Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Sep 4, 20175 min
(Wasn’t Ranked): Was not ranked the week before.
First number indicates how much the individual has moved in the rankings. A plus (with green) means they have improved in the rankings. A minus (with red) means they have regressed in the rankings. Colors may not show on mobile.
The second number indicates where they were ranked the week before.
Geberkidane didn't run this past weekend, but news that he is still having complications with a herniated disk is not a good sign. I'm staying optimistic that he'll return, but injuries that last this long don't just disappear. That uncertainty has caused him to fall in the rankings.
Trouard was a contributor in NAU's sweep at the George Kyle Classic where he finished 3rd overall.
Rotich earned a solid win at the Temple XC Invite on a difficult course winning by a comfortable 10 seconds.
After redshirting the 2016 season, Flanagan has returned to the Big Blue lineup. He earned a win at the Michigan Open to start off his season.
Pollard placed 6th overall at the Hawkeye Invite, but he was only four seconds behind the winner (Festus Lagat). I'm not reading too much into this race. He will thrive at the bigger meets and longer distances.
Glines fell of the pack of his fellow NAU teammates at the George Kyte Invite to finish 11th overall. Obviously, it would have been good to see him up there with his teammates (who took the top five spots), but it's an early season rust-buster and I'm not putting too much emphasis on this meet.
It was only a 5k, but Koech struggled in his season opener at the Lobo XC Invite. The UTEP junior placed 20th overall against a very average field. It's only the first meet of the season so I'm willing to be lenient, but it seems like his struggles from spring track have carried over into cross country. Hopefully that is not the case.
Klecker finished 5th overall at the CSU Duals running an impressive time of 14:56 on a cross country course that was at 5000 ft of altitude. It seems like the Buffaloes were attempting to run as a pack, so don't think that this result is Klecker at his best. I'm sure he has plenty more to give.
Just another 'Day' at the office for this NAU junior who finished 2nd overall at the George Kyte Classic to help the Lumberjacks pull off the sweep.
The second-year Blue Raider finished 2nd in his season debut, five seconds behind teammate Kigen Chemadi. It appears that MTSU practiced their pack-running as they took four of the top five spots. I'll be interested to see how Choge does at a larger venue and a longer distance.
Kipkoech finished 2nd overall to teammate Amon Kemboi at the Elon Opener. In fact, the Camels took the top four spots overall.
Baxter rounded out NAU's top five at the George Kyte Classic enroute to a perfect team score of 15 points.
Trent Powell (Colorado State)
Iliass Aouani (Syracuse)
Thomas Ratcliffe (Stanford)
Andrew Marston (Villanova)
Lachlan Cook (Virginia)
Colby Gilbert (Washington)
Grant Fischer (Colorado State)
Michael Ward (Bradley)
Chase Weaverling (Virginia)
Zach Perrin (Colorado)
Jonathan Harper (BYU)
Kigen Chemadi (MTSU)
Peter Lomong (NAU)
Amon Kemboi (Campbell)
Festus Lagat (Iowa State)
Ethan Gonzales (Colorado)
Eduardo Herrera (Colorado)
Cameron Griffith (Arkansas)
Frank Lara (Furman)
Michael Vennard (Boise State)
Kasey Knevelbaard (Southern Utah)
Ben Young (Kentucky)
Trent Powell (Colorado State): It was an impressive performance from the CSU sophomore who ran 14:52 to take the second overall at the CSU Duals and defeat (most of) a strong Colorado lineup. Running that time on a cross country course at (approximately) 5000 ft of altitude AND defeating all but one man on that that Buffalo team is a great way to start to the season. The Rams may have found another potential ace to add to their squad.
RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Festus Lagat (Iowa State): There was plenty of chatter this summer about the new ISU transfer and what he could bring to the team. Sure enough, Lagat backed up the hype this past weekend and took a win at the Hawkeye Invite. It may be the first race of the season, but it's certainly a comforting sign if you're a Cyclone fan.