First thoughts about Louisville

I figure the national champs have had a few weeks to bask in their glory, so it's about time to think about next year. Colorado Mines' Ben Zywicki is already moving on: He went head-to-head with Western State's Iain Donnan in an indoor 3,000 about two weeks after Evansville!

As mentioned before, the 2-4 placers in Evansville (Kirwa of Harding, Rop of American International and Sang of Abilene Christian) return next year.

The team race will be more fluid -- at least at this point.

• Adams State graduates four of its top five.
• Western State loses its top man, Donnan, but returns five.
• Colorado Mines graduates no one.
• Surprising Southern Indiana could be a good bet to improve on its sixth-place finish. They'll return All-Americans Dustin Emerick and Brendan Devine -- and six of seven.
• Western Washington and Grand Valley State each lose only one of their top five.
• On the downside, Chico loses three of its top five.

At this point, I'd put Western and Adams at even odds to win in Louisville next December. Western may have more returning with nationals experience, but Adams' 5-6-7 runners were swapped for nationals, an indication of their depth.

Anyone got any info on the race site, Sawyer State Park? From their Web site and Google street view, it looks like it'll be a tight, flat (and fast) course. If that's the case, I'll take Michael Crouch (Queens) right now.