This season has been an odd one for many to predict outside of Michigan State getting 1st.  The Spartans have dominated all season long, not something that the counterpart men’s favorite, Colorado, could say.  

Michigan State brought back eight runners with experience, including 2013 redshirt Senior Sara Kroll (2012 Big 10 champion).   Sophomore Rachele Schulist started the season as the top runner but 2013 #1 runner and top Spartan since the Big 10 meet, Leah O’Connor started to establish herself as a possible NCAA individual winner.  In races all year long the Spartans would sometimes get two runners before top contenders would get in one and would get four runners before opponents had two in.  

Coach Walt Drenth had this team race a lot and admitted it was an, “unconventional amount of times we race. We haven’t been greedy.  We have used our races as hard training”.  Knowing what they had he didn’t see how good they would be but instead he was , “looking at this season as an opportunity for growth.”  When a race is finished they wouldn’t be self-satisfied and instead “It has been what we learned.”

Coach Drenth, originally from Michigan and has coached at state schools and William & Mary and initiated the most successful years at Arizona State.  There he had coaching stalwarts such as Cory Ihmels and Louie Quintana under his tutelage as assistant coaches and now has Lisa Senakiewich, a former runner for him.  She spent a year at Purdue and came back to MSU after graduating in 2009.

This has led to great performances from winning at Bill Dellinger against Oregon.  Winning against a loaded Roy Griak meet, and then dominating three of the toughest meets of the year, Wisconsin Adidas, Big 10 and Great Lakes Regional.

Iowa State was dusted by Michigan State at both Roy Griak and Wisconsin Adidas but they finished second at both meets.  Crystal Nelson and Katy Moen have both improved this year and the Cyclones were such a favorite at the Midwest Regional that they could take it easy. 

Georgetown and Oregon have had interesting years this year.  Both teams did not have runners at full strength or running at all at many of their meets.  At the meets that most matter, both won handily their conference meets.   

Pre-season #1 Michigan beat Georgetown at the Battle in Beantown but the injury bug hit the Wolverines hard.  Georgetown (110) won pre-Nationals against both Michigan (143) and Oregon (139) in a tight competition.  At the Big East meet they beat Providence 19 to 65 as they took five of the first six and seven of the first nine spots and Katrina Coogan established herself as a #1 runner for the Hoyas.  

Oregon changed their line-up so frequetly but at Pac-12 got closer to the line-up expected from them at the NCAA meet.  Oregon runs with a tight pack and a different #1 almost every week.  Injured transfer Waverly Neer has not been fully healthy and finally ran her first race as a Duck at the Pac-12 championships but then missed the West Regional.  

Arkansas was blown out at the Wisconsin Adidas meet by Michigan State but the team was not ready to run.  As coach Harter said, “We got our butts handed to us.”  As the season went on and Dominique Scott kept winning until finally getting five victories, the runners behind senior Grace Heymsfield started to close the gap.  In fact at the South Central Regional Harter said Jessica Kamilos told him, “ let Dom do her thing and I will do a tempo run.  The girls told us later they were floating.”

  At the beginning of the season it looked like Arkansas and Florida State would be cagey teams that would try to knock off Michigan and Michigan State but injuries derailed Michigan. 

About Dom herself she let runners get away at Wisconsin Adidas, but she felt confident still.  Coach Harter is pleased with her development as she looks ‘cut’. “Her mechanics are better, she is much stronger and her confidence is better.”  

As far as the NCAA meet he is excited about a little retribution this year and the athletes know what the expectations are at Arkansas, “Last year we were 15th.  Our kids, with the legacy that has been established, know that is not acceptable.”  Arkansas will come to play for a trophy.  

To do that he will have to take out the Spartans and coach Drenth.  Coach Drenth has his game plan.  “We are going to do our best to manage the process.  What are the variables and try to manage them.”  For the athletes, “Its not like its a social thing.  I don't think they are taking it so seriously, just an opportunity to test themselves.  Set goals, just vision of themselves.”

I figure the Spartans will win again and Oregon will put everyone out there and edge Arkansas for second and Iowa State and Georgetown will battle for fourth.