have a pair of frontrunners. For the Hokies it is Will Mulherin and Devin Cornwall. For the Tar Heals it is Evan Watchempino and Adam Cunningham. Kentucky’s Adam Henken was 5th at last year’s regional meet, but was well off that type of performance at the SEC meet. His team was led by freshman Luis Orta there. Adu Dentamo of Charlotte is one of the top returners from last years meet, just missing an individual bid.

What you may expect to see…

1. William & Mary 2. N.C. State 3. Virginia 4. Duke 5. Louisville 6. Virginia Tech

1. Chelanga (Liberty) 2. Heineking (Virginia) 3. Thorne (Louisville) 4. Collins (Virginia) 5. Grey (William & Mary) 6. Martinez (N.C. State) 7. Hill (N.C. State) 8. Eaton (Louisville) 9. Waggoner (Duke) 10. Wilhelm (William & Mary) 11. Campbell (N.C. State) 12. Watchempino (UNC)