2004 NCAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
A list of work to be done

by Parker Morse

John McDonnell (Photo by Alison Wade/New York Road Runners)

University of Arkansas coach John McDonnell can never be accused of overstating his own team's chances. When asked, in Sunday's press conference, what it would take for his team to win him his 40th NCAA Championship in Monday's race, he answered, "Wisconsin falling down."

It was a frank assessment, but still one requiring a grain of salt. McDonnell knows more than anyone about the most enigmatic team in the men's race for tomorrow's NCAA Cross Country Championships, his own Arkansas Razorbacks. Simply by following the same schedule of meets he always follows, McDonnell never met one of the other teams expected to contend for the title: Wisconsin, Stanford, and Colorado. Instead, Arkansas dominated their conference and region meets, as well as every invitational they ran. "We run against good individuals," McDonnell explained. "Good athletes are good athletes."

And running against good individuals lets your team gain experience while flying below the radar. The Hogs' jump to second place in the final poll before Nationals was more due to their being overlooked previously than to any sudden improvement. McDonnell wants five runners inside the top 30 in order to challenge Wisconsin, which means he'll need good races from Josphat Boit (expected to challenge for the individual title,) Shawn Forrest, Marc Rodrigues, Jason Sandfort, plus either Said Ahmed, Matt Gunn, or Adam Perkins. "Our fifth guy will really have to come through for us [to win,]" said McDonnell.

The individual race is so unclear that nobody is willing to pick out individual favorites. Arkansas' Boit is considered a threat, and Liberty's freshman Josh McDougal is undefeated, if inexperienced. Stanford's Ryan Hall, second last year to Dathan Ritzenhein, who is not returning, says the profusion of favorites is good for him. "There's no pressure on me," he says. "There are lots of guys who could win here." New Mexico's Matt Gonzales, who is expected to be joined up front by freshman teammate Shadrack Kiptoo Biwott, has a similar opinion. "I'm more confident than I've ever been," he says. With Hall and Boit just two of the athletes likely to run more cautiously to protect team position, the race will most likely develop as a huge pack jockeying for position before a fast close.

"If everybody has an average day," says Mark Wetmore, coach of the University of Colorado Buffalos, "[Wisconsin] will win." Wetmore, with NCAA championship credentials approaching McDonnell's (he is the only coach to have won all four championships, team and individual for both men and women,) did not elaborate on what might happen if Wisconsin had an average day and the Buffs ran out of their skin. Colorado is, by Wetmore's admission, a young team, sending three freshmen (Bradley Harkrader, James Strang, and Stephen Pifer) and a sophomore (Brent Vaughn) to the line. "Managing the excitement, the size, and the pace of an NCAA championship can be difficult for 18-year-old guys who've never been there before. That's our job: dealing with youth and dealing with the conditions."

Second-year coach Andy Gerard, who led Stanford to the men's title last year, acknowledges that his team does not have the experience of the six seniors who won that race. "They're not really young," he explained, "But they are inexperienced at this level." Still, even with only Hall returning, Stanford is a contender for the podium. "First and foremost, it's tradition. A lot of these kids have spent some significant time learning and seeing what's going on. The other piece of the puzzle is that we have great talent. We weren't one-dimensional last year. We've got ability down through the years."

"Tomorrow, we need to run our race the way we want to, to the best of our ability, and I think if we do that, we'll come out looking pretty good. But there's little room for error."

With both Wetmore and McDonnell declaring Wisconsin the favorite, the most glaring absence at the press conference was that of Badger coach Jerry Schumacher and his athletes, particularly Simon Bairu, Matt Tegenkamp, or Chris Solinsky, who may be contenders for the individual title. Wisconsin has been ranked first throughout the season, but did not appear at Sunday's press conference. "Wisconsin is an excellent team," said Wetmore. "[Wisconsin] has the best team here, experience-wise," agreed McDonnell. After placing an NCAA-record 150 points behind Stanford last year, it somehow seems appropriate for Wisconsin to be getting their time in the spotlight.

(Posted November 21, 2004)