TSR's "If Everything Was Normal" D2 XC Top 10 Teams (Men): #7 Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles

Plenty of seniors along with a couple of new faces make this year’s Southern Indiana team one to watch. The Screaming Eagles have added former North Central College runner Braden Nicholson (now a sophomore), former Indiana State runner Noah Hufnagel (now a junior) and incoming freshman Silas Winders, the brother of Titus Winders who was a Foot Locker national qualifier in the fall of 2019.

Those three athletes, paired with a stud low-stick and a handful of returners, should help this team emerge as one of the competitive programs in the nation despite losing veterans talents like Austin Nolan, Nathan Hall and Javan Winders.

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When talking about Southern Indiana, we have to start with the highly versatile Titus Winders. The USI ace has made consistent improvements throughout his college career and his 2019 cross country season was solid from top to bottom.

Last fall, Winders finished 4th at the Lewis Crossover, won both the GLVC Championships and secured the Midwest regional title. Oh, and he finished 13th at the NCAA Championships which made him a back-to-back All-American, the first for Southern Indiana since 2015.

The loss of low-stick Austin Nolan is tough, but Winders has been able to deliver on national stages and he provides an extremely valuable spark to the front portion of this lineup.

Noah Hufnagel, a transfer from nearby Indiana State, come to Evansville with a boatload of experience. He has competed at top Division One meets such as Pre-Nationals, Joe Piane and the John McNichols Invite. On the track, he was a top-eight runner across 10,000 meters in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The talent is clearly there for Hufnagel who owns a personal best of 14:48 for 5000 meters. He will benefit from a new start and likely improve now that he gets to train next to the Winders brothers day-in and day-out.

Braden Nicholson is another big get for the Southern Indiana men as he had the top times for the 3000 meters (8:27) and 5000 meters (14:37) amongst all freshmen in Division III last winter.

Due to North Central’s insane depth, Nicholson did not get to make much of an impact during the cross country season. However, by the time track rolled around, he showed the nation that he was someone with a ton of potential. The promising results that we saw from someone as young as himself tells us that he could be major contributor for this team whenever this group returns to competition.

Finally, we have Silas Winders. We already touched on the fact that he was a Foot Locker national qualifier in high school and given the success that we've seen from his brother Titus, the future looks awfully bright for this youngster.

Personal bests of 8:57 (3200) and 14:29 (5k) could not only make him a scorer for this team, but also a true low-stick as he would have been a realistic All-American candidate next to his brother Titus this fall if the national meet hadn't been cancelled.

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Now, let's talk about the returners.

Wyatt Harmon was a consistent runner for the Eagles last fall as he offered a steady presence in USI's lineup. His best finish during last fall was a 19th place finish at the GLVC Championships which complemented his 33rd place finish at the Trevecca Nazarene Showcase.

However, it was the indoor track season that was the most generous to the Fredericktown, Ohio native as he secured a quietly respectable personal best of 14:31 for 5000 meters.

We then have Gavin Prior who broke through last cross country season, setting new personal bests in the 6k, 8k and 10k. He finished a very respectable 22nd place at the Trevecca Nazarene Showcase to emerge as USI’s final scorer. That result allowed the Eagles to beat top D2 programs such as Charleston (W.V.), Lee (Tenn.), and UC-Colorado Springs.

A 24th place finish at the Lewis Crossover meet as well as a 14th place finish at the GLVC Championships were also very strong results. His 163rd place finish at the NCAA Championships wasn't ideal, but for the most part, Prior had a great 2019 cross country season and proved to be a very valuable scorer.

As for Grady Wilkinson, he kicked off his season with a 5th place finish at the Stegmoller Classic. After that, he had a good (but not great) season as he was the Eagles fourth man at the Trevecca Nazarene Invite, earning an 18th place finish. He faltered a bit in the postseason, but if he can replicate his best performances on a more consistent basis, then this USI team could be sneaky good.

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With a bunch of newcomers, USI is expecting big things when racing resumes. Titus Winders is an established front-runner while Silas Winders, Braden Nicholson and Noah Hufnagel are all capable of giving this lineup a major spark in scoring potency.

Between that group and a promising contingent of returners, there is plenty to look forward to if you are a fan of Southern Indiana