Philo Germano gained 14 positions in the final 2,000 meters of the NCAA men’s cross country championships to help Syracuse upset Colorado. (Daniel Petty, The Denver Post)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Colorado’s ability to win championship cross country races has long been hinged on starting out slowly and then moving up throughout a race, a strategy Colorado uses because of the advantages of training at altitude and racing at sea level.
On Saturday at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park at the NCAA cross country championships, they tried to do the same, . Runners race with chips on their shoes that track progress at 2K, 5,200 meters, 8K and then the finish at 10K, which offers insight into how the race played out.
At 2K, Colorado was third with 181 points behind Iona (143 points) and Syracuse (97 points). Colorado remained in third at 5.2K with 130 points, behind Stanford’s 123 and Syracuse’s 90. At 8K, Colorado and Syracuse were tied with 99 points. By the finish, Syracuse had won 82-91 over Colorado.
Senior Pierce Murphy, Colorado’s No. 1 runner all season, was in 18th at 2K before moving up 11 spots to seventh, then three spots by 8K and one final position to third in the last 2K.
Let’s took a closer look at Colorado’s next five runners.
- Senior Morgan Pearson
Pearson was 28th at 2K, 18th at 5.2K, 16th at 8K and 25th at the finish — a drop of nine spots in the last 2,000 meters, an overall gain of three spots. - Freshman John Dressel
94th at 2K, 76th at 5.2K (an 18-spot improvement), 41st at 8K and 26th at the finish — a net gain of 68 spots from 2K to the finish. That kind of movement suggests Dressel started, perhaps, too slowly and didn’t have the time to move up further, but that’s not surprising given that Dressel has never raced in the NCAA championships before. - Junior Ben Saarel
96th at 2K, 78th at 5.2K (+18), 50th at 8K (+28), 31st at the finish (+19). Net gain of 65 spots. - Senior Connor Winter
64th at 2K, 35th at 5.2K (+29), 27th at 8K (+8), 33rd at the finish — a drop of six spots in the last 2K and a net gain of 31 positions. - Senior Ammar Moussa
42nd at 2K, 26th at 5.2K (+16), 35th (-9), 42nd (-7) at the finish. A net gain of zero positions.
Moussa, who because he was sixth, didn’t count in team scoring, was fifth at nationals last year, and Saarel — who said he had been struggling to come back from mononucleosis all year — was seventh. So two runners who were huge contributors last year had less-than-ideal days. Colorado won the championship in 2014 with 65 points (they had 91 this year, to Syracuse’s 82).
Pierce Murphy is stalked by Syracuse runners Colin Bennie and Martin Hehir (in orange) with a few kilometers left in the NCAA cross country championships in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday. (Daniel Petty, The Denver Post)
Now let’s examine Syracuse, which placed three runners in the top 10 and started much stronger overall near the front of the race and then gained positions. Even though Colorado’s fifth runner came in before Syracuse’s fourth and fifth, Syracuse’s front-loaded stack made the task all the harder.
- Sophomore Justyn Knight
Syracuse’s top runner, sophomore Justyn Knight, started up front and never wavered. He was 4th at 2K, 3rd at 5.2K, 3rd at 8K, and 4th at the finish — no net change in position. - Sophomore Colin Bennie
13th at 2K, 8th at 5.2K (+6), 7th at 8K (+1), 8th at the finish (-1). Net gain of five spots. - Senior Martin Hehir
14th at 2K, 13th at 5.2K (+1), 9th at 8K (+4), 9th at the finish (0). Net gain of five positions. - Junior Joel Hubbard
50th at 2K, 41st at 5.2K (+9), 51st at 8K (-10), 47th at the finish (+4). Net gain of three positions. Hubbard ends up as Syracuse’s fifth runner. - Senior Dan Lennon
51st at 2K, 44th at 5.2K (+7), 56th at 8K (-12), 65th at the finish (-9). Net loss of 14 positions. Lennon ends as Syracuse’s No. 6. - Sophomore Philo Germano
Here’s where it gets interesting. Germano was 52nd at 2K, 56th at 5.2K (-4), 53rd at 8K (+3), 39th at the finish (+14). That’s a net gain of 13 positions from 2K to the finish, but he gained 14 spots in the final 2,000 meters. All other things being equal, without Germano’s late surge to be Syracuse’s No. 4 runner, the Orange doesn’t win.
Generally, Syracuse maintained a strong group of three near the front of the race and either maintained or moved up a handful of positions. Yes, cross country is a team sport, and Syracuse’s success with their top three set them up for victory. But it was Germano’s monster last 2,000 meters that ultimately sealed the win.
Daniel Petty: dpetty@denverpost.com or @danielpetty
