Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Aug 28, 20175 min
Throughout our Top 25 Rankings, transfer news and further research led to The Stride Report towards new and interesting programs with a lot of potential. Although these teams didn't make the Top 25, they are worthy of recognition and poised to be strong in 2017. Don't sleep on the following six squads this fall...
Historically, FSU has done very well in the South region. They have found ways to make it to NCAA's with strong depth and competitive individuals. Although the past two years have been a bit on the slower side for Florida State, the 'Noles are set to improve in 2017 thanks to multiple key additions.
David Barney (W&M) and Tom Hagerty (Maryland) are two underrated transfer students that give this team a lot of stability within their top five. They aren't superstars, but they did quite well in their respective conferences and regionals. It's also interesting to note that Barney's former coach, Chris Solinsky, just left William & Mary to coach at Florida (FSU's rival).
Istvan Szogi, a third transfer from Southern Utah, owns personal bests of 8:12 and 14:11. Since leaving SUU, he competed at home in Hungary before entering this Florida State program. Having Szogi on the roster gives the Seminoles another experienced scorer with a lot of untapped potential.
In addition to those three transfers is Stanley Linton who returns to the squad after briefly serving in the United States Navy throughout the past year. He placed 14th at ACC's and 19th at the South Region Championships in 2015.
Sophomore Steven Cross is another key runner on this squad with plenty of upside. 31st at ACC's and 26th at South Region Championships is very respectable for a freshman. With a year of experience under his belt, he should only see an improvement in 2017.
This team is surprisingly deep with a strong top five and an excellent recruiting class that includes Caleb Pottorff, an incoming freshman with an 8:52 3200 PR. This is my biggest sleeper team of 2017. Do not forget about the weapons they have.
In retrospect, CSU was robbed of a spot in our Top 25. This squad has consistently been at the top of the Mountain West conference and Mountain region for the past few years. With a strong group of returners, it's tough to argue that they won't be at the top again.
The loss of low-stick Jefferson Abbey definitely hurts this team in the scoring, but let's not forget that 2016 was a tough year for Abbey who often faltered and struggled in big meets. Although he rebounded for a few races, there were multiple instances where he wasn't a top five scorer and the Rams still stayed competitive.
In 2017, Colorado State will be led by Jerrell Mock and Grant Fischer, two experienced seniors with plenty of strong results that prove they can contend at the front of a competitive conference and region. At the same time, a majority of their returners are no longer underclassmen. That can certainly make a difference when it comes time to race in the postseason.
I'll admit, it's a tough look for Portland who lost five of their top seven from NCAA's last year. Still, this is a program with a strong history of producing depth and competitive teams. Joining Jeff Thies and Nick Hauger in the scoring will be Noah Schutte and Caleb Webb, two individuals that had very impressive performances throughout their 2016-2017 eligibility. Schutte had a breakout steeplechase performance this past spring with a time of 8:42 while Caleb Webb ran 14 flat in the 5k as a freshman.
The Pilots will need to find another reliable 5th scorer, but they have the pieces to be a very successful team in 2017.
I wanted to find a spot for the Bulldogs in our Top 25, but I simply couldn't justify it when comparing them to other teams. Still, this program is entering 2017 with a lot to like. They have two respectable front-runners in Bryan Kamau and Austin Sprague that should give this team a cushion in the scoring while Daniel Navarro and Eric Westog are set to follow close behind.
Although Georgia has an established top four, they will need to find a reliable 5th man after losing low-stick Sid Vaughn to graduation. That's a weak spot that needs to be addressed and one of the biggest reasons why I had to hold them out of the Top 25.
However, let's not forget that this squad finished 4th at SEC's and 3rd at the South Region Championships. Vaughn may no longer be with the team, but Georiga still has the pieces to contend in a conference and region that is beginning to grow in talent.
The men from Illinois are looking strong this year and have a lot of underrated depth that is able to run well as a pack. Dylan Lafond is no longer with the program after finishing his eligibility last year, but the emergence of Jonathan Davis potentially gives this squad a new low-stick for the upcoming fall season.
Behind Davis is a slew of talent that have become another year older and plenty more experienced. Jesse Reiser, Zack Smith, Dan Lathrop and Alex Gold will all be upperclassmen and give the Fighting Illini the status of an "older" team.
This squad is deep and should be able to put together a solid scoring five. However, individuals will need to step up and give Jonathan Davis a little more support at the front. If they can do that, then don't be surprised to see Illinois in our Top 25 at some point this season.
The Aggies were put down as an "Honorable Mention" in our Top 25 preview, but I feel like it's important to point out how good this team could potentially be in 2017. They are one of the few sleeper teams capable of making it out of a stacked Mountain region this fall.
We have to start with Dillon Maggard who is entering the cross country season ranked 8th in our Top 50 Rankings. He is an absolute stud at the longer distances and came on strong in the postseason last year. He will be an outstanding low-stick for a program that displayed some excellent pack-running throughout 2016.
Yes, Colby Wilson does graduate, but this is a group that can make up for his loss by simply being another year older. At both their conference and regional championships, Utah State had THREE freshmen in their top five. Not only were they freshmen, but they ran together as a pack with conference finishes of 35, 37, and 38 while their regional finishes were 55, 56, and 57.
The success of this team during 2017 will be based on how much improvement we can see from that trio (Beattie, Harman, and Hendrickson). If they can make significant improvements and continue to run together, then Utah State becomes a very dangerous team capable of pulling off an upset. However, until I see that happen, they will have to stay outside of our Top 25.