The Group Chat: Exchange Zone (Part Two)

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Who has the brighter future? Patrick Kiprop at Arkansas or Kelvin Bungei at Iowa State?

Maura: This is a hard question to answer given the success that both Arkansas and Iowa State have had with their transfers. But since Garrett is making me choose, Kelvin Bungei has my vote.

Bungei has seen plenty of success while competing at the NJCAA level for Iowa Central College, highlighted by three NJCAA Championship titles and numerous top-five finishes. The newest Cyclone standout has the chance to develop his talent in any event from the 1500 meters up to the 5000 meters. Heck, that even includes the steeplechase!

Given his fit within this roster and the versatility that he brings to the table, I'm going with Bungei, but it's a narrow decision.

Gavin: While Kiprop has the faster marks, Bungei’s proven success at JUCO national meets has me inclined to go with him. Bungei’s resume isn’t quite as impressive as the Cyclones’ last JUCO pickup, Wesley Kiptoo, but he can be a force on the grass for an annual podium contending team.

Although he’s won NJCAA titles in the 1500 meters and the steeplechase, his personal bests (3:55 and 9:09) are a ways from contending at the D1 level.

That said, I’m going to assume that his times catch up to his championship pedigree at one of the top distance programs of the D1 level.

Garrett: I like Bungei a lot. I think he can be a scary-good name at Iowa State and eventually evolve into an All-American talent. He fits in perfectly with what the Cyclones are trying to do.

That said, I think I actually like Kiprop better in this situation.

The newest Arkansas distance talent was easily one of the more underrated cross country runners in D2 this past fall. He secured five-straight wins on the grass, including victories at loaded meets such as the D2 Pre-Nationals Invite and the West Regional Championships.

His DNF at the national meet forced him to stay under the radar, but his talent is too good to ignore and he should be considered as someone who could emerge as an All-American cross country talent as soon as next fall.

Do the additions of Tiarnan Crorken and Shane Bracken make Ole Miss the best distance-based track roster in the NCAA? If not, who is ahead of them?

Maura: If Oregon’s Cooper Teare, Cole Hocker and Charlie Hunter had not turned professional prior to the cross country and indoor track seasons, they would’ve been my pick for the best distance roster given their accolades and personal bests.

However, with those three Ducks swimming in a different pond, Ole Miss takes the cake.

Already boasting the likes of Mario Garcia Romo, Baylor Franklin, Everett Smulders, Michael Coccia, John Rivera, Cade Bethmann, Cole Bullock, as well as summer-time transfers James Young and Cruz Culpepper, it seems fair to say that new additions like Crorken and Bracken only add more depth to the deepest middle distance roster in the NCAA.

Crorken, who boasts outdoor personal bests 1:46 (800) and 3:39 (1500), could easily team up with the Rebels and give other teams a run for their money in the DMR. He could even emerge as an individual national qualifier if he translates his past success to the indoor oval.

Bracken, meanwhile, should see an improvement upon his 3:41 personal best for 1500 meters. He could only help solidify Ole Miss as one of the best programs in the NCAA, especially in the spring, a season where he has amassed most of his accolades.

Gavin: I’m not so sure about Ole Miss as having the best distance roster. As deep and as versatile as the Rebels are, they have only four total individual D1 All-American finishes on their current roster. Three of them are from Mario Garcia Romo.

I think we’re forgetting about the team that has won five of the last six cross country national titles as a team. Northern Arizona has lost some key pieces in recent years, but I think you could make a strong case that the Lumberjacks will come away with more All-American finishes on the oval this year than the Rebels.

After all, they already have four men with sub-13:30 marks in the 5000 meters this season.

Garrett: This is a really tricky question because it depends on what you're looking for and what someone defines as the "best" distance team in the NCAA on the track.

I don't think there is a more versatile distance roster in the NCAA than what Ole Miss has and I would even go as far as saying that they may have the deepest distance roster on the track when you look at everything from the 800 meters up to the 5000 meters, including the DMR.

Even so, Northern Arizona is still a massive juggernaut and as Gavin just mentioned, they just had four men run under 13:30 for 5000 meters. The individual All-American success that the Lumberjacks have seen is more spread out on their roster compared to the Rebels.

I'll still give Ole Miss the nod here, but I could hear arguments for NAU and other teams.

What’s more likely to happen first? The Lee Flames earn a D2 national record in the DMR? Or Carson Bix earns an individual national title?

Maura: I'll go with the D2 DMR national record. The current record sits at 9:40 set by Western Oregon in 2017, but with Bix teaming up alongside star-level talents like Christian Noble and Titus Lagat, that record could fall by more than just a mere second.

With meet hosts setting up premier DMR races, the Lee Flames could find themselves lining up alongside the nation’s best and throwing down an electric performance in the distance medley relay.

Gavin: The possibility of Bix running the DMR at the national meet makes it less likely that he wins an individual national title. However, Bix, Noble and Lagat offer enough firepower to not only dip under, but smash the current DMR record.

It’s certainly possible that Bix wins a title of his own, but it seems almost probable that the Lee men could break the national record if they set their sights on it.

Garrett: Yeah, it looks like this is going to be unanimous. To be clear, it's not that Bix isn't capable of winning an individual national title this year, but his chances of breaking the D2 DMR national record are comparatively far higher.

The 3000 meters and the 5000 meters are stacked at the top of the D2 level and the mile is insanely deep as well. Could Bix take down guys like Torres, Harding, Riddle, Chada, Mutai, Julian or even his own teammate, Christian Noble? Yes, it's certainly possible.

However, you could argue that there isn't another team at the D2 level that is better suited for the DMR than the Lee Flames. Their trio of Bix, Lagat and Noble screams national record, leaving me to believe that they will run 9:39 or faster this winter.

With Ashlyn Ramos set to join the Blue Devils next fall, what more does Duke have to do to return to a national qualifying position in cross country?

NOTE: The Stride Report is working under the assumption that all cross country runners who have remaining eligibility from this past fall will return for the 2022 XC season.

Maura: The addition of Ramos to Duke will surely aid the Blue Devils. However, it is hard to know if veteran Michaela Reinhart will be returning for the 2022 cross country season (she is listed as a graduate student on Duke’s roster).

If Reinhart will be back and can pull Ramos along with her towards the front of these races, then Duke could potentially earn a bid to the NCAA Championships just like they did last March.

Not only that, but the return of a healthy Samantha Schadler could also aid in the Blue Devils' efforts to return to the national meet. A scoring trio consisting of Reinhart, Ramos and Schadler could make things very interesting.

Gavin: Ramos gives the Blue Devils another piece who can realistically improve their chances of extending their postseason endeavors. This is by virtue of Ramos having proven that she can reach the national stage as an individual (twice).

The addition of Ramos makes Duke a team to keep an eye on, but they’re not quite favorites to reach the national meet yet. After finishing 11th overall in a deep Southeast region this past fall, they’ll need the rest of their lineup to move up to qualify as a team.

One new addition can only do so much.

Garrett: It's tough to figure out just how much better Duke needs to get in order to return to the national meet. However, a rough estimate suggests that they would need to be in the top-five at the ACC XC Championships to have a legitimate shot.

Of course, the intricacies associated with the Kolas qualifying system are far more extensive than where a team finished at their conference meet.

The Duke women placed 9th at the ACC XC Championships this past fall. They were 133 points out from 5th place Notre Dame and 31 points out from 6th place Boston College.

If Ramos were to finish somewhere along the lines of 20th place at that meet, then she would have cut off about 65 points from Duke's team score and the Blue Devils would have leap-frogged the Boston College women.

However, Duke would have still been over 60 points away from taking down Notre Dame (not factoring in displacement).

To make a long story short, Ramos absolutely makes a major impact on this Duke lineup as long as all of the women with remaining cross country eligibility return for next fall. However, major improvements at the backend of their lineup or another key transfer will be necessary to help the Blue Devils qualify for the national meet come November.