Week 3: Where's Abilene Christian?

Well, it's on their schedule and they were on the start list. But Abliene Christian didn't materialize at Saturday's Missouri Southern Stampede.

Arkansas handled all D2 comers easily, although Harding's Daniel Kirwa made an emphatic statement, recording a 23:11 (!!) over 8k to top everyone. Wow!

Harding, however, didn't fare well as a team. Pittsburg State edged Southwest regional rivals Southwest Baptist, Missouri Southern and Tarleton State.

But what happened to Abliene Christian? I certainly hope it's "only" something like a bunch of sick runners. Hopefully the faithful ACU backers will again post a comment.

Update: ACU had one runner in the race and a women's squad. (What's up?)

Elsewhere in d2cross-land:

• Adams State perfect scores the field at Colorado State.
• Apparently, no one kept team scores at Michigan State, where No. 5 Grand Valley State was running. Sounds like the Lakers did quite well. And, hey, you don't want to upset the hosts on homecoming weekend.
• Queens' Michael Crouch won Appalachian State's Mountaineer Open, leading the Royals to a runner-up finish behind Ohio State.
• Western Washington topped conference rival Alaska-Anchorage in the Sundodger Invite in Seattle. Washington won that meet, but Anchorage's Micah Chelimo had another strong showing in second.
• Colorado Mines won Nebraska's Woody Greeno meet, and that's with usual top runner Ben Zywicki coming home as their No. 2 runner. Aaron Swift took the top honors for the Orediggers, finishing second out of 341 runners. Nice work, Mines!
• Led by senior James Krasja, Minnesota State-Mankato swept the St. Olaf home meet, besting some quality D3 squads (like St. John's (Minn.)) and conference and regional foes.
• Edinboro was eighth at the Iona Meet of Champions. Notice who was third, just behind Kent State (!) and Wisconsin? Malone, an NAIA squad which was rejected by the NCAA fathers this summer.

Contour: I'm stiff and sore after a brutally hot Mount Helena Classic. I had to walk twice and took a tumble on the way down, but, hey, I would've been second in the women's race!

Week 3 meet of the week: Stampede! Abilene, Harding and others tangle in Missouri

There are dozens of teams racing in the Missouri Southern Stampede Saturday. This race will be a great showdown between No. 4 Abilene Christian and No. 11 Harding. Despite some off-the-trail distractions, ACU will be tough, and perhaps too tough for Harding. But the Bison will be led by their outdoor 5k and 10k champ, Daniel Kirwa. And this race could pretty much establish the pecking order in the Southwest Region, with No. 18 (nationally) Southwest Baptist, Pittsburg State (No. 4 Southwest), host Missouri Southern (No. 5 Southwest) and Tarleton State (No. 6 Southwest) in the mix.

But perhaps ACU will be gunning for No. 18 Arkansas. From what I remember of the course and area, this should be a great race. Race time is 9:45 a.m. CDT.

• Corrrection: No. 1 Adams State is at Colorado State. No. 2 Western State and No. 3 Chico State are off.
• No. 5 Grand Valley State takes on unranked (and D1) Michigan State and Saginaw Valley (No. 5 Midwest region) at the Spartans home meet.
• No. 6 Queens races Appalachian State (again) and solid, D1 Ohio State.
• No. 7 Western Washington and No. 15 Alaska-Anchorage take part in No. 24 (D1) Washington's Sundodger Invite.
• No. 8 Colorado Mines treks eastward to Lincoln, Neb. They'll race against D1 schools, like Nebraska, Kansas State and South Dakota, but will be scored separately. Those D1 schools don't wanna get sullied by a tough D2 squad!
• No. 9 Mankato State takes on what has been traditional D3 schools at St. Olaf. Unfortunately, No. 2 (D3) Wisconsin-La Crosse won't be there.
• And No. 10 Edinboro travels to New Yak City and Van Courtland Park, which is near-enough holy ground for cross runners. The Iona Meet of Champions is a deep one, usually featuring lots of D1 talent.

Contour: I'm attempting to get into the spirit of all this running and carrying on. I'll tackle the Mount Helena Classic for the first time, which is 1,300 feet of climbing and descending and 5.6 miles of running. Basically straight up and straight back down. My quads already feel it.

--30--

D1 rankings out: Lock Haven, Chico State wins continues to impress

They must wait to build anticipation, but finally the D1 coaches have issued their first poll of the season. The defending champ Ducks of Oregon are No. 1. In-state rival Portland is No. 9.

Based on this poll, there should be some interesting D2 vs. D1 matchups coming: Adams State and Western State (I think) at No. 2 Oklahoma State; Chico State at No. 3 Stanford; Metro State (and maybe Western) at No. 6 Colorado. Good stuff.

A look at the rankings also gives a good indication of how D2 teams have fared this season. And I continue to be impressed at Lock Haven. Their win over Penn State just got bigger, as the Nittany Lions came in at No. 28. Of course, I'm not exactly sure who may or may not have been running, and the rankings at the bottom end of any poll are notoriously wiggly.

But I'd say Chico State got the full measure of No. 21 Cal Poly. And Queens narrowly lost to No. 23 Florida State.

Week 2 performers o' week: Elam, Chico

In the absence of many to choose from, I'll tap Chico State's dominant performance at the Cal-Irvine invite and the performance of No. 1 runner Jimmy Elam as team and individual performers of the week. Elam is plenty motivated, as mentioned before. While the Wildcats easily handled the field last weekend, we'll get a better idea of their mettle Sept. 26, when they travel to Stanford.

I would, however, entertain other nominations.

week 2: Chico State shows its stuff

The Chico State men had a decisive victory at the Cal-Irvine meet, topping some D1 schools in the process. Chico was led by Jimmy Elam and Beau Rogers, who finished 2-3 in the meet. Rogers is a returning All America; Elam is a transfer from regional rival Humboldt State. Elam is motivated: He's only got one season at Chico. This is a team to watch.

Lock Haven routed all comers at its home meet, essentially perfect scoring Indiana (Pa.), the No. 8 squad in the Atlantic region. Lock Haven is No. 2 in the region, and figures to give Edinboro a run for its money in that region. Edinboro, like nearly rest of the Division II elite, took the weekend off.

Please, please share any worthwhile performances you know about! Thanks.

Week 2 preview: Don't expect much

Let's see, Adams State, Western State, Colorado Mines and nearly all of the RMAC are off; Edinboro, Harding, Queens and Grand Valley State are also off.

Three top-flight teams are running, but potential storylines are few.

The one to pay attention to may be Abilene Christian meet against in-town school McMurray, if only to see who runs. Word is, however, that ACU won't run this weekend (see comment). If so, their next scheduled meet is Pre-Nationals at the end of September.

Chico State opens its season at California-Irvine. Lots of teams entered, but unless I'm reading this one wrong, Chico should win.

And Lock Haven -- a squad with a performance I overlooked last week -- hosts a home meet. LHU defeated Penn State last weekend, which is a solid opener for the 19th-ranked squad.

Am I missing something this weekend?

Week 1: Performances of the week

Individual: Alaska-Anchorage newcomer Micah Chelimo put the smackdown on the small field at the Anchorage-Abliene Christian dual last Saturday. To wit: He nearly put 30 seconds in Abilene's Chleophas Tanui over 5 km; Tanui finished fourth in the 10,000 at San Angelo in May.

Both squads held out runners, so it is tough to tell what the team prognosis is for each. But look for Chelimo to figure in the top 10 individuals in Evansville.

Team: It's really, really hard to pick only one individual performance at The Vigil in Alamosa last Saturday. Four Adams State runners under 25 minutes on that course, which is pancake flat, yet at 7,600 feet, is amazing. Some alumni and I were talking that we rarely recall anyone dipping under 25 -- let alone a teammate. Adams State is certainly running well early. If they continue and avoid the injury bug, it could be quite a season for them.

Honorable mentions: Michael Crouch (Queens) rocks the field at Appy State. Colorado Mines shakes off summer rust and turns in strong performance against Denver Metro-area rival.

Week 1: Adams perfect over Western; new stud leads Anchorage, tops Abilene (sort of)

6:15 p.m.: No. 1 Adams State perfect scored long-time rival (and No. 2) Western State, with the Mountaineers apparently off to a traditional slow start. Reuben Mwei led the sweep; the only mild surprise was that soph Edwin Cruz was the No. 5 guy and sub-14 minute performer Florian Theophile had an off day.

Western ran Donnan, Pennel and Rasmussen, but two would-be top 5 runners (Irishman David Flynn and Jesse Chettle) were listed as "unattached."

Ah, the gamesmanship begins!

Alaska-Anchorage easily defeated a second-tier Abilene Christian squad Saturday, 22-33.

Abilene left its horses at home. Cleophas Tanui made the trip, while Daniel Maina and Amos Sang stayed home. New recruit Spencer Lynn finished sixth.

The big story was the performance of new Anchorage recruit Micah Chelimo, who eased to a 26 second win on what was advertised as a four-mile course. (You can't go wrong with a surname like Chelimo.) And Anchorage was without multi-All America performer Marko Cheseto.

Queens (N.C.) junior Michael Crouch cruised to a win at Appalachian State on Friday. Queens' second through fifth runner crossed within 19 seconds of each other, but the No. 6 D2 team lost to Florida State. North Carolina was third.

Central region power Colorado Mineswon the Colorado-Colorado Springs Rust Buster Invite, edging Air Force. Ben Zywicki won by .3 seconds. Metro State (Colo.) was a close third.

3:56 p.m. Sunday: Harding's Daniel Kirwa was second at the Memphis Twilight meet, 12 seconds behind Mississippi's Barnabas Kirui. The team finished well back in sixth, but may be deeper later.

Later this week: Performance of the weekend

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.

Abilene Christian sanctions stick

The Abilene Christian football team must give up some past wins, after their appeal of NCAA sanctions failed.

What does this have to do with the distance program? As part of an investigation last year, ACU has given up almost two track and field scholarship and has or will reduce the number of foreign athletes on their squad.

According to this story, track and field coaches improperly accepted cash and gifts to host holiday functions and to provide travel for international athletes, and some junior college athletes (and would-be recruits) were given housing perks and free shoes.

Conincidentally (or not), former head coach Don Hood left the program for a high school job.

While giving up track scholarships was OK, giving up football wins mostly stuck in the school's craw. That prompted the school's appeal.

While I wasn't completely aware of the infractions until now, I think it unlikely the sanctions will adversely affect ACU's 'cross squad, judging by their roster. And their coach remains. But we'll find out soon.

New talent coming to D2?

It will be a few years, but among the 15 colleges and universities that applied for D2 membership, there's some distance running firepower among these schools -- especially at Malone.

• Malone is defending NAIA cross country champ and is the reigning steeple champ (and 8:39 perfomer) and went 2-3-5 in the 5,000 at NAIA outdoors.
  
• McKendree had the 5,000 champ at NAIA outdoors.
  
• Simon Fraser (of Canada, eh) has had a great distance program in the past, although appear to be a little down right now.
  

Great Northwest

So the spectre of swine flu (yep, I'm calling it "swine") cancels -- not postpones, not delays -- the Great Northwest Athletic Conference meet scheduled in Monmouth, Ore. Most notably, this affects Alaska-Anchorage distance runners. Looks like those athletes will compete at nearby Pacific University's Pacific Twilight meet. 

What other meets might feel the "pandemic impact?"

Why Michael Crouch skipped Penn Relays

'Cause he wants to run faster, it appears. 

The Queens (N.C.) sophomore has already run a school-record 13:46 this season at Stanford, which is where he (and others) will be again this weekend for the Peyton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. Adams State's Aaron Braun, already owner of a school-record 13:36, will run the 1,500. And ASC will send a pair of runners (Luke Cragg and Brian Medigovich) for the 10,000m.

Just how fast is the Peyton Jordan?

• 32 men went sub-14 minutes in the 5,000 meters last year
  
• The B heat of the 10k went in 28:15
  
• Chico State's Scott Bauhs ran D2's fastest-ever 10k at 27:48.

It all goes down Saturday evening.

Chebon-Mwei top D2 finisher at Penn; Abilene sweeps 10k

A windy day in Philadelphia put an end to any hopes of a fast pace in the Penn Relays steeplechase.

Arkansas' Scott Macpherson won in a solid, but not spectacular 8:44. Chebon-Mwei dipped under 8:50 at third, besting Abilene Christian's Daniel Maina by about 2 seconds. The pair certainly appear fit (Chebon-Mwei ran sub-14 one week ago), and it's too bad the conditions conspired against them. With conference meets coming up, finals and then all the "last chance" meets before nationals, I'm not sure what opportunities they'll have (this year) to rip another. Maybe in San Angelo?

Here's what I saw in Thursday night's action at Drake and Penn relays:

• Daniel Kirwa (Harding) ran a 29:42 in warm, breezy conditions in Des Moines. Teammate Artek Kern DNF'd in the same event.
  
• Chris Clark (California (Pa.)) nearly won the 5,000 in Philly, finishing with a 13:59. Yet another fine performance for Coach Caulfield's charges. And he joins what is becoming quite a nationals field.
  
• Abilene Christian swept the 10,000 at Franklin Field. Amos Sang (29:34) won, with teammate Cleophas Tanui coming across the line 8 seconds later. Jeff Weiss of Slippery Rock missed the "magical" 30-minute barrier by 14 seconds.
  
• Queens (N.C.) standout Michael Crouch was a notable no-show at Penn. Any ideas why?

Relays begin in earnest at both sites. Unless I read the start lists wrong (and judging by some of the no shows, a lot can and has changed), D2 doesn't have much of a presence in either venue.

Race of the week: Penn Relays steeplechase

As alluded to below, most D2 distance squads appear to be looking for individual efforts at the country's two pre-eminent track and field relays. (This could change with late entries, maybe?)

At Drake (find the start list here), Harding has James Cheriuyot and D. Dirawa signed up for the 10,000, while Philip Biwott is entered in the 5,000. (Harding didn't get much out of Mt. SAC, as Julius Kosegei was a 5,000m DNF and Artek Kern was a DNS.) 

In Philly, indoor 5,000m champ Micheal Crouch of Queens (N.C.) is entered in the both long races. He can't do both, though, as those start just hours apart. Also watch for Edinboro's Ben Hahn in the 5k.

With the focus on fast relay squads, Drake and Penn don't typically produce fast long-distance races. But the race of the weekend -- from a D2 distance perspective, natch -- is the Penn Relays steeplechase.

Scheduled to go off at 7:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, the event should be a small college showdown between Daniel Maina of Abilene Christian ('08 D2 champ and last year's Penn winner in 8:40), Adams State's Reuben Chbon-Mwei ('08 D2 runner-up) and D3 stud Peter Kosgei of Hamilton (here's his own Web page).

On paper, Maina looks like the guy to beat...

4.23 update: Kern (Harding) will run the 10k at Drake

Relays?

The 100th Drake Relays (check out a cool history here) and the "Penn Relay Carnival" get underway this week. 

Mankato State will field 4 x 1600m and 4x 800m squads at Drake, but for D2 distance runners, it's more about individual efforts, according to the start lists I've seen.

Looking at the latest D2 performance list (which, incidentally, has some big omissions, like some sub-14 minute performances by Adams State), it's too bad Alaska-Anchorage couldn't get a 4x800m squad out to Philly. Looks like they have three sub 1:52 performers, with a 3:50 performer (Alfred Kangogo) as a possible fourth leg? That's a long flight, though.

Fast 5s

Between the three schools, Abilene Christian (1), Adams State (4!), and Western State (2) put seven runners under 14 minutes in the various 5000m races at Mt. SAC Relays. (Adams State nearly had a fifth at 14:05). Nice work.

The small-school effort of the night might have been the 13:33 by Azusa Pacific's Aron Rono. Of course, if your name is Rono, you'd better be fast.

Not sure what D2 squads might be off to Drake and Penn, but I'll keep track.

Tonight's the big night at SAC

A few noteworthy performances at the first night of Mt. SAC Relays: A sub-9 minute steeplechase by Western State's Loren Ahonen, and two 10K's nearly under 29 minutes by Marko Cheseto of Alaska-Anchorage and Chris Clark of California (Pa.). Look for Cheseto and Clark to duke it out for the D2 crown; both were in the top 9 at cross nats.
I'm pretty sure I know at least a portion of Clark's success: Cal coach Daniel Caulfield, ex-Adams Stater and standout Irish middle distance runner.
Cheseto could be a factor in the fall, too. (Clark was a senior last fall.)