2017 XC TOP 25 TEAMS: #23 Princeton Tigers

23. Princeton Tigers

Coach: Jason Vigilente

Notable Departures: Will Bertrand, Gavin Gaynor

Notable Additions: Drake Anzano

Projected Scoring Five:

Conor Lundy (SO) [TSR#33], William Paulson (Rs. SR), Steven Sum (Rs. SO),

Viraj Deokar (SO), Noah Kauppila (SR)

Analysis:

When you look at the overall competition of the NCAA, there are plenty of rising conferences that have consistently improved over the past few years. Of those conferences, the Ivy League stands out as a legitimate contender in comparison to their Power Five opponents as programs like Columbia and Penn have begun to see a higher level of competition. But there is one team that has consistently stood out as a top threat year-in and year-out. That team is the Princeton Tigers.

The fall of 2016 would be a season filled with surprises and learning curves. Even with Steven Sum out for the season, the Tigers were still incredibly young and would rely on the experience of older guys like William Paulson, Noah Kauppila, and Will Bertrand to guide them through the season.

Princeton would begin their cross country competition at the Harvard, Yale, Princeton tri-meet (HYP). Yale's James Randon may have won on the individual side, but Princeton easily took the win with a score of 23 points. 

After sending a few of the younger guys to Paul Short, the Tigers toed the line at the Wisconsin Invite for their first big challenge of the season. Unfortunately, the challenge would prove to be a bit too much for the Ivy League studs as they had to settle for 28th (out of 30) with only one individual cracking the top 100.

Of course, it would be ignorant not to mention who that one individual was. 

The big story of the Wisconsin Invite was seeing Princeton's true freshman Conor Lundy cruise past an elite and experienced field of competitors to place 19th in the first major collegiate invite of his career. Princeton had found themselves a true ace.

Wisconsin may have been a struggle, but the Tiger shifted their focus to Heps as they looked to pull off an upset over Penn and show off their new and exciting low-stick (Lundy). When the score was tallied, Penn did end up with the conference title. However, Princeton put together a strong performance with a runner-up finish (13 points back). In fact, Princeton actually outscored Penn through 4 men (25 to 26), but faltered at the 5th man spot as Noah Kauppila fell to 26th overall.

The final meet of the season would be the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships as the Tigers looked to improve upon their impressive Heps performance...and they did just that! The Tigers would get their revenge over Penn by placing 3rd overall behind Georgetown and Navy. Of Princeton's top five, three of them were freshmen which would end up being the difference maker in the results as the Tigers went 3, 9, 18, 22, and 45th with the last scorer being the outlier in the scoring equation. Of course, the biggest factor to consider was that William Paulson didn't run at regionals. Was it due to an injury or a coach's decision? The answer is still unclear.

Their season may have ended early, but there was a lot to be proud of. Princeton thrived with a majority of their scorers being freshmen, Paulson not running at regionals, and Sum being out for the entire season. The odds were stacked against the Tigers, but they surpassed expectations.

So where does this leave Princeton in 2017?

We can first look at the rising sophomores who will make up a majority of this squad. Conor Lundy is a legitimate low-stick who has had an impact far beyond his Wisconsin Invite race. He will be followed by a returner in Steven Sum who may not have run in 2016, but had notable performances two years ago when he placed 24th at the 2015 Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. His third year with the Tigers should allow him to have a strong base to compete at the top level.

Viraj Deokar is another rising name who showed very solid progress throughout 2016 as he eventually worked his way into the scoring five. 

The more experienced guys like Noah Kauppila and William Paulson will be nice support pieces for a team that still has a lot to learn and improve upon. It's important that we keep a close eye on Paulson who is coming off of a breakout spring track season where he defeated Drew Hunter and ran a personal best of 3:42 in the 1500. If that fitness translates over to the cross country course, then Princeton could have another dangerous low-stick in their lineup. 

Princeton's projected scoring five is an impressive group, but the depth behind them is equally as talented. Guys such as Garrett O'Toole, Jeremy Spieizo, and Gannon Willcutts have all shown signs of promise and could continue to develop their fitness in an effort to join the scoring five. Even if they don't, they'll still be solid individuals to have in their pool of depth. 

It will be an exciting year for the Tigers as they are set to build on what was a very solid 2016. The younger guys have plenty of upside and will only improve thanks to their familiarity with the program. The addition of Steven Sum back to the lineup is also a huge boost. 

The Ivy League is wide open in 2017 and is Princeton's to lose. The same goes for the Mid-Atlantic region with Georgetown appearing as the only threat to a team title. In regards to their team structure, the Tigers have all of the necessary pieces they need to be successful. Now, they need to capitalize on their maturing underclassmen and the seniors that they do have. If they can build enough momentum throughout the season, then watch out for this team at NCAA's.

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