This will certainly get lost during this weekend; but for those who are interested, the Big 10 cross country championships are today. My short preview:
Women's: Michigan should battle Minnesota and MSU for the title. Minnesota is actually the top ranked team in the Big 10. Michigan is missing Jessi Larson, who would have really helped the team (she's a true long-distance runner rather than a mid-distance). Michigan has a really strong top 4 with Vanderlende, Windemuller, Hart, and AA native Forsyth (for those who still live in AA, her family is one of the owners of the AA Running Company). I really think that Michigan has the strongest 4, and the title will come down to how well the 5th runner performs. I think this team will be disappointed with anything but the title.
Men's: Michigan should battle Wisconsin and Minnesota (and possibly MSU) for the title. Wisconsin is the favorite in this race. Michigan has very good depth and the spread between their top 7 runners is very small (probably the best in the field). To win, the team really needs 1-2 runners to finish very high. Their depth won't win them the race if their top 2 runners are not well placed. Devin Meyrer should have the talent and experience to be one of these "low sticks." Michigan will really be counting on some mid-distance specialists (Tom Dodd, Oli Raimond, and Nick Foster) to out perform their expectations for Michigan to win the title. Tom Brady, who would be one of their top 2 runners, has not run all season. Adding him to the lineup would be a huge boost since he's a true long-distance specialist.
Women's: Michigan should battle Minnesota and MSU for the title. Minnesota is actually the top ranked team in the Big 10. Michigan is missing Jessi Larson, who would have really helped the team (she's a true long-distance runner rather than a mid-distance). Michigan has a really strong top 4 with Vanderlende, Windemuller, Hart, and AA native Forsyth (for those who still live in AA, her family is one of the owners of the AA Running Company). I really think that Michigan has the strongest 4, and the title will come down to how well the 5th runner performs. I think this team will be disappointed with anything but the title.
Men's: Michigan should battle Wisconsin and Minnesota (and possibly MSU) for the title. Wisconsin is the favorite in this race. Michigan has very good depth and the spread between their top 7 runners is very small (probably the best in the field). To win, the team really needs 1-2 runners to finish very high. Their depth won't win them the race if their top 2 runners are not well placed. Devin Meyrer should have the talent and experience to be one of these "low sticks." Michigan will really be counting on some mid-distance specialists (Tom Dodd, Oli Raimond, and Nick Foster) to out perform their expectations for Michigan to win the title. Tom Brady, who would be one of their top 2 runners, has not run all season. Adding him to the lineup would be a huge boost since he's a true long-distance specialist.
