Installment Three: Thanksgiving Thrashing
1. Guelph: Last year, this group scored 27 points at CIS and beat the whole field for their 3rd consecutive title. The 2009 edition ran 20 seconds faster per runner at Paul Short, and placed 5th as a team in a solid field. The course appears to be a lot faster this year than last, and Paul Short is short, but even a less than favourable evaluation would say that this year’s squad is just as good as last year’s. Brett took down his comrade Boorsma, and with Parrot beating Brunsting and running 24:26, there are 4 legitimate first-team All-Canadian contenders on this squad. We see two questions that need to be answered when it comes to this team: Can they beat last year’s score of 27? And will they refrain from wearing those red suspenders at the banquet in 2009? To be honest, we’re getting kinda sick of not even having to think about which team should be ranked number 1. We challenge Windsor and X to step up and provide some excitement at the top of the list!
2. Windsor: A solid outing at Loyola last weekend where they sat some of their top guys all but solidifies this team as the second best in the country. Henshaw was a no-show, but Sinclair proved he’s ready to go, with Walters also putting his name down on Fairell’s potential “CIS Candidates” list. Meyer and Aguanno are beauties that any coach would love to have on their team. Consistent, tough racers who show up no matter what they may or may not have been doing the weekend prior. Weston is laying low after his win at UWO, and if we have any advice for an athlete who wins the UWO invite in September, it’s to take a week of down time afterwards. It’s a scary proposition to be rolling over 10km at the end of September, unless of course you are totally dominant (see 2005, one Christiano Mauricio). Keller ran 3:58 at Francophone but we’re sure the reason for this is he’s poundin’ miles and hasn’t stepped on the track in months (hopefully…another possibilty is that he blew his load with a big run at the Halifax Bridge Mile).
3. X: Another good run at Murray Keating; however, we are starting to get a little worried about this squad. Russell Christie is fit, probably in first-team shape, but he absolutely destroyed the X-men in Maine. Their fifth man was 1:20 behind, and that can amount to quite a few places at the show, especially when you consider that this was only an 8km. It’s too early to worry about it, but it’s worth mentioning that Gerych doesn’t seem to be in the same form as prior years when he was 3rd at CIS. That said, he’s a clutch performer and likely will get back to the top by the time Nov. 14th rolls around. This team is good, and holds their 3rd place ranking; however, last weekend’s results show some weaknesses that need to be addressed. It would be encouraging if X had at least been able to field a 6th runner for this meet; that’s not leaving much of a margin for error. These results can give hope to some of the 4-7 teams who dream about wearing some hardware around their necks during the after-party at Ale House.
4. Calgary: This is another team we get a first look at in October. This group should be battling for a top 5 at CIS and Canwest title in 2009. Like we mentioned in our first installment, they have some great depth, but are lacking that front man or two necessary to keep the points down. Pootz, Cloutier, and Nicol had good runs last weekend, and are valuable 3-5 guys on a medal-winning team. Unfortunately for Lamont, he’s relying on them to be the front 3 right now. With that being said, if these guys can time it right, they have the arsenal behind them to do some serious damage at the Fort. We like what we’re seeing out West right now, with 3 or 4 very good teams battling away and continuing on with some awesome rivalries. Regina and Calgary appear to have the edge right now, but UVic and Alberta usually run well when it counts. What a finish to the season we might see.
5. Regina: OK, so Wiebe has been hurt. Big deal. We are still sticking with this team in the top 5. Baiton is the leading man for CIS ROY right now as he put the hurt on a deep field in Saskatchewan. Kiteley has his opinions, but my vote for Canada’s version of the name Quenton Cassidy is definitely Wyatt Baiton. Wig ran well sticking tough with Calgary’s front two, which gives Regina a bit of an edge on them when/if Wiebe comes back into the line-up. Fyfe is getting better as is Benjamin. This team is relying heavily on the return of Wiebe. If he can step in and be a top 10 guy, they are sitting pretty. However, if he’s not at 100% then the Cougs are in a boatload of trouble. Also, they have no 6th man right now so if anyone goes down, especially their top guy, they are done. Hopefully we haven’t put too much pressure on these guys by ranking them so high all season, and specifically Wiebe who we’ve now called out three reports in a row.
6. UVic: Now what can we take away from UVic’s first appearance of the season? Well, we’ll wager that through 3 men, Uvic will be in the medals on Nov. 14th. Through 5, they will be out of the top 5, however. Pieterson ran well with 32:11, 44 seconds ahead of last year’s 9th place man Mallie. I think this gap is more a result of Pieterson being in top notch shape rather than Mallie having a bad day. That means this squad is likely boasting two All-Canadians. Childs was just 35 seconds back of Mallie, showing he’s probably looking at a top 25 type of finish right now. All this implies the Vikes will be in a titantic battle with X through 3. However; I must warn Coach Fougner and the Vike faithful, you will not be keeping pace with the medal teams when your fourth and fifth come in 90 seconds after your third. That just will not cut it. If this team can shore up this weakness through new additions to the roster, or if the 4 and 5 had off days down in San Diego, then they will yet again be in the medal hunt at CIS.
7. Da Bears: The U of C results don’t tell us a whole lot. Rumours are spreading that Calgary tempoed while it appears U of A went after it destroying them in the team race. Ostapowich had a great run and helps Da Bears immensely as they were in need of another top end lad. Weikum appears to be rounding into form and will probably be battling near the front of the field at Fort Henry. Law, Leboeuf, Lauzon, and Moore are dependable depth men which fortunately for Alberta, is where the important battles will be taking place. The beauty of cross-country is that the most important athletes are the ones who don’t get much attention during the track season. It’s the top guys from XC who are notably successful on the track, but in XC it’s the grinders in the 30s and 40s that can determine the fate of a team. We’ll see if Alberta’s grinders can get it done between 5 and 8k in K-town. If that question can be answered with an unequivocal yes, then and only then, might we see Alberta reclaim the Canwest title from their hated rivals, the Calgary Dinos.
8. Toronto: Finally! RR gives us some indication of who he’s got and what kinda shape they are in. With a weekend off for Del Monte and Pettes, the other group of Varsity Blues stepped up to the plate and took their swing. Davenport had a great run and has announced himself an OUA ROY candidate. Since when does Toronto have fast rookies? Between this guy and Zain Ahmed, the Blues seem to have recruited and aren’t relying entirely on the older generation. Perhaps this is a team to watch out for down the road. Stephen Douglas, the guy with the ugliest running form in the CIS, showed he’s got some base under him with a fine run at Waterloo. Lambert and Murray-Lawson made their debuts with less-than-stellar runs and as a result, this team is a question mark right now. The horses are there to make a move towards the top half of the list, but RR is going to have to pull some magical stuff out of you know where for that to happen.
9. McMaster: All right, all right you guys have made our prestigious top 10. I’m sure these boys were pretty ticked off that they weren’t ranked in the first two installments, but we needed to see where their fitness actually was before we could put them in. Abbott had a great run in Chicago showing that’s ready to challenge for All-Canadian. Yorke has transitioned from his triathloning-ways back to the pure stuff and having most likely taken some downtime in September, I would expect him to get much better over the next 5 weeks. Rookie Taylor Reid (who is this guy?) had a good run in Chicago to put his name on the short list for OUA ROY and is a huge help on a team that is in desparate need of a fifth man. If this group can find someone to fill that whole, they have some potential to move up the Slanders list. I need hardly say that the upcoming Queen’s Invite will be an important clash between Toronto, Mac, and Queen’s to decide who will fill out the OUA podium, and thus who will have an outside shot at CIS hardware.
10. Sherbrooke: JPC and Rachem seem to rollin’ out in Quebec and are likely strong enough to carry this squad to the forefront of the conference at CIS. However, the front may not be enough to win at the Q championshps as there just aren’t enough bodies in the field to make the 1-2 punch enough of a difference-maker. Gahungu, Lavoie, and Day were about a minute behind these two in what looked like a 4-mile race. That’s about 90 seconds over 10km which means the last three scorers on this squad are looking at 60+points each. That’s not going to place a team very well in the CIS, and I’m sure the Sherbrooke guys know this. Like so many teams, this group is relying on a big day from the backend in order to get near the top 5 in the country. The departure of Buzingo and Genest is hurting this team but the beauty of this sport is with one or two gutty performances, Sherbrooke has a fighting chance at upsetting some paper tigers.
Individuals: All-Canadian Pool:
Boorsma (Guelph), Brunsting (Guelph), Parrott (Guelph), Brett (Guelph), Jackson (Guelph), Weston (Win), Sinclair (Win), Keller (Win), Abbott (Mac), Del Monte (TO), O’Neil (UWO), Hulse (Queen’s), Pieterson (UVic), Mallie (UVic), Ostapowich (Alb), Weikum (Alb), Pootz (Cal), Marin (Sask), Baiton (Reg), Wiebe (Reg), Rachem (Sherb), JPC (Sherb), Colle (Con), Michaud (Laval), Gerych (X), McCarron (X), Christie (Dal).
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