The Group Chat: Regular Season Review (Part One)

As we move into conference championships, we asked a few of our TSR contributors to give their thoughts on the cross country regular season. Part Two coming tomorrow...

What was your biggest takeaway from the Oklahoma State Invitational?

Maura: The BYU women are not messing around. Considering that the Cougars have not raced since the indoor track season, their women's team put together a dominating win at the Oklahoma State Invitational.

Whittni Orton finished where she was expected to (in 1st place), but the fact that there were five other Cougars in the top-10 shows us that these women aren’t lacking depth after the graduation of top scorers from last year's NCAA runner-up team.

The underclassmen did a really good job of holding their own. Sophomores Aubrey Frentheway (3rd) and Sophie Lasswell (10th) ran very well while freshmen Lexy Halladay (6th) and Anna Martin (13th) proved to be great additions to the veteran duo of Whittni Orton (1st) and Anna Camp-Bennett (7th).

Simply put, there are just a lot of great scoring options for this team moving forward.

Eric: The women from Southern Utah came ready to rumble this past weekend. Taking home a runner-up finish (and only seven points behind an unattached Colorado team if you include them in the scoring) on a future championship course says something about the mindset and training that coach Eric Houle has instilled in the Thunderbirds.

A top-five individual finish from senior Alison Pray will go unnoticed, but it should be considered as one of the better races of her career. Rounding out the scoring for SUU were Juliet Navarrete-Lamas, Raquel Chavez, Madisan Debos and Madison Fruchey. With a senior laden group, the T-Birds finally got a chance to prove themselves as they are often overshadowed by NAU in the BIG Sky.

Garrett: My biggest takeaway is that the BYU men are actually closer to the NAU men than we initially thought. When you factor in Clayson Shumway and score an unattached Colorado team in the final results, you’ll find that the Cougars were only seven points away from the Lumberjacks, and that was with a very unimpressive backend (in terms of scoring).

BYU is a historically deep team and I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t be able to improve the second-half of their lineup in future races. They didn’t run Boise State transfer Elijah Armstrong nor Matt Owens. Plus, Brandon Garnica didn’t have his best day.

Sure, Northern Arizona will also be better in the future, but I think the BYU men have more to gain from their future varsity adjustments compared to NAU’s future varsity adjustments.

Brian: Luis Grijalva looks confident in his revenge season. After a disappointing ending to his junior campaign where he finished 52nd at the National Championships, Grijalva looks to be carrying over the success he had during indoors into this altered cross country season.

Grijalva was able to beat out Conner Mantz -- a guy who finished 3rd last year at last year's national meet. Grijalva, a 13:29 5k runner, looks to be one of the top talents in the country and should be the low-stick for the 'Jacks in any future race.

Ben: I agree with Garrett about the BYU men. Their top three this year looks as good as any other team in the country which should give them a chance to defend their title and beat NAU once again.

Another team that really impressed me was the Oklahoma State men who proved that they are legit this past weekend. They had a strong performance against Iowa State a few weeks ago, but finishing right behind NAU and BYU (if you include Clayson Shumway) proves that they deserve to be a top 10 team when the real cross country season starts again.

Victor Shitsama, Alex Maier and Ryan Schoppe have been invaluable for the Cowboys and have performed at a way higher level than I ever expected. I want to see them race on a course that is not in Stillwater before I make any huge proclamations, but they have been the biggest surprise of the season so far. This is still a top-heavy team, but they have the pieces to sneak into the podium conversation.

Michael: I couldn't agree more with what Ben said about Oklahoma State. This is a team that did not send any men to the National Championships last fall, but they held their own against the top two teams in the nation this past weekend.

Isai Rodriguez looked a lot more like he did when he took 4th place at NCAA’s in 2018 as a redshirt freshman. Having Rodriguez back as a low-stick contender will be huge for the Cowboys and their next three guys -- Alex Maier, Victor Shitsama and Ryan Smeeton -- looked great finishing together. Add in true freshman Ryan Schoppe, and OSU has a top five that can compete with the best of the best in the NCAA.

Based on what you have seen so far this year, would you consider the Arkansas men and/or Arkansas women favorites for the podium during a normal season?

Maura: I’m not sold on the Arkansas men just yet after seeing the performances of Northern Arizona, BYU and Oklahoma State this past weekend. It's also hard to forget about the potential firepower that Notre Dame may have or the experience, consistency and depth that Tulsa has.

Amon Kemboi making his debut for Arkansas and picking up the win at the UAB Blazer Classic is promising, but there are still some questions that the Razorbacks will need to tackle.

Can Emmanuel Cheboson continue to be the top-runner that we know he is? How will they handle stronger competition that isn't Ole Miss? Can they replicate this success on the national stage? If this were a normal year, Arkansas could definitely contend for a podium finish, but the teams that they would have to take down would pose a significant challenge.

As for the Lady Razorbacks, they would definitely be a favorite for making the podium. Although we haven’t gotten the chance to see what Stanford or New Mexico looks like, the race between NC State, BYU, Arkansas, Stanford and New Mexico would make for an exciting NCAA Championship.

Lauren Gregory appears to be healthy. Logan Morris has adapted well to coach Lance Harter’s training philosophy. Abby Gray appears to have made a significant improvement in her fitness. Taylor Ewert and Core Smith are proving to be two of the best true freshmen in the NCAA (granted only a few true freshmen have competed). Krissy Gear seems to offer great depth and scoring stability.

At the end of last season, many of us thought that this was going to be a rebuilding year for Arkansas. However, they picked up right where they left off after winning NCAA’s last fall and I think calling them podium favorites is fair.

Eric: Yes, the Arkansas men are stacked, but are they as stacked as Northern Arizona? Or BYU? Or recently Oklahoma State?

With not a lot of solid National Championship results over the past couple of years (i.e. 2018 and 2019), I am a little hesitant about how they'll perform at the next national meet. Other than Kemboi, no one in their top seven from this past weekend has finished in the top-100 spots at the NCAA Championships.

I would argue that the women have a better shot than the men due to a variety of factors. They have a healthy Lauren Gregory, have had great production from Logan Morris and Abby Gray and now have the "plug-and-play" ability exhibited by true freshmen Corie Smith and Taylor Ewert. They also have Krissy Gear who has proven to be a reliable scorer as well.

This team has left no doubt in my mind that they could be a podium team if everyone races the way that they should at the NCAA meet against the likes of Stanford, NC State, BYU and New Mexico. They have just steamrolled teams throughout the south this season.

It's too bad they didn’t go to a meet that allowed them to showcase their true ability against the best of the best...like the Oklahoma State Invitational.

Garrett: I think both teams could be on the podium during a normal season, but whether or not they are podium favorites is a different question. I would consider the men’s team to be favorites for the podium, but I’m not quite sure I would put the women in that category just yet.

The men’s squad is loaded with firepower and even the backend of their varsity lineup consists of highly-ranked individuals. They just have too much talent and they have taken down a strong Ole Miss squad (rather convincingly) on two separate occasions this season.

Concerns about consistency and cohesiveness as a varsity unit have (so far) been non-factors during this altered season. I would say that they could be just as competitive as Tulsa, Notre Dame, a fully-stacked Colorado team and a rising Oklahoma State squad during a normal year.

As for the women, it’s not that I don’t think they could make the podium -- because they are certainly talented enough to do so. However, when Stanford, NC State and New Mexico are at their best, I’m not sure I see the Arkansas women taking them down. Plus, I think there is still a lot of scary scoring potential that we could see from Michigan and a handful of other programs.

The Razorbacks have run incredibly well on the women’s side this fall, but they’ve been relying on a few inexperienced freshmen to be scorers and haven’t really taken down any teams that have impressed me this season. Sure, they beat Florida State recently, but the ‘Noles haven’t looked anything like the team that we expected them to be (although they haven’t had all of their weapons this season).

Are the Arkansas women podium contenders? Yes. Are they favorites for the podium? No, I’m not there quite yet.

Brian: This revamped Arkansas men’s team looks dangerous and they should be considered a top team in the NCAA. While I do agree that they might not be of the same caliber as NAU or BYU, the Razorbacks have a crazy amount of top talent with some serious low-sticks.

Bringing in Amon Kemboi has already proven to be incredibly valuable as he was able to edge out stiff competition from Ole Miss (and fellow teammate Cheboson) last Friday to take home the overall win at the UAB Blazer Classic. However, the biggest difference I see for this Razorback team is their depth. With a 15 second time spread between their top six and a 25 second time spread between their top seven, their top five runners could have a healthy rotation of scoring options at each meet.

I would not be shocked to see an Arkansas team on the podium beating out the Notre Dames of the world within the NCAA.

As for the Arkansas women, they are the clear team to beat in the SEC, but I need to see a little bit more out of them before I call them a lock to land on the podium.

Although Lauren Gregory is primed and ready to go this year, I’m not positive she is the ultimate low-stick that the Razorbacks would need come NCAA’s. Her national meet results are lackluster and don’t provide me with the necessary confidence to push the Lady Razorbacks into my top four...at least not yet. I think the key for this team will be having consistent low-sticks.

That and I just need more time before I push the Razorbacks into my contender category.

Ben: Similar to almost everyone else, I do not see the Arkansas women as podium favorites yet. They lack the top-end scoring that they have had in years past as shown by their performances so far this year. Their depth is incredible, but they do not have a Taylor Werner or Katie Izzo-type of runner winning big meets. This could change, but for now, they are a top-10 team with incredible depth that has the potential to get into the podium conversation.

As for the men, I think they have to be considered podium favorites. We knew what we would get from Amon Kemboi, and he has delivered as a top-tier low stick. However, Emmaneul Cheboson’s performances are what has taken this team to a new level. He has always had the talent, but he is putting it together consistently and running right behind Kemboi which gives the Razorbacks two guys in the front pack of pretty much every race they toe the line for.

Their depth has also been a bit of a surprise. Andrew Kibet has stepped in and looks like a valuable scorer while Luke Meade is running better than he ever has before. Add in Jacob McLeod and Matt Young (who have the potential to be All-Americans in my eyes) and you have a really well-rounded squad that has to be seen as the third or fourth best team in the country (depending on your views of Oklahoma State).

Michael: I’m not ready to say that the Arkansas women are podium favorites at this point. The Razorbacks looked strong at the Blazer Classic this past weekend with all five of their scorers finishing in the top-12. However, the competition they were facing was not up to the standard that they will face at the NCAA Championships.

It is clear that Arkansas has a strong team this year, but I think they are missing some key pieces to get on the podium. The Razorback women could use someone capable of going out and contending for an individual title (or at least a top finish) and therefore driving their team score down.

By the time we see this team line up at a NCAA Championships, it is possible that someone like Lauren Gregory will be more equipped to fill that role. But for right now, Arkansas isn’t quite there when it comes to the podium conversation.

The Arkansas men also looked very strong at the Blazer Classic. Based on their showing, I would include them in the conversation to make the podium at NCAA’s. Favorites? Not necessarily, as we haven’t seen what they can do in a bigger meet and some top teams still have not seen any action this fall.

However, basing this solely on what we have seen so far, Arkansas is shaping up to be one of the best teams in the NCAA. Amon Kemboi has immediately made his presence known as a title contender and his history is hard to ignore as he has finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Championships twice before. With many of the guys who have finished ahead of him previously gone, Kemboi will be in the conversation to win it all one way or another.

This past weekend, Arkansas' top five men crossed the line with a 13 second time spread at the Blazer Classic, showing that they have the depth to get on the podium (even if this was a smaller field than what they will face at NCAA’s).

With a very eventful offseason, Arkansas has put together a team capable of disrupting the top few teams that we are used to seeing at the national level.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how surprised have you been by the success that the Georgia Tech women have had this season?

Maura: The Georgia Tech women have to be a 9 out of 10.

Earlier in the fall, I was convinced that the Florida State women were going to do something big, but I haven’t been blown away by their performances. Rather, the Georgia Tech women have been the ones putting together three solid races.

Winning the Mountain Dew Gator XC Invitational was a great way to start the season for the Yellow Jackets as they scored five fewer points than a limited FSU squad. A 3rd place finish at the Florida State Invitational could’ve been improved upon if front-runner Nicole Fegans had finished. Finally, just this past weekend, Georgia Tech took home a 2nd place finish, pulling ahead of FSU and Ole Miss at the Blazer Classic.

In 2018, Georgia Tech qualified for NCAA's and finished 28th overall. Four of the seven women from that team are back this fall and are proving that they could shake things up if we have a winter cross country season.

Eric: It's also a 9 out of 10 from me. Besides Nicole Fegans, I was not too privy to the rest of the Yellow Jacket lineup coming into this season. However, Mary Kathryn Knott, Claire Moritz, Liz Galarza and Hannah Petit have made themselves known as they have taken down Florida State multiple times this year. Finishing as the runner-up team at the UAB Blazer Classic, Georgia Tech is moving in the right direction as they prepare to take on their largest possible field to date at the ACC Championships.

Garrett: I’ll go with a 7. I’ve always thought this roster was sneaky good and I really like Nicole Fegans, but by no means did I think they would be running as well as they have been. Maura brings up a great stat that four of their top seven from that 2018 NCAA Championship team are back for this season. I think that experience is clearly benefiting this squad, specifically at the backend of their lineup. Major props to coaches Alan Drosky and Becky Megesi for their development of this team over the past few years.

Brian: This might be low, but I’ll stick with a 6 out of 10. The reason behind me giving them a 6 is because this Georgia Tech team returned their entire top six from last year's team which finished 4th at the South Regional Championships.

The Yellow Jackets look confident and have legitimately challenged a Florida State team that has been essentially untouched in the region over the last few years. What I like about this Georgia Tech team is their depth and close pack. They have a true low-stick in Fegans, but the close group of scorers behind her could allow them to be a dangerous team as the season progresses.

Overall, I don’t think I would have expected the Yellow Jackets to exceed expectations by this much, but I'm not shocked to see them churning out great performances.

Ben: I will go with 7 out of 10. Nicole Fegans, as mentioned, gives this team a potent front-runner, but, just like the Oklahoma State men, I did not expect to see the rest of their lineup progress as well as they have so far. But like Brian said, this team returned plenty of women from last year's lineup, so it should not be a massive surprise that their continuity is paying off.

Michael: I’ll follow Brian’s lead and give Georgia Tech a 6. Seeing the Yellow Jackets show up and run such a strong race is not something I would have necessarily predicted, but they are not punching above their level. This is an experienced team that has had success and has run at NCAA’s in the past, and I think things are finally coming together for them.

It’s important to give credit to a team that has been on the fringe for a couple years now and has clearly made a jump to another level this season.