Summit League cross-country championship breakdown

With the Summit League Cross-Country Championships upcoming and my heart starting to skip a beat, I figured it was time for a well-needed preview. We’re going to take this team-by-team to predict what will occur this Saturday in Brookings.

Men’s team

*All men’s times are based off 8,000 meters

Seventh place: Oral Roberts

Ultimately, it looks like Oral Roberts will be coming in last.

In their first 8,000-meter of the season, they only had three runners participate.

Along with that, they have no depth. They only have two runners that have broken 27 minutes, and with two men that haven’t even broken 30 minutes, it’ll be tough for them to even place sixth. With the combination of uncertainty and times that just won’t be sufficient in this caliber of a race, I predict that they will be coming in last place.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1.  Jonathan Harper – 27:19, 26:07
2. Cameron Peterson 29:09, 26:39
3. Caleb Turnbow – 30:26, 28:55
4. Bennett Harris – 31:55
5. Scott Smith – 34:24

Sixth place: Western Illinois

To be straight-forward, don’t expect Western Illinois to do much.

They’re another team that is full of uncertainty.

With Grant Kaiser and Christian Hoover being the only runners on the team that have ran in every race, I have no idea who will be running at the tournament for them. Regardless of who runs they’re going to have to work very hard and pull a miracle out if they want to place.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1.  Grant Kaiser – 26:37, 26:49, 26:53
2. Lucas Lingle – 26:59, 27:25
3. Christian Hoover – 28:24, 27:58, 29:08
4. Angel Carrera – 29:09
5. Riley Giesing – 29:26

Fifth: Fort Wayne

Not one of the stronger teams in the conference, Fort Wayne is a small team with only eight runners making their depth non-existent.

But even with their non-existent depth, they’re sort of stuck in the middle. They’d have to have a very bad race for Western Illinois to pass them in the standings.

Logan Kitchen is someone to watch on their team. This Wisconsin-native has progressed from a 28:25 to a 26:26 in just a month. He holds personal bests of 4:22 in the 1600-meter and 1:57 in the 800-meter, so if it comes down to a foot race at the end Kitchen will likely dominate.

This is just his first year of collegiate running, making the entire season a big learning experience for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kitchen has a big personal record.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1.  Logan Kitchen – 28:25, 27:13, 26:26
2. Gabe O’Keefe – 26:40, 27:50, 26:44
3. Brett Unger – 27:52, 26:56, 26:39
4. Randy McComb – 28:50, 27:44, 27:31
5. Connor Shaffer – 28:28, 28:02, 27:31

Fourth place: South Dakota

This is where it starts to get interesting.

South Dakota has one of the best runners in the conference, but at the same time, their depth isn’t there.

It ultimately comes down to whether or not Mubarik Musa and Isaac Allen can place in front of NDSU’s top two runners.

If they can, it’ll be a race. However, even if Musa and Allen can’t pull that off, don’t count South Dakota out.

Although NDSU has a lot more depth, their progression over the season hasn’t been great.

As of right now South Dakota has a floor of fourth place, with a ceiling as high as second place if they continue this progression trend.

 Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1.  Mubarik Musa – 25:11, 24:09
2. Isaac Allen – 26:36, 25:31, 25:12
3. Nate Wendt – 28:50, 27:00, 25:39
4. Brice Cowman – 27:18, 26:20, 25:42
5. Matthew Schilmoeller – 28:13, 27:08, 26:26

Third place: North Dakota State

Mostly everyone on this team recorded their best time at the Stanford Invitational – their very first 8,000-meter race of the season.

Since then their running times have been about the same, while courses haven’t gotten that much more difficult.

It’s uncertain whether or not Brendan Skime and Elliot Stone peaked at the start of the season or not, but if they have it’s going to be tough for them to place above third place.

The argument could arise that Skime and Stone have been holding back by running conservatively, however, they didn’t even place in the top two for their team in the final race in Grand Forks, N.D., at the UND Ron Pynn Classic.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1. Brendan Skime – 24:34, 25:41, 25:36
2. Elliott Stone – 24:36, 25:38, 25:50
3. Derek Warner – 25:43, 25:54, 25:13
4. Brant Gilbertson – 25:17
5. Matt Lundstrom – 25:54, 26:20, 25:25

Second place: IUPUI (Defending Champions)

IUPUI could easily come in first, but it’s going to come down to a few things.

First of all, IUPUI is arguably the best team in the Summit League at pack running. If they can take over from the beginning and set the pace from the front, they may be able to grind their way to a win.

If IUPUI lets the race turn into a kick-to-the-finish, they’ll have no chance.

With South Dakota State’s Trent Lusignan’s and Joel Reichow’s finishing speed, IUPUI stands no chance.

However, that is assuming everybody also runs at their best.

Both IUPUI and South Dakota State are full of juniors and seniors that have been in many races with high pressure.

With the skill level on either side almost identical, it’s really going to come down to who wants it more, and who made wise decisions over the two-week intermission.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1. Damon Pruett – 25:54, 24:25, 24:21
2. Robert Murphy – 25:42, 24:45, 24:26
3. Dakota Dubbs – 26:12, 24:54, 24:40
4. Peyton Reed – 26:39, 25:20, 24:51
5. Joey Zielinski – 25:45, 25:01, 25:04

First place: South Dakota State 

South Dakota State will look to win the championship come Oct. 31.

With 2013 Summit League Champion Trent Lusignan and 2013 Summit League fifth place finisher Joel Reichow back, SDSU is stronger than ever.

Trent Lusignan, after winning the Summit League Championships in 2013 and then going on to finish 12th at the 2013 NCAA Championships, he was hit with every runner’s biggest nightmare, a stress fracture. This caused him to to sit out the entire 2014 cross-country season.

Now back, Lusignan will look to redeem himself for all his time lost. In his first 8,000-meter race in almost two years, he placed fourth at Roy Griak. Lusignan also holds the fastest 8,000-meter time in the Summit League this year with a time of 23:52.

This season has been a differently story entirely, and Lusignan is definitely a player to watch out for this Saturday.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1. Trent Lusignan – 25:40, 23:52
2. Joel Reichow – 25:25, 24:01
3. Brendan Sage – 25:51, 24:43
4. Trevor Capra – 25:42, 24:48
5. R/Fr. Kyle Burdick – 26:10, 25:27

Women’s team:

Eighth place: Oral Roberts

There isn’t much to say about Oral Roberts this year, as they finished seventh at this meet last year just edging out Western Illinois.

It looks like this year may be their turn to come in last.

On the bright side, Oral Roberts is a young team with only one senior in their top six. They have plenty of time to improve and make their way up the team standings in the upcoming years.

 Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1. Omega Reese – 24:33, 23:23
2. Madison Guenzler – 27:21, 25:27
3. Destanie Tomas –  26:43, 25:55
4. Mckayla Roberts – 28:19, 26:34
5. Olivia Terry – 27:46

Seventh place: Western Illinois

Western Illinois finished eighth at this meet last year, and they tied in points with Oral Roberts but it ended up coming down to who was in front of who.

However, this year Western Illinois comes back with a much improved team with signs of potential.

With only one senior in their top five, look for them to start moving up in the standings next year.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1.  Madison Lefler – 18:50 (5k), 22:23
2. Alyssa Johnson – 20:19 (5k), 24:27
3. Shelby DePriest – 25:38
4. Jaclyn Finney – 22:02 (5k), 26:02
5. Jaylee Clements – 22:25 (5k), 26:13

Sixth place: Fort Wayne

This was a tough team to rank, as Fort Wayne has only run 5,000-meter races this season and not only that, but with little to no 6,000-meter completion experience, it’s a complete mystery to how Fort Wayne will perform.

Fort Wayne doesn’t have strong depth, nor do they have much experience at 6,000-meters. In a high pressured race such as this, that could make all the difference.

Rebecca Sippel and Emma Rafuse are players to watch from this team. They are both first-years that have never run a collegiate 6,000-meter race, nor have they ever competed at the Summit League Championships before.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

*Fort Wayne didn’t run a 6,000-meter this season, so all times are based on 5,000-meters

1. Rebecca Sippel – 18:54, 18:37, 18:55, 18:46
2. Emma Rafuse – 19:15, 18:56, 18:51, 18:45
3. Breanna Fensler 20:41, 20:00, 19:34, 19:32
4. Rachel Kacer – 20:16, 19:37, 19:44, 19:42
5. Brittany Fensler – 21:15, 20:11

Fifth place: Nebraska-Omaha

Finishing fifth last year, it looks like Nebraska-Omaha might see a repeat of that this year.

They’re a middle of the road team. I give them a slight edge over Fort Wayne simply because of their experience at the 6,000-meter distance.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1. Karo Garcia – 23:20, 22:03
2. Perla Gutierrez – 27:02, 22:58
3. Alyssa Averhoff – 24:53, 23:02
4. Rosie Gensichen – 24:34, 23:13
5. Avery Schmidt – 24:18, 23:23

Fourth place: South Dakota State

The South Dakota State women are led by sisters Kirsten Anderson and Samantha Anderson.

Last year, Kirsten finished 17^th at the Summits and will look to improve off of that. Laura Lawton finished 14^th at the Summits last year, and if the race goes her way she could be right up there again this year.

The Jackrabbits finished third last year, but it looks as though the loss of Cheyanne Bowers and the unknown status of Jessica Eibs has taken a toll.

They should be able to easily beat Nebraska-Omaha, but IUPUI’s strong depth could stand in the way of the Jackrabbits streak of placing in the top three in the team standings.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1. Kirsten Anderson – 22:47, 18:13 (5k), 21:38
2. Samantha Anderson – 23:04, 18:02 (5k), 21:44
3. Halie Mechels – 23:23, 18:25 (5k), 22:04
4. Laura Lawton – 23:41, 18:29 (5k), 22:07
5. Rachel King – 22:44, 18:10 (5k), 22:38

Third place: IUPUI

IUPUI will look to finish in the top three after finishing fourth at the Summit League tournament the past two seasons.

The Jaguars also have four runners in the top-10 fastest times at the distance of 6,000-meters in the Summit League this year.

Those women include: Leah Brooks, Zoey Johnson, Alexis Lewandowski and Julie Riggins.

If IUPUI’s fourth and fifth runner can finish South Dakota’s fourth runner, IUPUI could definitely pull out on top.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

*IUPUI only ran one 6,000-meter, all times are based on the 5,000-meter unless stated otherwise

1. Leah Brooks – 18:15, 18:29, 17:54, 21:26 (6k)
2. Zoey Johnson – 19:40, 18:00, 21:38 (6k)
3. Alexis Lewandowski – 19:29, 18:57, 17:55, 21:43 (6k)
4. Julie Riggins – 18:56, 18:58, 18:19, 21:55 (6k)
5. Jessica Backthurns – 20:39, 20:37, 18:50, 22:05 (6k)

Second place: South Dakota (Defending champions)

The South Dakota Coyotes are led by seniors Amber Eichkorn, Katie Wetzstein and Kelsey Barrett, who each placed in the top 10 at the Summit League Cross-Country Championships last year.

Eichkorn has showed time after time that she’s not afraid of big completion, taking it out hard and leading the first few hundred meters at Roy Griak and placing 15th.

She did the same thing again at the Bradley Pink Classic where she pulled out with the win, and a huge personal best of 20:11. Her personal best is also the second-fastest time in the Summit League at the distance of 6,000-meters this season, only behind North Dakota State’s Erin Tesschuk’s 20:06.

Accompanying Eichkorn is Wetzstein, who finished third at the Summits last year.

She also holds the third fastest 6,000-meter in the conference this season with a time of 21:10, followed by Barrett who has the ninth fastest time in the conference this season with a time of 21:54.

Ultimately, the fate on whether South Dakota finishes third, second or first resides in their other runners.

In a field this stacked, even the most minor of hiccups could be the difference between first and third place in the team standings for South Dakota.

Leading five (with seasons times in order)

1. Amber Eichkorn – 21:56, 17:24 (5k), 20:11
2. Katie Wetzstein – 21:56, 17:30 (5k), 21:10
3. Kelsey Barrett – 22:33, 17:53 (5k), 21:45
4. Megan Billington – 23:51, 18:37 (5k), 22:04
5. Jessica Feldman – 24:35, 19:17 (5k), 22:05

First place: North Dakota State

My prediction that North Dakota State will win the Summit League Championship is assuming that 2014 Summit League Champion Erin Tesschuk will be racing.

She’s only run one race this season and it was at the Stanford Invitational where she won in a stacked field with a personal best time of 20:06 (also the Summit Leagues fastest 6,000-meter time of the season).

She says she was running conservatively. If that was her running conservatively, her at full throttle is going to be insane.

If Tesschuk doesn’t show up, they could fall all the way to third or even fourth.

If Tesschuk will be racing, we can expect a battle between her and Eichkorn.

However, this is all just speculation. We have no idea how good first-year runners Huherkoch and Dahle are at the distance of 6,000-meters.

As for the rest of the team, they’re pretty loaded. Comparing their 6,000-meter times with others won’t do must justice considering that was the beginning of the season, but if we look at personal bests and their 5,000-meter times, there’s a good chance that the Bison will come out on top.

Leading five (seasons times in order)

*Times based on 5,000-meters unless stated otherwise

1. Erin Tesschuk – 20:06 (6k)
2. Brittany Brownotter – 21:46 (6k), 17:45, 17:34
3. Taylor Janssen – 22:11 (6k), 17:52, 17:48
4. Kayla Huhnerkoch – 23:34 (6k), 18:58, 18:39
5. Emma Kush Dahle – 22:54 (6k), 18:40