New Coach Check-In (Part Two)

Read Part One Here

Ricardo Santos (Stanford men)

The Stanford men have always been loaded with elite talent.

Part of that is simply because Stanford is a top-tier academic institution and that alone is enough to attract some of the best high school prospects in the nation. The academic rigor paired with the incredible recruiting efforts from former coach Chris Miltenberg are likely why the Cardinal men have been able to establish themselves as a powerhouse program over the years.

But now Miltenberg is at Chapel Hill and Ricardo Santos, the former coach of the Iona Gaels and the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) professional group, has taken on the challenge of sustaining (and extending) Stanford's decades of success.

Expectations were high for the Stanford men coming into this past cross country season. Yes, the team did lose Grant Fisher to graduation, but a group of four potential All-Americans and a handful of top recruits suggested that the Cardinal could give a team like NAU a run for their money (or so we thought).

However, Stanford's inconsistencies were too much to overcome last fall. Their top four never ran well on the same day and their depth - while solid - never produced a breakout scorer who could offer extra scoring potency. The Cardinal men finished in 6th place at the 2019 NCAA XC Championships in what was truthfully a disappointing finish considering the expectations placed on them in the summer months.

The ensuring indoor season had it's highs and lows. Alex Ostberg lit the track on fire with a new 7:49 3k personal best while Stanford's DMR also qualified for the National Championships. Meanwhile, numerous underclassmen posted some encouraging marks in nearly every distance event.

On the flip side, Ostberg was the only individual distance runner that Stanford qualified for the national meet. Thomas Ratcliffe, who started his season out with a 4:00 mile PR, ultimately sat out for the rest of the season with a presumed injury.

I'd be lying if I said that the cross country season wasn't disappointing. The Cardinal struggled to find consistency and although they posted some impressive performances, their postseason woes were noticeable.

It would be easy to point blame at Santos, but many people may have forgotten that the Stanford coaching staff was finalized just as the cross country season was beginning. Santos moved across the country, was hastily assigned a roster (albeit, a talented one) and was expected to have them contending for a national title in three months time.

That's easier said than done.

The good news is that this team is VERY young and the untapped talent that this group has could make Stanford an equivalent of present-day Oregon two or three years from now. However, Santos' ability to maintain Miltenberg's recruiting success will be a key development to watch over the next few years.

Andy Powell (Washington men) + Ben Thomas (Oregon men)

Truthfully, I don't think we can talk about one without the other. When the Powell's opted to move their life to Seattle and begin coaching the Washington Huskies, they sent the rest of the NCAA into a frenzy. The distance coaching job at Oregon was the Holy Grail of track and field job openings and it's shocking availability had a ripple effect on coaching jobs everywhere.

Eventually, it was announced that Ben Thomas would take the coaching role, and it was easy to see why. The former Virginia Tech distance coach was coming off of an indoor season where he produced three All-American milers and a national title-winning DMR. When you add in a handful of talented long distance individuals such as Thomas Curtin as well as a young Peter Seufer, it became clear that Thomas' resume was primed to be picked from the pile.

Fast forward to now and we are nearing the second anniversary of the Powell/Thomas hires.

The results? Wildly encouraging to say the least.

Many thought it would take time for Powell to develop the Washington Huskies into a powerhouse program like Oregon. However, in his first season with the team, Powell helped the men in purple and gold finish 6th at the 2018 NCAA XC Championships. After a handful of track seasons that were headlined by Mick Stanovsek's continued excellence in the mile as well as a handful of strong steeplechase performances, Powell went into the summer in search of more star power. He finalized one of the best distance recruiting classes of the decade and added transfers such as Andrew Jordan, Jack Rowe and Sam Ritz.

However, the following was cross country season was shockingly underwhelming. The Huskies went from a podium contender to a team that lacked firepower and had shaky depth. Injury rumors and delayed starts hampered what was supposed to be a program-defining cross country season.

Luckily, the Huskies would quickly rebound in the winter. Powell added D2 mile champion Dustin Nading to his roster and immediately made him a sub-four miler. Sam Tanner continued to be a promising young star with a handful of impressive 1500/mile performances, Mick Stanovsek looked composed as ever in the latter portion of the season, and Jack Rowe qualified for Nationals in the deepest 3k field that the NCAA has ever seen.

As for Oregon, their first year under Ben Thomas was plenty encouraging. The Ducks finished 15th at the NCAA XC Championships, recorded five sub-four minute milers during the winter season and extended that success into the spring track season. When it came to their offseason operations, Oregon had secured a pair of the best distance recruits in the country (Cole Hocker and Luis Peralta) as well as Noah Affolder, a transfer from Syracuse.

Unlike Washington, Oregon's 2019 cross country season was exceptional. Despite losing Affolder to an injury, the Ducks still rallied to become one of best teams in the country, eventually finishing 9th at the NCAA XC Championships.

And this past indoor season? Well, it may have been one of the best indoor track seasons by a distance team ever. Peralta and Hocker shined as true freshmen, James West looked like one of the best all-around distance runners in the country, Teare looked like he could have won a national title, Charlie Hunter ran 3:55 for the mile, Mestler recorded a huge personal best of 13:36 for the 5000 meters AND their DMR set a new national record.

As we look to the future, it's hard to argue against the idea that both teams are somehow in better places than they once were. Washington has clearly elevated into the upper-echelon of collegiate distance running while Oregon has somehow become even better than they once were (which is hard to fathom). Powell has shown that he doesn't need the Oregon branding to be a successful recruiter while Thomas has shown that his magical 2018 indoor season with Virginia Tech wasn't just a fluke.

In the end, the craziest coaching change in recent memory turned out to be wildly beneficial both for teams...and rarely does that ever happen.

Vin Lananna (Virginia men and women)

The surprising retirement from coach Bryan Fetzer this past summer left a highly desirable head coaching position open at the University of Virginia. However, no one could have predicted that Vin Lananna would be Fetzer's replacement.

Lananna's success as a coach deserves it's own article, although his career is highlighted by the five national titles he won at Oregon (two men's cross country national titles, three women's indoor track national titles). A massively influential leader in American track and field, Lananna is a bombshell hire who has the ability to drastically bolster any program he enters.

Primarily a distance coach, Lananna now oversees the training plans of his athletes and already, the men's team has made notable improvements.

After failing to qualify for the NCAA XC Championships in 2018 following the departure of distance coach Pete Watson, Lananna gave the Cavaliers some life this past fall. The UVA men slowly improved throughout the season and ended up finishing 20th at the National Championships, sporting some of the best depth and pack running in the entire NCAA that season.

The following indoor season was where top individuals shined as AJ Ernst ran 3:59 for the mile while Ari Klau ran an outstanding 7:51 for 3000 meters.

The women's team, however, continues to be in the rebuilding stages. They finished 9th at the ACC XC Championships back in 2018 and dropped to 11th this past fall.

For a team that was once the definition of consistency and success in the Southeast region, the Virginia women have taken a major tumble in the recent years. A revival won't happen overnight and a rapidly improving ACC conference won't make their lives any easier.

However, if anyone is capable of rebuilding a team, it is likely Lananna.

Brien Bell (Syracuse men)

When coach Chris Fox left Syracuse to oversee the Reebok Track Club, his obvious replacement was Brien Bell. The assistant-turned-head coach was with Fox and Syracuse from the very beginning of their assent to the top of the NCAA distance ranks. Over the years, Bell spearheaded recruiting impressive efforts and became a beloved figure on the team.

Since taking over the men's distance group, Bell has produced mixed results. Some may look back at the 2018 cross country season and see that the Orange men finished 26th at the National Championships that year. However, Syracuse was truthfully better than what that result says and had shown plenty of consistency throughout most of that fall.

After an indoor track season headlined by strong mile races from Aidan Tooker and solid results from a handful of youngsters, it was veteran Ilias Aouani who was the star for Syracuse on the outdoor oval, dominating the 5k and 10k distances.

There was plenty to like about the first year of Bell's tenure, but the 2019-2020 academic calendar wasn't as friendly. In cross country, the Syracuse men would cruise through the Battle in Beantown, but posted an atrocious finish at the Nuttycombe Invite. They suddenly came back to shock Notre Dame and win the ACC title, but placed an uninspiring 27th place at the NCAA XC Championships.

Truthfully, it's hard to get a gauge on this Syracuse team. They're clearly incredibly talented, but consistency has been an issue for them. Aidan Tooker is an ACC superstar, but he also can't seem to stay healthy. Their roster has plenty of depth, but where their future firepower will come from is still unclear.

There are certain aspects of this program that may need some tweaks going forward, but you can be rest assured that Bell will "take care of business".