17. Iowa State Cyclones

Coach: Martin Smith

Notable Departures: Kevin Hoyos, Christian DeLago

Notable Additions: Tanner Norman, Milo Greder, Patrick Bose

Projected Scoring Five:

Thomas Pollard (Rs. SO) [TSR#32], Andrew Jordan (SO), Josef Andrews (JR), Toby Hardwick (SR), Dan Curts (JR)

Analysis:

One of the teams on my radar for 2016 were the Iowa State Cyclones. They had made some crucial additions to their squad with Syracuse transfer Kevin Hoyos, Thomas Pollard coming off of a redshirt season, and a top 10 recruit in Andrew Jordan. I believed they would be a top 25 team in the nation, but the success they ended up having was above and beyond my expectations.

The Cyclones began their 2016 season at the Roy Griak Invite where they would face some of the deepest teams in the nation such as Portland, Boise State, Michigan, Michigan State, and many more. That, however, didn't intimidate the young team. The end results would show Iowa State in second overall with an incredibly tight pack that placed 17, 18, 19, 20, and 23. Only Portland would finish ahead of ISU's 97 points with a score of 69.

Iowa State later took their talents to the Wisconsin Invite where they would once again face Portland as well as other elite teams from around the nation. Although their pack wouldn't stay as tight, the result was just as impressive as Hoyos and Pollard led the way with finishes of 21st and 25th. The final three scorers placed 52nd (Andrews), 65th (Jordan), and 97th (Hardwick). ISU would finish a respectable 8th place overall in the team standings with Portland only three points ahead of them this time. It wasn't perfect a perfect performance, but the Cyclones were able to show that they were more than just a one race wonder.

Fast forward to BIG 12's where Iowa State looked to play spoiler to favorite Oklahoma State. As the race unfolded, it became clear that the Cowboys were vulnerable to an upset due to a slower pace. ISU gave a strong effort, but came up short when the scores were tallied as Oklahoma State retained their conference title, 36 to 49.

Even though the Cyclones failed to grab the conference win, they were still favorites to grab an auto-lock spot to NCAA's at the Mid-West Regional Championships.

Of course, things don't always work out like they're supposed to. The ISU pack failed to stay together while their 5th man fell back to 46th overall. The team would finish 4th in the team standings. Luckily, the Cyclones had accumulated enough Kolas points throughout the season to get them a spot at the Big Dance. They would live to race another day.

The pressure would be on at Nationals to see if the Cyclones could really hold their own against some of the top teams in the nation. Sure enough, that was the case. Despite having a young squad that had never run at NCAA's before, the Cyclones still put together a solid performance as Pollard and Hoyos led the team with finishes of 35 and 44 (in the team scoring). The final three scorers would place 79, 108, and 118 to help Iowa State finish 16th overall. For a team that was so young and inexperienced, you had to commend them on their impressive 2016 season.

As we enter the fall of 2017, Iowa State stands out as a program that could continue their success from a year ago. Thomas Pollard is someone who this team can lean on as he rarely had a poor performance in 2016. I also like the promise that Andrew Jordan shows. He should be able to improve quite a bit as he matures and further acclimates himself to collegiate training and racing. I expect this duo to be the strong 1-2 punch that Hoyos and Pollard were last season.

Josef Andrews is a key piece to the ISU program. He was incredibly consistent and gave the Cyclones some solid performances as just a sophomore. 20th at Roy Griak, 52nd at Wisconsin, and 8th at BIG 12's is a great resume for a team's 3rd scorer.

The same goes for Dan Curts who is beginning to translate his success on the track to the dirt and grass. He made the occasional appearance in ISU's top five last year and I expect him to do the same in 2017. He'll need to improve his consistency, but that comes with time and maturity.

As for Toby Hardwick, his status is a little unclear. Iowa Track Beat (@IowaTrackBeat) tweeted a few weeks ago that there were a few notable misses in their fall camp, one of them being Hardwick. We won't know for sure until the 2017 roster is published, but assuming he does return, he'll provide some consistency and support for ISU's top five. He's been a great leader for this team over the past three years and brings some experience to a squad that doesn't hold a lot of seniors.

Although Iowa State returns a heavy portion of their 2016 squad, the loss of low-stick Kevin Hoyos is still a tough blow. Making up for his absence will certainly not be easy. The Cyclones will also lose Christian DeLago, an ISU veteran who brought a lot of leadership and guidance to the younger guys on this squad.

Luckily, this team is still very deep with guys like Sam Clausnitzer and John Nownes who made appearances on ISU's top seven throughout the 2016 season. We could even see recruits like Tanner Norman, an NXN All-American and Colorado state champion, have an impact in just their first year of competition. Andrew Jordan was able to do it, why not them?

We are in that point of the rankings where it's hard to really identify any major flaws in these programs. Iowa State is a great all-around team with a lot of untapped potential and I believe they will thrive after visiting the NCAA Championships last year. If they continue to embrace their pack running and see growth in their younger guys, this squad could be a top 10 team by season's end.

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