Who would guess that after 2 decades of being a dominant
force in cross country, that the departure of ACU to the Southland Conference
would have less impact on the LSC than the departure of fellow SLC defector
Incarnate Word, particularly in the women’s race. If and when McMurry becomes a
full-fledged member of the LSC, they will have some impact, but for now, 7 LSC
schools will go to the line in cross country and the team races should be hotly
contested.
WOMEN –
Midwestern came into the LSC meet last fall fully expecting to “four-peat” as
LSC champs, but a spirited West Texas team stole away the crown in rather
convincing fashion. Almost across the board, WT runners ran the race of their
lifetime and the MSU runners ran just a bit behind their best. The upshot was a
huge upset for WT and Midwestern vowing to come back in 2013 much stronger. On
each school in the conference, I will give you the school’s 2012 finish, as
well as their predicted finish in the official LSC preseason poll. As you will
note, the 2013 predicted finish follows the 2012 place exactly, regardless of
who was active in recruiting or who lost key people.
WEST TEXAS –
finished 1st in 2012 and picked first in 2013
Athletes lost – WT takes a HUGE hit in losing the 2012 LSC
champ, Brenda Sindet, who was also of the top LSC athletes on the track –
winning the 5K, finishing runnerup in the steeple, and 3rd in the
1500; Jessica Blakely – an all-conference runner, finishing 13th
last fall; and they apparently let one of their Spaniards, Cristina Saladrich,
go home – no big loss as she finished 33rd last fall in cross
country.
Returnees – Mireia Guarner (So) – another Spaniard who was
the LSC runnerup last fall; Amber Moore (Sr) – 3rd place last year
to complete the WT sweep of the top spots; Emma Love (Jr) – 11th
last year, as well as scoring well on the track last spring with 5th
places in both the 5K and 10K; then the Sparks twins from tiny Wheeler, TX –
Taylor in 17th place and Haley in 22nd; Rhemecka Graham
finished 52nd last year, but she is more of a halfmiler, finishing 6th
last season in that distance at the LSC track meet.
Signees – a solid group:
- ·
Carley Glass – freshman from Luling – she
finished 9th in the 2A XC meet last fall, then had an excellent
state track meet, winning the 2A 3200 and finishing 4th in the 1600
- ·
Emily Craft – freshman from Canyon Randall – 7th
in the 4A XC in the fall, then 7th in the 4A 800 – she appears to be
better suited to the 800/1500, like Rhemecka Graham
- ·
Michaela Johnson – Junior from Carlsbad, NM and
transfer from South Plains – 55th in the JC cross country and 17th
in the JC half-marathon – a veteran distance runner who never quite broke
through running for SPC
West Texas will be good again this year, with 5 of their
returnees in the top 22 at the LSC meet, BUT, they lose the LSC champ, plus a
13th place finisher – 2 of the runners who counted for points in
2012 (in cross country, you count the first 5 finishers across the line in
calculating the team points). They pick up one really strong freshman, plus another
promising freshman and a JC transfer with potential. Still, overcoming
Midwestern again will be pretty tough.
My Pick – 2nd place
MIDWESTERN – 2nd
in 2012 and picked to finish 2nd again 2013, by a rather narrow
margin
Athletes lost – Tylo Farrar (30th, which was 7th
on the MSU team – she transferred to Tarleton to run this year) and Nadia
Majed (35th), a transfer from
Oklahoma Baptist who had one year of XC eligibility to use
Returnees – Janel Campbell (Sr) – 8th in 2012;
Ashley Flores (Sr) – 9th last fall in XC, then 3rd in the
LSC 5K and 6th in the 1500); Abigail Gonzales (Sr) – 16th
last fall; the Krezonoski twins (both juniors), Michelle was 12th in
XC, as well as 6th on the track in the 5K and 7th in the
10K, and Kim – 19th in XC last fall; Brittany Adams (So) – 26th
in XC; Melody Caldwell (Sr) – 32nd last fall; Maira Salinas (So) –
27th in XC; plus, Cara Mack (Jr), who placed a solid 16th
in 2010, before a severe injury caused her to redshirt 2011 and only run in a
few meets in 2012 – if she is anywhere close to healthy, that represents a big
plus for MSU.
Redshirts – Danielle Chavarria (RS-Jr) – 3rd in
the California Community College North Region XC in 2011; C.J. Frizzell (RS-Fr)
– 39th in the 4A XC-2011, then 4th in the Region I-4A 800
in 2012, just missing a trip to state
Newcomers – heavy on the JC transfers, looking for instant
impact:
- ·
Emma Ramirez (Jr) – transfer from Antelope
Valley JC in California, where she was 3rd in the California JC XC
last fall, before finishing 3rd in the CA JC 1500 last spring
- ·
Ruth Rodarte (Jr) – transfer from Los Angeles
Trade Tech – 18th in the California JC XC in 2012, then 1st
in the JC South Coast Conference 5K
- ·
Gabby Ruiz (Jr) – transfer from Allen CC in
Kansas – 13th in the JC national XC in 2012, then 4th in
the JC 10K and 6th in the 5K on the track
- ·
Lucia Trejo (Jr) – transfer from Los Angeles
Trade Tech – 58th in the California JC cross country meet in 2012
- ·
Maranda Rodriguez (Fr) – she won District 26-5A
800 in 2012 (could find nothing for 2012-13)
Midwestern returns her top 6 finishers from 2012, adds 2
redshirts that probably would have been in their top 10 last years and adds a
slew of JC transfers with credentials. Midwestern has a huge advantage over WT
in they do not field anything by distance runners – they do not use
scholarships on sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers or throwers. That advantage will
show up bit this year. My Pick – 1st.
ANGELO STATE – placed
4th, behind Incarnate Word in 2012, picked 3rd this year
Athletes lost – Emeline Crutcher – 6th last fall
and their leader for 4 years, in XC and on the track; Sofia Ramos – 25th
last fall; Kami Orsak – 27th in 2012; Jessica Boudreau – 28th at the LSC
XC meet; Katy Williams – 49th in XC, although he finished a much
more competitive 8th in the LSC steeple in the spring.
Returnees – Annifer Flores (Jr) – 5th in the LSC
XC meet, the highest finisher for ASU in 2012; and Chastity King (So) – 53rd
in the XC meet in her first year from tiny Zephyr.
Newcomers – some kids with potential and 2 solid transfers,
but a lot of losses to overcome
- ·
Chavelle Moreno (Jr) – from Comanche HS and a
transfer from New Mexico JC – 54th in the JC national XC meet, she
was 6th in the JC indoor and outdoor national track meets and will
have much more impact outdoors next spring
- ·
Candida Chairez (So) – Del Rio HS and
transferring from Incarnate Word, where she was 44th in the LSC XC
last year
- ·
Crystal Schlueter (Fr) – from Harper, where she
was 23rd in the 1A XC and 7th in the 3200 on the track
- ·
Samantha Munderback (Fr) – Del Rio – 69th
in the Region IV-5A XC meet last fall
- ·
Alexis Latham (Fr) – from San Angelo Cornerstone
Christian, where the graduating class is about 5-10 per year. I would not put
much stock into this signing, since I could only find one result on Latham, BUT,
the last kid who came to Angelo State from Cornerstone was Andria Nussey and
she ended up a multiple time All-American. You never know.
Angelo took heavy losses from last year, 5 of their top 6
finishers at the LSC meet. They have replaced them with some runners who show
promise, but not the level of the kids they lost. My Pick – 5th place
EASTERN NEW MEXICO –
5th in 2012 and picked 4th in 2013.
Athletes lost: Adrienne Montoya – (only 36th in
2012, she was 12th in 2010 and only 1 place away from Freshman of
the Year); Andrea Wittman (23rd in 2012 – a very promising freshman
who left at midterm last year); Leigh Ann Omarkhail (41st, plus 9th
in the steeple on the track); Jherica Rhodes (69th in 2012)
Returnees – Brittany Buchanan (Sr) – 7th in XC,
then a disappointing 10th in the 10K on the track; Amber Saiz (So) –
21st in XC, then 9th in the LSC 800; Beth Blind (Jr) – 38th
in XC; Sabrina Huelga (Jr) – 45th in XC, but much stronger on the
track, where she was 8th in both the 800 and 1500; and a huge
addition in Alesha Jones, who redshirted XC last year, but was the LSC runnerup
in the 800 and placed in the steeple in 2012.
Newcomers – I don’t know that any of the newcomers can have
a big impact in 2013
- ·
Bayleigh Baker – a home-schooled kid from
Albuquerque, who ran XC in 2012 for Sterling College in Kansas, where she was 5th
in the Kansas Collegiate Conference meet
- ·
Blanca Zubia – from Hobbs originally, she ran
for Odessa College in 2011, where she was 67th in the JC cross
country meet
- ·
Sarah Bertram – from Abilene Christian HS – 7th
in the TAPPS 2A 3200 in 2013
ENMU returns some key members of their squad from 2012,
although they do lose 2 of their top 5 and 3 of their top 6 from a year ago. I
don’t see their newcomers being able to pick up that slack, but they might well
be able to hold onto 4th place if they can pass Angelo. My Pick – 4th place.
Tarleton State –
6th in 2012 and picked for 5th in 2013
Athletes lost – Celeste Meyer (14th in XC – she
was 3rd in the LSC 10K last year on the track); Karen Ramming (42nd);
Ashley Husbands (43rd), Kyndall Trnka (47th)
Returning athletes – the most significant returnee is
Lindsey Hinton, who is 2011 was 10th in the LSC XC, then in the
spring of 2012 was the most dominant distance runner in the LSC, winning the 5K
and finishing runnerup in both the 1500 and 10K for 26 huge points – she
redshirted all of 2012-2013; Katelin Huckabee (31st); Tiffany Fagg
(49th); Payton Shoush (55th
in XC, she is the former LSC 800 champ who is better suited to the shorter
distances); Lauren Finley (56th)
Newcomers – a good crop with loads of potential, including
some transfers for instant impact
- ·
Tylo Farrar – Spearman HS, transferring from
Midwestern – she was 30th in the LSC XC meet in 2012, higher than
any other TSU returnee
- ·
Audrey Shelton – Clarendon – 6th in
the 1A XC in the fall, she came back to win the 1A 800 and finish 3rd
in the 1600 – her only drawback is that she may be more suited to the 800 than
the longer collegiate XC distance
- ·
Alyson Coughlin – Rockwall Heath, transferring
from Northwestern State (LA) – 61st in the Southland Conf XC, then
12th in the SLC 1500 on the track
- ·
Sarai Clendenin – freshman from Hot Springs, NM
– at the NM District 3-3A meet last year, she won the 800, 1600 and 3200 (as
well as the pole vault), then finished 3rd in the NM 3A PV – a
vaulting distance runner, something you don’t see that often
- ·
Aissa Martinez – freshman from Fairfax, VA;
Lillianna Castaneda – freshman from Copperas Cove; Alexandra Austin – junior
from Converse Judson
It is huge to get Lindsey Hinton back for her final season.
The only hiccup is that TSU lost Celeste Meyer with eligibility remaining. The
addition of 2 transfers and with a moderate improvement from 2-3 of their
returnees or freshmen and this team is close to contending for the LSC title. My pick – 3rd place
Texas A&M –
Commerce – 7th in the 2012 and picked 6th this year
Athletes lost – Jennifer Speer (51st)
Returnees – Caroline Cotsakis (29th); Mary
Hammonds (46th in the XC, but she scored on the track with an 8th
place finish in the 10K; Katie Romero (54th); Julieta Esquivel (59th);
Tori Lenz-Selvera (60th); Brooke Farris (63rd); Kendall
Christmas (66th); Mackenzie Myers (68th); Kelli
Hardenbrook (70th)
Newcomers – a good bunch
- ·
Terra Truitt – freshman from Pampa – 2nd
in the 3A XC, she was 4th in the Region I-3A 3200 on te track, just
missing a trip to the state meet
- ·
Kelsey Grier – Melissa HS, transferring from
Southern Arkansas – she was 9th at the Great American Conference XC
meet last fall – the GAC is that conference that split off from the LSC and it
is a solid XC conference
- ·
Madalyen Pearce – Celeste HS – 55th
in the 3A XC meet last fall – she was primarily a basketball players in HS
- ·
Dara Darnell – Keller Timber Creek – she was 5th
in the Dist 5-4A XC in 2011 (running the former 2 mile distance; then Timber
Creek moved to 5A and the distance moved to a 5K (3.1 miles) and she suffered,
finishing far back in the pack
Commerce made big strides last year in becoming competitive
in the LSC, with a team made up almost entirely of underclassmen. They have
added 2-3 people who should help immediately again. I am only picking them 6th,
but they certainly seem capable of moving up a place or two. My Pick – 6th place
Texas A&M –
Kingsville – 8th in 2012 (ahead of only ACU), picked 7th
this year
Athletes lost – Danica Huerta (58th)
Returnees – Rebekah Jimenez (57th); Marisa Reyes
(61st in XC, but turned around and placed 6th in the LSC
steeple last spring); Tezna Roy (65th); Anna Richburg (71st);
Victoria Bankes (73rd); plus, several athletes who did not compete
in XC, but did on the track , including Marissa Acosta (12th in the
steeple), Janae Lewis (15th in the 800), and Taylor Moore (20th
in the 800).
Newcomers – mostly kids from the Rio Grande Valley, which
has strong distance programs
- ·
Vallerie Rodriguez – freshman from Mission
Sharyland – 102nd in the 5A XC, she is much better suited to the
shorter distances – she was 3rd in the Region IV-5A 800, missing a
trip to the state meet by a few tenths.
- ·
Jenyse Vasquez – freshman from Edinburg North –
2nd in the District 30-5A 800
- ·
Amy Mendoza – freshman from PSJA North – 4th
in the District 31-5A 1600 and 3200
Kingsville has had a hard time replicating their great
success in the distance races that they have experienced in the sprints and
field events (2 Kingsville men won the D-II track meet in the high jump and
pole vault, respectively). A good sign for Kingsville is that their numbers are
up quite a bit in XC, which is usually a precursor to a team’s improvement (see
the Commerce women last year). My pick –
7th place.
MEN
The loss of both ACU and Incarnate Word will have an impact
on the LSC cross country men’s race in 2013. What will probably have an even
greater impact will be the serious losses that Eastern New Mexico took when
they underwent a coaching change at mid-term last year. Many outstanding
runners left at midterm. Therefore the top spot should be a tossup between 3
and possibly even 4 teams in 2013.
ENMU – finished a
commanding first in 2013 and picked 1st again in 2013
Athletes lost – start with the most dominant distance runner
in the LSC – Isaiah Samoei, who won the LSC XC meet last fall, then won the LSC
indoor 3K and 5K last February, but did not run outdoors – Samoei finished his
college eligibility; Patrick Lueras – 13th in the LSC XC in 2012, he
left ENMU at midterm; Marquez Hobson – 23rd in the LSC XC last fall,
he was gone at midterm as well; Jacob Lozano – who was 3rd in the
LSC 10K on the track in 2012, was on the 2012 XC roster, but did not run; Irwin
Vera – 44th in the XC meet, then gone at midterm
Returnees – the cupboard for ENMU is far from bare – the
aptly name Greyhounds still return some strong runners, led by Kaspars Briska,
the transfer from Cloud County, who was 4th in the LSC XC, then won
the 5K and was runner-up on the steeple last spring; Kevin Roa (8th
in the XC meet and 6th in the LSC 5K on the track); Trevor Merhege
(11th in the LSC XC, as well as 5th in the 5K and 4th
in the steeple on the track); and Zerrick Vriseno (22nd in XC, 7th
in the LSC 10K on the track last spring).
- Newcomers – ENMU has not sat idly by, watching their years
of LSC cross country dominance fade away. The new ENMU coach has been actively
recruiting and they have added some kids who will help. It is an interesting
mix of transfers and freshmen:
- ·
The top addition is only a half-newcomer - Justin Samaniego transferred to ENMU at
midterm from Riverside CC in California last year and placed 5th in
the 10K on the track
- ·
Cesar Sanabria – transferring from Grand Canyon,
after 2 years at Butler County – he was a solid JC runner at Butler, finishing
7th in the JC 10K on the track, but could not break into the top 7
at Grand Canyon
- ·
Mikey Davila – a transfer from Moreno Valley, CA
and Riverside Comm College – I could not find any XC results, but I did find a
strong 3:48 1500 time
- ·
Kenneth Kimani – transfer from Kenya and
Oklahoma City University – a disappointing 26th in the Sooner
Athletic Conf XC last fall, he placed 8th in the SAC 1500 on the
track
- ·
Christian Ruiz – freshman from Sudan, TX, where
he was 6th in the 1A 3200 at the state meet
- ·
Zach Walling – transfer from Scottsdale College
– 14th in the JC indoor 5K, could find not XC result
- ·
Derrick Montelongo – freshman from Ruidoso,
where he was 16th in the NM 3A XC and 6th in the 800 on
the track
- ·
Chase Beausoleil – freshman from Clovis – 36th
in the NM 5A XC and 9th in the 1600 on the track
ENMU returns 3 runners who were in the top 11 at the
conference meet in 2012. Several of their transfers are trying to rebound from
sub-par seasons in 2012-13. If one or more of them succeed, ENMU might be able
to hold off the schools trying to knock them off the top LSC perch. My pick – 3rd place
West Texas A&M – 2nd
in 2012 and picked 2nd again this year
Athletes lost - only
one, Jonathan Flores who finished 69th in the LSC last year (9th
among WT runners)
Returnees – basically everyone, led by LSC XC runner-up
Dylan Doss, who won the LSC steeple, was runner-up in the 4K and finished 4th
in the 1500 on the track; Baptiste Moreu – 5th in the XC meet, he
did not score at all in the track meet last fall, finishing a disappointing 9th
in the 1500; Patrick Schuechzer (14th in the XC meet); Lucas Marquez
(20th in the XC meet, he was 7th in the LSC 1500 as a
true freshman); Alexander Korn (only 35th in the XC meet, he is the
LSC 800 meter champ – he simply may be better suited to the shorter distances);
Hugo Aguinaga – 38th in the XC meet; Martin Puga (43rd in
the XC meet, then 13th in the 800 on track – another one who might
be better suited to the shorter distance races); Merritt Vaughn (very
disappointing 64th in the XC meet, then turned around and placed 6th
in the LSC 1500, as well as 10th in the 800 on the track).
Newcomers – it is hard to find much on the international
runners, but WT has had some success with their internationals:
- ·
Steve Lagat and Evans Langat – both from Kenya
and good luck on ever finding any results on high school kids in Kenya, but I
have to think these kids can help
- ·
Anthony Baurnal – a French kid – I could find no
results, but the French seem to be terribly popular in the LSC these days
- ·
Brett Villareal – transfer from ENMU – he is only
a “half-newcomer” – he began running for WT at midterm last year and placed 6th
in the LSC 10K on the track, a good indicator of future XC success
- ·
Paul Fort – French native transferring to WT
from American International, which is a D-II school – 30th in the
Northeast 10 XC last fall, as well as 10th in the 10K on the track
- ·
Armando Rueda – transfer from Mayfield, NM, and
New Mexico State, by way of ENMU, where he spent about 10 minutes – his brother
runs for Texas Tech
- ·
Cameron Gifford
- from Frisco and a transfer from Baylor – 9th in the 4A 1600
in 2011, he was never able to break into the Baylor lineup
- ·
Junior Baca – freshman from Muleshoe – the 2A
800 meter champ in 2012, he was more of a 400/800 guy in HS than a distance
runner
WT returns the core of a really good team and has added a
boatload of new runners. If even 2 of the new runners come through, then this
team wins the conference meet. My pick –
1st place
Tarleton – 3rd
in 2012 and picked 3rd this year
Athletes lost – only one, Jeffrey Currie – 55th
in the XC meet (7th on the team)
Returnees - another
team with virtually everyone returning off a team has that been on an upward
trend for the past 2 years. Tye Doty was 3rd in the LSC XC and 2nd
on the track in the 10K. Chase Rathke was 7th in the LSC XC meet and
5th in the 800 on the track, plus 9th in the 5K – that
rare athlete who has speed enough to be a good half-miler and stamina enough to
run the longer distances well; Miles Joslin – 9th in the XC and 8th
on the track in the 10K; Dylan Willett – a disappointing 25th in XC,
then came back to finish runner-up in the 1500 on the track; Thorne Pettigrew –
39th in the LSC XC; James Polasek (41st in the LSC XC);
Brian Cooper – 70th LSC XC; Mason Wrobel – 74th LSC XC.
Newcomers – lots of new bodies, not many fantastic
accomplishments in the bunch – most of them look like projects, but 2-3 have
the potential to help in this first year:
- ·
Luke Scribner – a transfer from Farmersville and
McMurry – a solid HS runner, he did not run at the NCCAA national XC meet last
fall for McMurry, but he did place 3rd in the McMurry/Heartland Inv
800 (that meet was held in lieu of a conference meet, since the Heartland only
has 4 schools that have a track and field team)
- ·
Robert Pereira – freshman from Salado – 19th
in the 2A XC last fall, then 8th in the state meet in the 2A 800
- ·
Ben Haynes – freshman from North Mesquite – he
won the District 12-5A 1600 and 3200, then barely missed the state meet,
finishing 4th in the Region II-5A 1600
- ·
Timotea Longoria – freshman from San Antonio
Churchill – 5th in the District 26-5A 800 in 2012, could find no
results in 2012-13 season
- ·
James Bodnar – freshman from Hebron – 9th
in the District 5-5A XC in the fall before finishing 8th in the
district 3200 on the track
- ·
Caleb Frandsen – freshman from Justin Northwest
– 29th in the District 4-5A XC and 8th in the district
3200 last spring
Tarleton has a nucleus of a very good team back, with at
least 4 runners who could finish in the top 15. If one or two of their new kids
come through, this is a very good team that could even vie to the championship.
My pick – 2nd place
Texas A&M –
Commerce – 4th last year and picked 4th again this
year
Athletes lost - Alex Kimp (32nd last fall in the
XC meet) and Ross Hicks (58th in XC, but he placed 8th on
the track last spring in the 1500)
Returnees – this group is led by one of the top freshmen in
the LSC in 2012-13 – Dorian McCradic (6th in the XC meet and 3rd
in the 1500 on the track); Luis Romero (15th in the XC meet, then
runner-up in the LSC 800 on the track – again, one of those rare people who
have speed to run the half mile and still have enough stamina for the XC
distances); Everett Wilder (18th in the XC race, then a strong 3rd
in the 10K and 7th in the 5K on the track); Fredrick Kipsang (so
far, an underachiever after transfer from Middle Tennessee State – 33rd
in the XC meet, but 5th in the steeple); Elias Garza (45th
in XC); Raymond Mata (46th in XC); Tyler Hemnway – 49th
in XC, but came back to run a decent 10th in the LSC 1500.
Newcomers – a solid batch of new runners:
- ·
Ivan Rodriguez – freshman from El Paso Del Valle
– at the 4A state meet, he was 4th in the 1600 and 7th in
the 3200, after finishing a strong 3rd in the 4A XC meet last fall –
a quality addition
- ·
Tristen Woods – freshman from Lufkin Hudson – 9th
in the 3A 3200 on the track, after finishing 16th in the 3A XC last
fall
- ·
Mark Gonzalez
- freshman from Hurst Bell – won the District 6-5A 1600 and 3200
- ·
Joey Dooley – freshman from Hurst Bell – won the
District 6-5A 500 and was 3rd in the 1600
- ·
Brandon Rojo – freshman from The Colony – 8th
District 8-4A 3200
- ·
Zach Lindquist – freshman from Keller Timber
Creek – 13th in the District 13-5A XC
Commerce received great production from some youngsters last
year and followed up with another solid recruiting class. They could slip into
the top 3 teams with good production from even 1-2 of their freshmen. My pick – 4th place
Angelo State – 5th
last year and picked 5th this year
Athletes lost – Josh Day (31st in the LSC meet), Isac
Valdez (36th in XC); Anthony Rabaey (75th in the LSC
meet) – Angelo loses their 5th, 6th and 7th
runner off a 7 man squad
Returnees – Jamin Goecker (10th in the XC meet,
but did not score a point on the track – best was 9th in the 10K); Dylan
Littlejohn (17th in the XC meet); Tomas Callejas (19th in
XC, but only 13th in the 1500 on the track; Graham Hazlewood (only
30th in the XC, he was the only Ram distance runner to score on the
track, picking up a 6th in the steeple).
Newcomers – only picked up 1, possibly 2 kids who could make
much impact in XC;
- ·
James Muniz – freshman from Abilene HS – 8th
in the 5A 800 and 57th in the Region I-5A XC meet – could really
help, I have seen him run many times and he has great potential
- ·
Dallas Kaiser – transfer from Baker College,
where he was 12th in the Heart of America Athletic Conference 10K –
HAAC is a NAIA conference
- ·
Justin LaPierre – freshman from Wall – 3rd
Dist 6-2A 800 and 13th in the Region I-2A XC
- ·
Zachary Stevens – freshman from Leander Rouse
(26th in the District 26-4A XC) and Patrick Torres – freshman from
San Antonio Stevens (107th in the Region IV-5A XC)
ASU will still have a severe depth problem. If everyone
stays healthy, they should be able to hold onto the 5th place they
have been predicted for in 2013. My pick
– 5th
Cameron – 8th
in 2013 and picked 6th this year
Athletes lost – Moses Kipkosgei (21st in XC);
Corban Marcantel (47th in LSC); and Jacob Tylers (53rd
XC) – the 1st, 4th and 6th runners for the
team
Returnees – Janis Pastors (29th XC); Grant
Wignall (42nd XC); Cody Campbell (48th XC); Cole
Atchinson (66th XC).
Newcomers - I can’t
tell a whole lot about their recruits, but that is common with Cameron:
- ·
Kilian Schreiner – a freshman from Germany – I
found a solid 14:55 in the 5K
- ·
Damien Porter – a freshman from Summerville, GA –
7th in the Georgia 2A 3200
- ·
Raul Correa – freshman from Fort Worth South
Hills – 7th in the District 7-4A 3200
- ·
Methuselah Lagat – freshman from Kenya – I can
find nothing on his, but he does have great name – hopefully, it won’t take 969
years for him to finish his race!
- Predicting what kind of team Cameron will have is always an
iffy proposition. They lost their best runner.
They have at least 2
internationals who might be good, but it is hard to say. Since they don’t field
a track and field team, only a XC team, there is little tangible evidence of
how their athletes are progressing. My
pick – 6th
Texas A&M –
Kingsville – 9th in 2012, picked 7th this season
Athletes lost – Calvin Scharf (50th LSC XC);
Chris Garza (56th LSC XC); Josh Prado (57th LSC XC;
Anthony Rivas (62nd LSC); and Patrick Alexshonis (67th
LSC).
Returnees – Emmanuel Ibanez – 52
nd in 2012; Ty
Ramos – 60
th in 2012; Michael Idziak – 63
rd in 2012, then
he won the LSC indoor 800 and finished 4
th in the 800
outdoors; Richard Hernandez – 68
th XC in 2012.
Also, Andre Fuqua is back on the roster – 9
th in the LSC steeple in
2012, he apparently redshirted all of the 2012-13 season.
Newcomers – no one that appears to have the ability to have
an impact immediately:
- ·
Damian Feeney – freshman from North Rockland – a
cross country specialist – could find little info on him
- ·
Ryan Richardson – Junior – finished 12th
in the LSC 800 in 2012, redshirted all of 2012-13 and appears to be moving up
in distance
- · Newcomers Jeremiah Santos, Joshua Taylor and
Stephen Elizondo – I can’t find anything on them
Kingsville made their biggest splash in a while last year in
field events. The Javs have been able to build a strong team in the sprints and
field events, but that has not translated into the distance events (and by
extension, into cross country). The Hoggies appear to still be a long way from
being competitive in the LSC in XC. My
Pick – 7th
