Meet of the Week: The Vigil

It's hard to ignore a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, so for the first week of the 2009 NCAA Division II cross country season, the Joe I. Vigil Invite is my "meet of the week."

Having run it four times myself (although 'twasn't called that way back when), it doesn't always turn into a knock-down, drag-out race. Adams State or Western State may hold runners out, top runners have yet to emerge and oftentimes everybody is just a bit rusty.

But we'll be able to tell something.

Adams State has amazing depth: national champ and 3:39 and 13:35 performer Aaron Braun; steeple champ Reuben Mwei (13:53 best for 5,000m); Brian Medigovich (3:42 and 13:40); Florian Theophile (13:59); Luke Cragg (14:05); and Ryan McNiff (14:19). I have no idea who is running best these days, but I wouldn't be surprised at the emergency of outdoor conference 10k champ Edwin Cruz. (All times are performances from last year.)

Western might not appear as deep on paper with Iain Donnan (13:53), Tyler Pennel (13:54) and Sean Brown (30:16), but Loren Ahonen and Tyler Rasmussen add depth, as do recent additions Glenn Watts (9:00 steeple) and David Flynn. I wonder, too, if redshirt frosh Cordell Baker is ready to make some noise.

I can almost smell the dust and cottonwoods of Alamosa.

Other meets to watch:

Queens (N.C.) -- led by the outdoor 1,500 champ Micheal Crouch -- races at Appalachian State, where they may see D1 competition. Florida State and Clemson were there last year. I have a hunch that Coach Scott Simmons is constructing a squad that will surprise people in Evansville.

No. 15 Alaska Anchorage hosts No. 4 Abilene Christian in the shadow of the Chugach Mountains. It's the Seawolves sole home meet, so they should be ready. Last year, they hosted (and beat) Atlantic Region power Edinboro. It'll kind of be a intra-country rivalry, as Anchorage's tough Kenyans (Cheseto, Kangogo and Rottich) take on Abliene's tough-er Kenyans (Maina, Sang and Tanui). Strangely, the school Web site lists the race as a 5k.

Colorado Mines (No. 3 in Central Region) and Metro State (No. 6) tangle at the aptly named Rust Buster Invite hosted by Colorado-Colorado Springs. Sub-30 minute performer Ben Zywicki leads Mines, while Metro has four 3:50-or-faster metric milers. This should give a good indication of a team ready step up in the Central Region, should Adams and/or Western falter.

Late addition: Harding opens at the Memphis Twilight. A first chance to look at my fave for the individual title, Daniel Kirwa, a double winner in San Angelo. Interesting fact: Start time is 9:20 p.m., in obvious deference to the heat.