Ben Weisel
Aug 30, 20204 min
We are aware that certain conferences and universities will not be competing this fall due to ongoing concerns surrounding COVID-19. However, for the sake of content, we have constructed these rankings as if a regular cross country season will happen.
The Furman men would have come into the 2020 cross country season looking to build upon their impressive, out-of-nowhere 14th place performance at last year’s National Championships. The team improved throughout the 2019 cross country season and peaked at the perfect time to not only qualify for the national meet, but also earn an outstanding top-15 finish.
In a normal year, the Paladins would need to replace their top scorers from the 2019 season (Ryan Adams and Jake Ogden). Adams, in particular, was an elite low-stick for the Paladins and capped off the 2019 cross country season with an All-American finish at Nationals. Ogden, meanwhile, played a key role within Furman's top seven, appearing as a veteran scorer on numerous occasions.
For most teams, losing two scorers of that caliber would be a difficult, but not crippling blow as long as there was a good amount of returners and depth behind them.
Fortunately for Furman, there is.
The men from Greenville, South Carolina bring back five of their top seven while adding in Aaron Wier and Mason Coppi (who redshirted last fall) plus a strong freshman class. This could have been a very talented team during the 2020 cross country season, you just have to put the pieces of the puzzle together to see their full potential.
Daniel Bernal, in a non-pandemic year, provides the Paladins with a respectable front-runner and an All-American candidate. He had a solid and consistent 2019 cross country season which ended with him finishing 54th at the NCAA Championships. After running a personal best 14:05 (5k) during the indoor season, he looked ready to lead Furman back to the national meet.
Behind Bernal is a deep squad of returners which have a ton of room for extra development. David Ahlmeyer and Cameron Ponder grew into their own during the 2019 season, culminating with finishes inside the top 120 at NCAA’s. Both men put together a handful of respectable personal bests this past winter and still have a ton of upside given their youth and rising experience.
We then come to Ares Reading and Trent Mandato who also return from the Paladin’s championship lineup. Neither were particularly great last fall, but Reading was just a freshman in 2019 and posted a handful of new personal bests on the track. As for Mandato, he only raced once during the winter months, but he has had his moments on the track as well and is capable of putting together a string of strong results.
The 2019 version of Furman ended their season on a high note, but they lacked consistency throughout the season and had some relatively larger gaps in their lineup. The young team peaked when it mattered most, but it was hard for us to rank the Paladins any higher this year given that they lost two crucial scorers in Adams and Ogden.
That said, the additions of Wier and Coppi had the potential to raise Furman’s ceiling for the 2020 season.
Aaron Wier transferred into the program from Morehead State and had a very strong indoor track season, running 3:59 in the mile (flat-track converted) and 8:08 in the 3k. Although we have yet to see him in a Furman singlet during cross country, this is still the same guy who finished 40th at the Southeast Regional Championships in 2017. After a clear leap in fitness this past winter, it wouldn't have been surprising to see him contribute in a big way for Furman this fall.
Similarly, Mason Coppi was expected to rejoin this Furman lineup after redshirting all of 2019. The senior has run 14:02 (5k) and 29:43 (10k), indicating that he could be just as good as Bernal (on the grass) if he's at the top of his game.
On the cross course, he has had checkered performances, specifically at the Southeast Regional Championships where he has finished 78th (2018) and 25th (2017). With top track times and plenty of experience, Coppi would have strengthened Furman’s top seven in a big way had the season gone on as normal.
Which leads us into our final section: Furman's recruiting class.
Carson Williams comes to Greenville, South Carolina sporting personal bests of 4:14 (mile), 9:11 (3200), and 15:08 (5k XC). With him is Dylan Schubert who has run 9:09 (3200) and 14:53 (5k). Schubert was also a NXN individual national qualifier in 2018 and 2019.
Those four men leave the Paladins with plenty of options and endless lineup combinations. Yes, they still need to prove themselves, but the potential upside that this group brings to the table is awfully exciting.
Initially, this was not a team that we were expecting to list in our rankings. They lost two major scorers, lacked consistency during the 2019 season and may have had to rely on some inexperienced runners to act as top-five scorers. However, as we dug a little deeper into this group, it became clear that Furman deserved a spot in our preseason rankings.
Admittedly, this is not a team with a ton of elite-level talent. As of right now, the Paladins only had one legitimate All-American candidate (Bernal) going into the now defunct 2020 cross country season. However, their extensive depth and numerous lineup options is what makes them stand out
Personally, what really impresses me about the Paladins is their ability to peak at the right time. The Terre Haute course was a tough one in 2019, but they stepped up to the challenge and balled out (the more boring phrase is that they “performed well”) at the right time.
While I do wish that we saw more performances like that during the entirety of the season, I will always lean towards teams that finish the season as strongly as Furman did.
In the grand scheme of things, Furman’s success in 2020 would have come down to internal improvement. With Aaron Wier and Mason Coppi entering this cross country lineup, the Paladins get a big boost, but their overall success would have been very dependent on how guys like Ahlmeyer and Ponder improve after solid performances at NCAA’s.
Based on Furman teams from the past, we likely would have seen an even deeper squad in 2020 that would have helped the Paladins land within the top 25 at the national meet yet again.