Flotrack's Picks:
Women's Teams | Women's Individuals | Men's Teams | Men's Individuals

1. Edward Cheserek, Oregon
You may have seen our Kolas LIVE Show, where upon learning that King Ches had taken a loss in Palo Alto, we did what any respectable sports media company would do- we lost our damn minds! While we definitely overreacted, there were also some good points raised in relation to the idea of Cheserek and conceding victories. For one, Cheserek always seems to find a way to win, even at inconsequential races such as last year’s West regional and this year’s opener, the Dellinger XC Invite. We’ve grown accustomed to Ches winning races where the results are completely trivial in the past, so why would he let up now? Secondly, if you watch the finish video it doesn’t appear that Ches is jogging over the final 100 meters, it just looks like Korolev had the better finish. Could someone pull a Korolev on Ches in Terre Haute?
Prediction: No. Edward Cheserek is still the best in NCAA XC, no matter the result of the final 100m against Korolev. King Ches will capture his 2nd straight title in convincing fashion on Saturday.

2. Patrick Tiernan, Villanova
Tiernan is kind of like Scottie Pippen of those famous Chicago Bulls teams in the 1990s. The Bulls were led by the greatest basketball player of all time Michael Jordan, but if it were not for the unnderappreciated Pippen, who would go on to earn Hall of Fame recognition, the Bulls would have never won six NBA titles. Like Jordan, Cheserek is on an entirely different level than the rest of the NCAA competition. Just like no one else can drop a sub-25 last 200 of a 10k like Ches, no one else could take the last shot for the Bulls but Michael Jordan. Because Cheserek is a once in a generation talent, Tiernan gets overlooked and undervalued. He was ninth at NCAAs last year and he ran 13:31 on the track. The fact that he is only a sophomore often gets passed over as well because the guy in front of him is also just a sophomore.
Prediction: Remember how he destroyed the UW Invite field which included Futsum Zienasellassie? Don’t sleep on this Aussie. He's going for #1.

3. Eric Jenkins, Oregon
Jenkins’ first cross country season for the Ducks has gone off without a hitch, as he has followed his best bud Cheserek en route to some pretty impressive finishes. Of course, the 2nd-place showing that completed Oregon’s 1-2 splash at PAC-12s was nice, and it led many to wonder if it could be replicated at the Big Dance.
Prediction: If it wasn’t for Tiernan standing in his way, Jenkins’ chances to round out the top two would be a lot more secure, but we can’t put Jenkins in front of the Aussie because the latter does not have the top ten finish on his resume like Tiernan does.




4. Joe Rosa, Stanford
We could be talking about an entirely different race if Jim Rosa was preparing to run on Saturday, but alas, he is not, and Stanford would do well just to make it on the podium in Terre Haute. After sitting out last year with his own injury issues, Joe Rosa has looked just like the 2013 version of Jim Rosa (see what I did there?). Jim took 2nd at 2013 PAC-12s, Joe took 3rd in 2014. Jim placed 2nd at the 2013 West region and Joe placed 6th last Friday. Their similarites go further than just appearance. 
Prediction: The brothers’ performances in consecutive years have been similar to each other, and that’s why Joe will lead the Cardinal with his fourth place finish on Saturday. 




5. Blake Theroux, Colorado
Theroux is making his last season as a Buffalo one to remember. After nearly kicking down Oregon’s Edward Cheserek at Pre-Nats, he emerged as the clear favorite Buff to be a top-five contender. After the race, Theroux said, “We let our running do the talking.” And it certainly has. Using his steeple strength, Theroux won the early season Rocky Mountain Shootout (with the third fastest time ever run on the course), finished runner-up to Ches in Terre Haute, and was the top Buff (fourth) at their 30-point Pac-12 victory. Coach Mark Wetmore encourages this team to run smart, and we think Blake will the smartest Buff come Saturday.
Prediction: Running for his boys, Theroux will be the single-digit scorer for the Buffaloes. His five points will be the lowest for Colorado, leading them to another NCAA team title.


6. Maksim Korolev, Stanford
The Harvard-turned-Stanford superstar has given us many reasons to believe in his top ten abilities. Even though he he's been a bit insconsistent in the past, his best races are too good to ignore. He was the first finisher in the stacked Wisco field, outkicking Futsum Zienasellassie to win in 23:43. He then reminded us that he’s human by finishing ninth at the Pac-12 Championship race. Doubt Korolev if you will, but he returned with vengeance when he displayed his steller kick to chase down Cheserek in the final moment of the D1 West Regional, handing the King his first cross country loss since Pre-Nats in 2013.
Prediction: After the regional win, Korolev said he runs better as an underdog, and that he can’t afford to have a Pac-12 moment in Terre Haute. He’ll keep a level head and cruise into the top ten, but stiffer competition will prevent him from besting his 2013 finish.

7. Futsum Zienasellassie, Northern Arizona
Fourth in 2013 for NAU’s runner-up team, Zienasellassie has finished every race with in a solid first or second place all season. He’s been bested by Tiernan (UW Invite), Korolev (Wisco), and UTEP’s Anthony Rotich so far, but he's ready to contend in Terre Haute. His defeats, however, put him lower on our top ten list. His loss to Tiernan was by 20 seconds, Korolev out kicked him, and Rotich threw down the hammer in the D1 Mountain Region race, besting Futsum by 10 seconds. After the race, Futsum reflected by saying, “I know I haven’t given all I got. Every race there are small mistakes, things I wanna work on… I’m going to put in everything and try and get on top.” With his lone win of 2014 being his Big Sky Conference title, he’s hungry for something big at NCAAs.
Prediction: He’ll stick his nose in with the front pack, but has been broken too many times in 2014 to finish higher than seventh. 

8. Anthony Rotich, UTEP 
The 2014 NCAA steeplechase champ rolled into the cross country season with a solid progression, starting with a runner-up finish at Chile Pepper, a seventh-place finish at Pre-Nats, his third C-USA conference title, and most recently, a decisive individual win at D1 Mountain. Rotich took down a stacked field in Albuquerque that included No. 7 Futsum Zienasellassie and the entire unstoppable team that is the No. 1 Colorado Buffaloes. His winning time was 29:38 over 10k, 10 seconds clear of Zienasellassie.The performance also boosted his team to earn their first bid since 2007 to the NCAA championships.
Prediction: With the support of his teammates and a perfectly timed peak, Rotich will improve upon his 19th-place finish from last year to mix it up with the top 10. He’ll run up front from the start, and barring any falls like last year’s race, will finish eighth overall.

9. Stanley Kebenei, Arkansas
The steeple All American started the 2014 season off with a bang after taking the Chile Pepper win and earning SEC Runner of the Week honors. The senior captured a sixth-place finish at Wisconsin in a tactical kicker’s race, and continued on to earn an SEC conference title in a season-best 8k time of 23:49, helping the Razorbacks to their fifth straight SEC championship. At D1 South Central, Kebenei crushed the competition and cruised for an individual title, covering the course in a blazing time of 29:08 over 10k, five seconds ahead of runner-up Craig Lutz. 
Prediction: The senior will put it all on the line in his final collegiate cross country race to crack the top 10 and lead the Razorbacks to a top 20 finish.

10. John Mascari, Indiana State
The redshirt junior from Indiana State has been contending with the major players all season, starting with a third-place finish at Notre Dame Invite. He continued on to run a fifth-place finish at his home course in Terre Haute for Pre-Nats, edging out Purdue’s Matt McClintock, UTEP’s Anthony Rotich and finishing ahead of Colorado’s 3-5. The hometown hero just captured his second D1 Great Lakes region title, marking the third year in a row the Sycamore has earned a spot on the line at NCAAs as an individual.  “I cannot say enough about John,” said Coach John McNichols after Mascari’s performance at D1 Great Lakes. “He obviously has a lot of talent but I have never coached a guy that has worked like he does. The work he did over the summer and every day since was toward what we saw today. He is a great one and has set himself up to have a very good championship.”
Prediction: Mascari will make a huge jump from his 32nd-place finish from the 2013 championships with a top 10 finish, making his hometown proud and earning the third All American honor of his career.