More details on tomorrow’s races
1[SUP]st[/SUP], just to highlight the time, place and coverage (including free live streaming on ncaa.com) for the two (men’s and women’s) races tomorrow, please see the last paragraph quoted in the original post above.
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2nd, to slightly modify what was indicated in the above cubuffs article (Coach Wetmore’s quotes were from early in the week), it sounds like the weather may be in line for this to be a relatively quick race with mostly dry and clean conditions. Per
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/11...coaches-no-fun-mcfarland-usa-winner-syracuse/ :
“Anyone who is a mudder is likely to be disappointed. People who like track but not xc are rejoicing. Why? Well it’s been cold and very windy here this week but it hasn’t rained since Monday, and the course was hard and dry when we visited it yesterday. There were several snowy patches, including the finish area, which had the most snow of any place on the course, but overall the course looks as if it will be relatively fast — as long as it stays dry between now and noon on Saturday.
Weather.com’s forecast for Terre Haute says there is a 30 percent chance of rain tonight but the rainfall doesn’t look like it will be very heavy. Wunderground.com says there will be less than a tenth of inch on rain on Saturday (but more than an inch on Sunday so the race will just miss be swamped). Temps are expected to be 48 degrees for the first race (noon ET) with a wind of 15 mph.
The course is going to almost certainly be very firm and in tons better condition than it was last year, when the start line had to be moved up because the original start area was waterlogged. None of the coaches or athletes we spoke to seemed to be worried about the conditions as most believed that significant rain won’t come until later Saturday afternoon, after the races have been run, if at all.”
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Notable finishing position goals for teams and individuals
1) For the team competition, the top 4 teams get to be on the podium.
2) For individuals, the Top 40 in both the men’s and women’s races earn “All American” honors.
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Running site and organization race previews
Then, with this being THE National championships, of course the running world has all kinds of previews, so thought I’d link to them in case anyone wants to go in depth before tomorrow morning (in Mountain Time) races. Letsrun.com, flotrack.org, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and the NCAA have previews of all 4 “races”- The (a) individual aspect and (b) overall team competition for the (c) men and (d) women.
Men
Men’s Team race previews-
Note- One point I see mentioned often throughout various articles and videos- the last men’s cross country team to be ranked a strong #1 nationally from the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] to last pre-championship races (prior to the Buffs this year) was Wisconsin in 2006, who came in the STRONG favorites to win the championships that year (as the Buffs are favorites this year). The Badgers ended up losing to the Buffs that year, which should illustrate (as if we needed more illustrations from the sports world) that there are NEVER “sure things” in sports at the highest NCAA or pro levels, so the Buffs had better perform at a high level tomorrow to get a victory.
Flotrack.org -
http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/25...icle/28738-NCAA-Predictions-Mens-Podium-Teams -(1[SUP]st[/SUP] paragraph (about the Buffs)- “They made history at the Rocky Mountain Shootout, torched the field at Pre-Nats and dropped another low score (30 pts) at Pac-12s to essentially prove that no one would touch them this year. The Buffaloes will cap off a dream season on Saturday in Terre Haute by winning their second consecutive national title.”
Letsrun.com -
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/11...rk-wetmore-colorado-go-programs-first-repeat/ (Also picking the Buffs to win, but do provide DETAILED scenarios of how they might NOT win, and which other teams
might have the talent to beat the Buffs.)
ustfccca.org-
http://www.ustfccca.org/2014/11/featured/division-i-mens-team-preview (Lots of paragraphs on the Buffs, and their history. This article had lots of things I didn’t know about the Buffs (granted some of it obviously opinion rather than necessarily fact). Starting with the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] paragraph-
“Throughout the Wetmore era, the Colorado men’s cross country team has been painted by the media as a hard-working, under the radar team of no-names. (Well, as under the radar as you can be after having an iconic book written about you) And they’ve positioned themselves as the antithesis of the dream teams of foreigners and Footlocker winners cobbled together elsewhere in the country; Mark Wetmore told Running Times that he only recruits Americans. The need for narrative, true or otherwise, is the defining lust of the sports fan, and the narrative that’s emerged in the last ten years is pretty unambiguous. Colorado is the Spurs to Oklahoma State or Wisconsin or Oregon’s Heat.
…”)
Ncaa.com (article also discusses individual race)-
http://www.ncaa.com/news/cross-coun...o-mens-cross-country-position-win-consecutive
Men’s Individual race previews-
Flotrack.org -
http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/25...14/article/28739-NCAA-Predictions-Mens-Top-10 (Sr. Blake Theroux picked to be the one and only Buff in the Top 10, guessed to come in 5[SUP]th[/SUP].)
Letsrun.com-
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/11...-preview-edward-cheserek-shoots-ncaa-title-5/ (Letsrun picking Theroux for 7[SUP]th[/SUP], again the only individual Buff in the top 10.)
ustfccca.org-
http://www.ustfccca.org/2014/11/fea...dividual-preview-can-anyone-dethrone-the-king (Re the Buffs- “One team that hasn’t had an athlete mentioned is Colorado. The last team to win NCAAs without a runner in the top ten was… well, Colorado, in 2006. Jake Hurysz, Ben Saarel (8th overall in 2013, and not the Buffs’ first runner once before or since), and Blake Theroux all have a distinct whiff of top-ten on them; how many will actually do it?.”)
Women-
Note- as the #8 ranked team (in the latest USTFCCCA (coaches’) poll), and with sophomore Erin Clark being the highest ranked individual Buff women (#25 in the most recent Saucony Flo50 rankings), the Buffs aren’t generally mentioned as being favorites for either a team podium (Top 4) finish, or for Ms. Clark or any other Buff’s to end up in the Top 10 individually. However, for those still interested, below are the women’s previews. (Also, as I wrote above, a top 40 finish by Ms. Clark and/ or any other Buff individual runner will garner them “All American” status, obviously a great honor.)
Of course, as I mentioned above the men, anything can happen in a race- so go get a podium finish Buffs!
Re the previews linked to below, Michigan State is the STRONG favorite for the women’s team title, while the individual race is relatively wide open, with as many as 4-5 young women being considered strong enough to win individually depending on the day they have and how the race is run (slow vs. fast pace, etc..). Iona’s Kate Avery is the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] place pick for both Flotrack and Letsrun.
Women’s Team Race
Flotrack.org-
http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/25...le/28736-NCAA-Predictions-Womens-Podium-Teams
Letsrun.com-
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/11/ncaa-xc-womens-preview-can-michigan-state-complete-dream-season/
ustfccca.org-
http://www.ustfccca.org/2014/11/fea...s-team-preview-can-anyone-beat-michigan-state (Unlike the other articles, they do at least briefly mention the Buffs- “Other teams in position for a run at the podium include No. 8 Colorado and No. 9 New Mexico, as well as No. 10 Stanford.”)
Ncaa.com (article also discusses individual race)-
http://www.ncaa.com/news/cross-coun...an-state-seeks-first-xc-national-championship
Women’s Individual Race
flotrack.org-
http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/25...7-NCAA-Predictions-Womens-Top-10#.VG-v6ovF_ng
letsrun.com- -
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/11...n-crystal-nelson-battle-exciting-womens-race/
ustfccca.org-
http://www.ustfccca.org/2014/11/fea...w-who-wins-countrys-most-unsettled-title-race