Winners, Losers from NCAA Conference Weekend
Winners, Losers from NCAA Conference Weekend
Their Badger Hunting was a successful mission.
Ah, the post-season! Finally, last weekend’s conference championships proved to answer most of our burning questions about the NCAA cross country season and what is in store as we move closer to the Big Dance in three weeks.
The thing about conference weekend is that there is no, for lack of a better word and just because I want to use it, bullshitting. Gone are the competitions full of eyebrow-raising team tactics, because everybody wants that gaudy hat provided to the winning team on the podium. With that said, we got a glimpse of certain teams and individuals’ true colors this weekend and we need to get some things off of our chest.
Here are this week’s winners and losers:
STOCK UP - The Rosas, Grant Fisher and the Stanford Men
Colorado is really, really good. We know that. With no Ben Saarel and a monster performance from true freshman John Dressel (sixth), the Buffaloes won the Pac-12 Conference with 46 points. It was their fifth straight. We weren't surprised. However Stanford was second and tallied 57 points. Why is this a big deal? It’s the closest any Pac-12 team has come to the Buffaloes since 2011, their first year in the conference. Take a look:
2011: 46-53, 7 points (Stanford runner-up)
2012: 49-82, 33 points (Stanford runner-up)
2013: 28-54, 30 points (Oregon runner-up)
2014: 30-57, 27 points (Oregon runner-up)
2015: 46-57, 11 points (Stanford runner-up)
Sean McGorty’s runner-up performance shows that he should be a top 10 guy in the NCAA. Garrett Sweatt improved five spots from his 2014 finish to place 16th. Joe Rosa (eighth), Grant Fisher (11th in his Stanford debut) and Jim Rosa (20th in his first XC race since NCAAs 2013) all proved their healthy-enough to compete with the best. Sure they didn’t win, but they made things a lot more interesting. Our very own Lincoln Shryack said it best when he saw the results.
2011: 46-53, 7 points (Stanford runner-up)
2012: 49-82, 33 points (Stanford runner-up)
2013: 28-54, 30 points (Oregon runner-up)
2014: 30-57, 27 points (Oregon runner-up)
2015: 46-57, 11 points (Stanford runner-up)
Sean McGorty’s runner-up performance shows that he should be a top 10 guy in the NCAA. Garrett Sweatt improved five spots from his 2014 finish to place 16th. Joe Rosa (eighth), Grant Fisher (11th in his Stanford debut) and Jim Rosa (20th in his first XC race since NCAAs 2013) all proved their healthy-enough to compete with the best. Sure they didn’t win, but they made things a lot more interesting. Our very own Lincoln Shryack said it best when he saw the results.
Stanford can win an NCAA title #DadLeaveThoughts
— Lincoln Shryack (@lincoln_shryack) October 30, 2015
STOCK DOWN - Wisconsin Men
The Wisconsin Men had won 18 out of 21 Big Ten XC Championships since 1993 — If they weren’t winning, they were finishing in the top three. On November 1st on a beautiful day alongside Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois, that all came crashing down for the Badgers. The Wisconsin men finished eighth, their worst showing since the conference championship conception in 1908 (Other than a no-score in 1970).
What the heck does this mean? This was supposed to be the Badgers’ party, their moment to prove their early season performances weren’t going to hold them down. I really thought we’d hear them say, “You got punked!” in a post-race interview. Except, we got an exceptional race from Morgan McDonald, redemption from Joe Hardy’s awful Wisconsin Invite performance, and a DNF from defending champion Malachy Schrobilgen. If you don’t want to be sad, don’t watch Morgan McDonald’s interview, but know that these are actual quotes:
“We had a terrible day.”
“We’ve been really unlucky.”
“We’ve got a long way to go if we’re gonna bring it back together,” and regarding the upcoming regional: “I don’t know if we’ll be ready by then.”
The truth is, the Wisconsin men may not qualify for the NCAA Championship. Wisconsin has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships since 1996, including two victories in 2011 and 2005. The last time they weren’t in the top 10 was 1995 (14th), but the last time they didn’t qualify? I didn’t want to keep looking. What started as an excellent display of pack-running and a debate over whether they were “doing wrong” with the NCAA system may have just blown up in their face.
What the heck does this mean? This was supposed to be the Badgers’ party, their moment to prove their early season performances weren’t going to hold them down. I really thought we’d hear them say, “You got punked!” in a post-race interview. Except, we got an exceptional race from Morgan McDonald, redemption from Joe Hardy’s awful Wisconsin Invite performance, and a DNF from defending champion Malachy Schrobilgen. If you don’t want to be sad, don’t watch Morgan McDonald’s interview, but know that these are actual quotes:
“We had a terrible day.”
“We’ve been really unlucky.”
“We’ve got a long way to go if we’re gonna bring it back together,” and regarding the upcoming regional: “I don’t know if we’ll be ready by then.”
The truth is, the Wisconsin men may not qualify for the NCAA Championship. Wisconsin has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships since 1996, including two victories in 2011 and 2005. The last time they weren’t in the top 10 was 1995 (14th), but the last time they didn’t qualify? I didn’t want to keep looking. What started as an excellent display of pack-running and a debate over whether they were “doing wrong” with the NCAA system may have just blown up in their face.
STOCK UP - The Penn State Women
Sunday was the Michigan women’s race to lose. They dominated Greater Louisville, Pre-Nats and have national contender in Erin Finn. That was not the case in Chicago, though. When deciding on how to approach this subject, I wondered if Penn State was a stock up or Michigan as a stock down. My good friend and coworker Adam Oestreich said it best: “Feels like more of Penn State just happening to be a bit better. I mean yes Michigan did lose.. but, are they losers? I dunno.”
But in all seriousness, Penn State was the better team at the Big Ten Championships. They were aggressive from the gun and traded the lead with the Wolverines with every kilometer. Their outstanding top four that finished 4-6-9-12 was too much for Michigan to handle, even with Finn running away with the individual title 3K into the race. Sure, Michigan’s Shannon Osika, runner-up at Greater Louisville and 13th at Pre-Nats, finished an unexpected 21st place, but this was the Nittany Lions’ day. I ranked this team 20th in our Pre-Season XC Countdown. The first sentence read, “Here’s the thing. Penn State’s probable top five women are really very good. It’s just really very unfortunate that the Big 10 Conference is loaded and the Nittany Lions cannot afford for any one of these five to have a bad day.” <— I was right, wasn’t I? Their top five had the best day, especially 2013 Foot Locker Champion Tessa Barrett (She redshirted all of 2014 for PSU) who finished 12th.
Penn State will see some challenges from Georgetown, Villanova and even Princeton in the Mid-Atlantic Regional, but should carry enough momentum along from this victory to secure their first NCAA appearance since 2013.
But in all seriousness, Penn State was the better team at the Big Ten Championships. They were aggressive from the gun and traded the lead with the Wolverines with every kilometer. Their outstanding top four that finished 4-6-9-12 was too much for Michigan to handle, even with Finn running away with the individual title 3K into the race. Sure, Michigan’s Shannon Osika, runner-up at Greater Louisville and 13th at Pre-Nats, finished an unexpected 21st place, but this was the Nittany Lions’ day. I ranked this team 20th in our Pre-Season XC Countdown. The first sentence read, “Here’s the thing. Penn State’s probable top five women are really very good. It’s just really very unfortunate that the Big 10 Conference is loaded and the Nittany Lions cannot afford for any one of these five to have a bad day.” <— I was right, wasn’t I? Their top five had the best day, especially 2013 Foot Locker Champion Tessa Barrett (She redshirted all of 2014 for PSU) who finished 12th.
Penn State will see some challenges from Georgetown, Villanova and even Princeton in the Mid-Atlantic Regional, but should carry enough momentum along from this victory to secure their first NCAA appearance since 2013.
STOCK DOWN - The Injured Stars of the Roy Griak Invite
Our first live event of the fall season began at the Roy Griak Invitational. And since Roy Griak, four of the top six finishers from the women’s division I race did not compete at the respective conference championships:
Bethan Knights, Cal (Last race: Roy Griak)
Annie Bothma, Boise State (Last race: Roy Griak)
Rachele Schulist, MSU (Last race: Roy Griak)
Minttu Hukka, Boise State (Last race: 45th at Wisco)
Whatever the reason, the absence of these ladies greatly affects their teams. The Cal women were seventh in the Pac-12, same as 2014, but their chances of making it out of the very difficult NCAA West region look bleak without Knights. And the same goes for Boise State. Allie Ostrander may have dominated the individual race at the Mountain West Championship but they were no match for No. 1 New Mexico. Sure they probably have accumulated enough points from Roy Griak that they’ll advance to the Big Dance, but their hopes of replicating their 2014 runner-up finish at regionals are likely unrealistic. As for Schulist, word on the street is she is done for the remainder of the season. After traveling to Wisco and not racing, her absence at the Big Ten Conference (billed a potential Schulist-Finn battle) was a bummer as the Spartans fell to third.
In terms of the top finishers returning from the women’s NCAA race last fall, 15 of the top 20 will not be present in Louisville. Only eight are due to exhausted eligibility, the other seven ladies are believed to be injured and/or redshirting for other reasons.
Bethan Knights, Cal (Last race: Roy Griak)
Annie Bothma, Boise State (Last race: Roy Griak)
Rachele Schulist, MSU (Last race: Roy Griak)
Minttu Hukka, Boise State (Last race: 45th at Wisco)
Whatever the reason, the absence of these ladies greatly affects their teams. The Cal women were seventh in the Pac-12, same as 2014, but their chances of making it out of the very difficult NCAA West region look bleak without Knights. And the same goes for Boise State. Allie Ostrander may have dominated the individual race at the Mountain West Championship but they were no match for No. 1 New Mexico. Sure they probably have accumulated enough points from Roy Griak that they’ll advance to the Big Dance, but their hopes of replicating their 2014 runner-up finish at regionals are likely unrealistic. As for Schulist, word on the street is she is done for the remainder of the season. After traveling to Wisco and not racing, her absence at the Big Ten Conference (billed a potential Schulist-Finn battle) was a bummer as the Spartans fell to third.
In terms of the top finishers returning from the women’s NCAA race last fall, 15 of the top 20 will not be present in Louisville. Only eight are due to exhausted eligibility, the other seven ladies are believed to be injured and/or redshirting for other reasons.