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KEY
(Wasn’t Ranked) Was not ranked the week before.
(#/#)
First number indicates how much the team has moved in the rankings.
The second number indicates where that team was ranked the week before.
25. Washington State Cougars (0/25)
The WSU men held a home meet (where they were the only team) for a 6k race. Six of their men were under the 18 minute mark with Nathan Wadhwani taking the win 17:33. It's nothing special, but it shows that they are healthy and in-shape.
Still no sign of transfer Wesley Kirui though...
24. Air Force Falcons (Wasn't Ranked)
I suppose we owe the Air Force men an apology. They were snubbed from a Preseason Top 25 spot after simply being overlooked on our end. Whoops...
The Wyoming Invite was a difficult race to gauge. However, it seemed clear that the Falcons were not ready to go all out just yet. Davey and Bilvado settled for 7th and 8th while Trevor Siniscalchi was the top team finisher in 6th. Having Siniscalchi near the top group should be an encouraging result after racing only twice last fall. Could he be the replacement for recent graduate Andrew Johnston? It's very possible.
23. Georgetown Hoyas (0/23)
The Hoyas ran their B squad at Spiked Shoe, so we weren't able to see any of their top five in action (yet). We will likely see that group at the Wisconsin Invite.
22. Washington Huskies (0/22)
We didn't see most of the Huskies top runners at the Sundodger Invite, although Tibebu Proctor and Andy Snyder did toe the line. Admittedly, their performance was underwhelming as Proctor placed 8th and Snyder placed 23rd. However, I think it's fair to say that this was a conservative effort and nothing to take too seriously.
21. Arkansas Razorbacks (0/21)
20. Charlotte 49ers (0/20)
19. NC State Wolfpack (0/19)
18. Ole Miss Rebels (0/18)
We didn't see the Rebels top lineup at the Auburn Invite, although Michael Coccia and Cade Bethmann looked good after finishing 2nd and 3rd behind Tennessee's Zach Long. The Rebels took the win by four points over 6000 meters.
Freshman Dalton Hengst was 10th in his college debut and although we had him as a projected top five scorer, we still think that's possible. The season is young and this is his first collegiate race ever.
17. Virginia Cavaliers (0/17)
16. Oregon Ducks (0/16)
The Ducks comfortably took the win at the Oregon XC Preview with West and Mestler finishing 1-2. Haney placed 4th, Thomet was 6th, and Jack Yearian rounded out the scoring in 9th.
However, both Teare (5th) and Brown (11th) were running unattached. Does that mean they'll be redshirting this season? If so, the Ducks may be forfeiting any major success over the next three months. With Maton no longer in the equation and Austin Tomagno not in the lineup, Coach Thomas will have very limited resources as he attempts to reconstruct a squad capable of qualifying for Nationals.
15. Colorado State Rams (0/15)
The Rams handled business at the Wyoming Invite and did so without running all-out. Hamer, Rockhold, and Barton took 2nd, 3rd, and 4th while Hume and Powell finished 11th and 12th. There's not a whole lot to talk about, but Barton looks like he'll be that key fifth scorer for Colorado State this fall.
14. Furman Paladin (0/14)
13. Texas Longhorns (0/13)
12. Syracuse Orange (0/12)
They cruised through the Spiked Shoe Invite without Aidan Tooker by taking spots two through five, 7th, and 9th. There were a few key freshmen not the in the lineup (Lawler and Witkowicz), but it's still possible that they make an appearance later this fall.
11. Campbell Camels (0/11)
10. UCLA Bruins (0/10)
9. Boise State Broncos (0/9)
The Broncos season opener at the Sundodger Invite produced a number of exciting results. They took the top seven spots as well as 9th and 11th. Yusuke Uchikoshi was the top finisher, sophomore Ahmed Muhumed was close behind in 2nd, Elijah Armstrong looks like he hasn't lost any fitness with his 3rd place finish, and the rest of the lineup appears to be healthy.
It was basically a race against teammates, but there is a lot to like if you're a Boise State fan right now.
8. Wisconsin Badgers (0/8)
7. Colorado Buffaloes (0/7)
The Wyoming Invite was just an easy rust-buster for the Buffs who only ran Ethan Gonzales from their projected scoring five. The rest of the team was scattered throughout the field. Take these results with a grain of salt.
6. Portland Pilots (0/6)
They didn't run their top runners at the Oregon XC Preview, but Stuart McCallum looked strong with his 3rd place finish. Is he someone who will contend for a top seven spot in Portland's lineup?
5. Alabama Crimson Tide (0/5)
4. Iowa State Cyclones (0/4)
The Hawkeye Invite told us a lot about this squad.
It looks like Coach Martin Smith will run freshman superstar Chad Johnson this year and opt to not redshirt him. It looks like the Cyclones believe that he could be a key scorer this season.
Thomas Pollard finished 19th overall, 12 spots back from the next Iowa State finisher. That's not a great sign for someone who is expected to be a key scorer, but it's so early in the season and there is plenty of rust to shake off. I'm not too concerned about that finish.
We didn't see Milo Greder race, so hopefully he isn't injured. Maybe he's taking a redshirt season? All of that is speculation, so we won't truly know for another two weeks.
Overall, the depth is there for Iowa State everyone seems healthy (for the most part).
3. Stanford Cardinal (0/3)
Thomas Ratcliffe is back and healthy. That's a HUGE sign for the Cardinal as they attempt to build even more firepower. The men of Stanford used the San Francisco Invite as a workout, but we didn't see any of their top runners toe the line (unless you want to include Ratcliffe).
2. BYU Cougars (0/2)
1. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (0/1)
The George Kyte Classic simply told us that the Northern Arizona men are fit and that Peter Lomong is looking to make a statement. The 8th place finisher from last year took the win with his teammates close behind.
ADDED
Air Force Falcons (#24)
KICKED OFF
Southern Utah Thunderbirds (#24)
JUST MISS (in no order)
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders
Illinois Fighting Illini'
Butler Bulldogs
Army Black Knights
Michigan State Spartans
Villanova Wildcats
Utah State Aggies
Princeton Tigers
WHO TO WATCH (in no order)
Indiana Hoosiers
Columbia Lions
Purdue Boilermakers
Michigan Wolverines
SURPRISE OF THE WEEK
Ohio Bobcats
The Bobcats pulled off a big win over the Kentucky men at the Bluegrass Invite. To beat a Power Five team in your season opener on their home turf has to be an exciting feeling if you're on that Ohio team. It doesn't mean a whole lot from a Kolas perspective, but kudos are in order.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Syracuse Orange
They didn't have Tooker and a handful of star freshmen. That, of course, didn't matter. They absolutely dominated the competition at the Spiked Shoe Invite. Granted, the field wasn't insanely strong, but it shows that the Orange are ready to go for the 2018 season.
NOTES
We didn't find out about the transfers to Oklahoma State and Middle Tennessee State until halfway through our preseason rankings. However, we will hold them out of our Top 25 until we see that they are as good as they are expected to be.