2010 FloAwards, Release #5 - PreNCAA Championships

Nov 20, 2010 by FloTrack Staff

2010 FloAwards, Release #4

Our fifth release of the season is out after we watched a weekend of qualifying around the country at the NCAA XC Regionals. Nine regions and 31 teams advancing on both the men's and women's sides make for an exciting day to look forward to on Monday in Terre Haute.

The 2010 FloAwards are here and we are taking a look at the top teams, individuals and freshman in the country. We will be following the results around the country each week in an effort to award those who are top in each category come November 22nd.

Stay tuned for our final release after the NCAA Championships on Monday, November 22nd.

MEN Individual	WOMEN Individual
1 Sam Chelanga	1 Lucy Van Dalen
Liberty Sammy had another comfortable win this past week going 1-2 at the Southeast Regional with his teammate Evans Kigen. The question everyone continues to ask is how fast will Chelanga go? Does he take it from the gun or let a group stay with him until 4k? If we know Sammy, it doesn't seem as though he'll be one to wait!	Stony Brook Who would have thought LVD would be the only undefeated woman of the year at the beginning of the season? Although she hasn't been pressed too hard since PreNats, she continues to come out on top. She may just not know any better and keep her winning ways come Monday. Check out today's interview with her on Flotrack.
2 David McNeill	2 Risper Kimaiyo
NAU McNeill continues to run well with teammate Estrada. With his final race in Terre Haute coming up he will be wanting to leave in a special way. He has had a taste of a National Championship on the track and is experienced more than anyone in Championship races with Chelanga. He's got the ability to help provide us with a race to remember!	UTEP Risper looked to have a relatively comfortable win last week over Tech's Rose Tanui who has been one of the best all year. She has been running experienced and confident throughout the season and looks to be more than a legit contender for the national title.
3 Colby Lowe	3 Sheila Reid
Ok State Colby Lowe has been a quiet leader on the Cowboys team this year, however when he's in a race he's as fierce as they come. You wonder with him and his teammates, will Monday be the day these guys run unleashed?	Villanova Reid continues to be consistent leading into the national champs just as she did a year ago. She's probably learned from any tactical errors she made in 2009 and we except her to be in the thick of it on that final long straight-a-way!
Sleeper Chris Derrick	Sleeper Jordan Hasay
Stanford Derrick falls back to the sleeper spot this week after a "chill" performance at the west regional. Similar to the OK State team, what strategy will Stanford go for? Derrick is about as good as they come, but will he be running with his teammates... The difference will provide either a top 10 performance or a top 3.	Oregon Jordan has continued to get better as the season progresses. Back to back wins at the PAC-10 and regionals shows she's ready to battle with the best. It looks like she'll have teammate Kosinski to run with for much of the race, but when the leaders start rolling with a K to go, what can Jordan do? Remember that finish at Footlocker her senior year....
Others Receiving Votes: Girma Mecheso (Ok State), German Fernandez (OK State), Jake Riley (Stanford), Stephen Sambu (Arizona), Barnabus Kirui (Ole Miss), Luke Puskedra (Oregon), Trevor Dunbar (Portland)	Others Receiving Votes: Rose Tanui(Texas Tech), Betsy Saina (Iowa State), Emily Macleod (Mich St), Emily Infeld (Georgetown), Kristie Krueger (Georgia), Laura Hoer (NC State), Deborah Maier (Cal)
MEN TEAM	WOMEN TEAM
1 Stanford	1 Villanova
Cardinal They lost the West Regional by two points to an Oregon team they dominated at the PAC-10 Champs. However, a few guys rested and the top group ran very relaxed all in preparation for the big dance on Monday. For these guys, its going to come down to 4-5-6. If they run well the Cardinal are going to be tough to beat.	Wildcats Still the favorite of the meet, Villanova has been challenged back to back weeks by a good Georgetown team and continues to deliver. The depth of this team is still a question but if they continue to run the way they have it may not be an issue as they have 2 potential top ten finishers and at least two more that are top 30 contenders.
2 Oklahoma State	2 Florida State
Cowboys Similar to Stanford, the Cowboys lost a close one to in-state foe Oklahoma at the Midwest Regional. They ran without stud, Girma Mecheso, and by the looks of it the top Lowe and Fernandez ran really relaxed. The top three are experienced so there needs to be good days from....just a Stanford...4-5-6. Both Smith and Dunn have learned from past upset and have had their squads running very smart. If it happens again Monday, this could be one of the best team races we've seen in a long time!	Seminoles FSU has been on the podium each of the past three years and there's not reason to think it won't happen again in 2010. Coach Karen Harvey will have these ladies ready as they are lead by Cheryiout and McShine. Similar to Nova, they have 4 to 5 potential All-Americans in their scoring core.
3 Oregon	3 Georgetown
Ducks After the first two there are many deserving teams for the #3 spot. Oregon upset Stanford this past weekend at the regional which doesn't mean too much, but they did run stronger than we saw at PAC-10s. The Ducks are experienced having not finished worse than 2nd since 2006. Look for them to be serious podium contenders.	Hoyas Georgetown continues to run well and keep it close behind Villanova. This is a team, led by the Emilys...Infeld and Jones...that have the ability to do something special. If anyone has an off day, this is a team you could see a top the podium come Monday.
Sleeper New Mexico	SleeperWashington
Lobos New Mexico has been quietly moving up the rankings throughout the season. There top four has run very consistent as of late with only a 19 second spread at the regional. This is without their new stud, Nicolas Kipruto, who has been missing from the top 5 since finishing second at Griak. If he can pull off something at the NCAA Championships then this team is going to surprise.	Huskies A surprise to some, the Huskies came off of a third place finish at PAC-10s to win the West Regional. Don't forget how experienced this team is with All-Americans Christine Babcock (top ten as a Frosh) and Mel Lawrence. Throw in frosh stud Katie Flood and this team is looking pretty good. They need 5 to run well and if they do they'll be in the mix.
Others Receiving Votes: Wisconsin, Iona, Alabama, Colorado, Arkansas	Others Receiving Votes: Stanford, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas Tech, Iowa State
Under Armour FLOFrosh (M)*	Under Armour FLOFrosh (W)*
1 Brian Cantero (295)	1 Laura Hoer (205)
Arkansas A huge jump in fan votes this week lands Cantero on the top spot. He sat out this past weekend at the South Central Region to rest for Monday's race. Arkansas will look to him to provide valuable points to the Hogs' team score. With no clear cut favorite on the men's side, this frosh battle should be a good one.	NC State Only one freshman won their regional meet that was NC State's Laura Hoer who backed up her ACC win with a Southeast Regional title. This surely makes her the favorite for the FloFrosh award. With her only loss coming from the PreNats (she finished 4th), people are starting to wonder how high can she finish in the individual race??
2 Erik Olson (159)	2 Emily Sisson (167)
Stanford Olson rested this past weekend at the West Region and will get back into action on Monday. The Cardinal will be counting on him to help with the National Championship and if he does, the Flofrosh award may be his!	Wisconsin Rapidly improving and just missing a regional win in the Great Lakes was Wisconsin's Emily Sisson. The high school 5k record holder was chased down in the final stage of the race by Michigan State's Emily MacLeod, but her performances have improved with each race and she should give Hoer a run for the top spot.
3 Ryan Dohner (124)	3 Katie Flood (74)
Texas Dohner was the frosh surprise of the weekend when he finished 5th overall at the South Central Regional. This guy has put his name in the hunt to be the top frosh in the NCAA.	Washington Out west, Katie Flood led the Washington Women to victory with her 6th place finish. Flood has been steadily rounding into form and will be a dark horse at the National Meet for the Flofrosh Award and looks good for a potential All-American spot.
Sleeper Parker Stinson (119)	Sleeper Marielle Hall (36)
Oregon Stinson improved upon his finishing spot from PAC-10 to Regionals and has experience at 10k. If he runs a smart race he'll be just fine and should help an Oregon team have a shot at the podium.	Texas Hall looked good at the South Central Regional finishing fifth overall to help the Longhorns finish atop the region. Hall has great range which could come in handy over the final 600 meters in Terre Haute.
Others Receiving Votes: Matt McElroy (OK State - 30), Martin Grady (Notre Dame - 3), Jakub Zivek (FSU - 40), Shane Moskowitz (OK State - 42)	Others Receiving Votes: Emily Lipari (Villanova - 36), Jessica Tonn (Stanford - 31), Meredith Wagner (Ohio State - 4), Madeline Chambers (Georgetown - 32), Joanna Stevens (Georgetown - 31),
* Fan Votes in ()****	* Fan Votes in ()****