The European season has come to a close. So that time of year is upon us once again. As the XC season gears up across all Divisions we are going to bring you the top 5 teams on the Men’s and Women’s side of the NCAA Division 2. You will notice a new name to the byline this year; Matthew Zielske has agreed to help me co-write this column to make this column even better and make sure we can pay you all plenty of attention. As usual, let us know if you have comments, questions and ideas by leaving a comment.

(1) Adams State: Despite the fact that Adams State is losing 3 of their top 5, all of which were in the top 10 last year at the National Championships They return 10th place finisher, Anthony Gauthier and 11th place finisher Luke Cragg, as he has been granted an extension of eligibility.  The rest of the National finishers for the Grizzlies placed 19th and 29th in Nathaniel Sellers and Ryan Mcniff respectively. Damon Martin has shown an uncanny ability to reload and restack his Grizzlies.  This is evident in his ability to aquire Australian Craig Huffer this year, a 3:36 1500m runner, who very well may be the best recruit in the country across all divisions. The task of knocking this team off their top spot isn’t going to be an easy one as they were one of the most dominant XC teams last fall, out of any Division.

(2) Colorado Mines: When returning all 7 runners from the previous years 3rd place National finish, giving the Miners the second spot seems logical. These guys will be much hungrier returning a full, mature squad. Adams may get a scare on the lightning fast course at Louisville; they are certainly not a lock.

(3) Western State: They lose their top returner in Iain Donnan, however, the remaining 4 of the top 5, all of which were All Americans, return to post a strong squad up front. Western State will surely reload, and without a doubt will be out to knock off their rivals in Adams State. These two teams are separated by only 2 hrs drive and have one heck of a rivalry. 

(4) Queens: Lead by Michael Crouch this team had a disappointing finish last year. As Crouch was out with an injury and the team was lead by Senior and 7th place finisher, Oscar Ogwaro. Their next palce finisher was in 69th position; this team however has a phenomenal Coach in Scott Simmons. That combined with the fact that this team was without their true number 1, who in 2008 placed 3rd, anything is possible. If you take Queens number 5, who scored 80, and put Crouch in at a conservative 5th, that is a 75 point swing and moves Queens from 7th to 5th, 4 points in front of GV and only 11 points off of 4th place finisher Western Washington. If this team can fire on all cylinders and avoid injuries a podium is within sight.

(5) Grand Valley: Coach Gerry Baltes always has his Lakers competing at the highest level consistently. This squad finished 5th last year and always seems to reload very well. Lead by a great group of underclassmen as well as Tyler Emmorey, a multiple All American winner the team will surely match last year’s finish. With a team that is Track heavy in performance counting them out of a podium finish in Louisville, on the flat, fast course at Tom Sawyer Park is a mistake.

Men to Watch:
Abilene Christan’s Amos Sang
Harding’s Daniel Kirwa
Queen’s Michael Crouch
American International’s Glorious Rop
Adam’s State Luke Cragg

Women’s

Adams State (1)- It is very difficult to go against a team such as Adams State, they only loose 2 of their top five and freshman Alicia Nelson has only improved since last year.  They will lose their second finisher in Vanessa Roy and fifth in Janette Cary. The spread between 1st and 7th was little over a minute.  Second Place finishers last year, Grand Valley State graduates their second and third which only widens the gap to Adams State.

Shippensburg (2)- Neely Spence did not have a good race at last year’s Nationals but this past track season she proved that she is over the sophomore slump. With Jessica Pixler gone, she is a favorite for the overall title.  They return their top five scorers and let us not forget their epic duel this past winter in the DMR against Seattle Pacific.  With Spence scoring low look for Shippensburg to be in the running for the overall team title.

Grand Valley State (3)- Grand Valley ran as a close pack last year but their 2nd  and 3rd have graduated and the pack will not be as close. Grand Valley has a large roster and the gaps will surely be filled.

Alaska Anchorage (4)-Alaska Anchorage returns all but one of their first five with their number one runner (Miriam Kipng’eno) only a sophomore this year. They bring in four strong freshmen in Ivy O’Guinn, Kristen King, Katie Krehilk and Susan Bick that will surely contribute.

Chico State (5)- Chico loses their number one (Tori Tyler) and number five (Shannon Rich) of their sixth place finishing team. The spread was fairly tight last year and even with those missing runners, the team should be able to step up and fill those gaps.

Female runners to watch this year include:
Shippensburg’s Neely Spence
Western Washington’s Sarah Porter
 Adams State’s Alicia Nelson
Missouri Southern’s Ashley Siler