Every year there is a window of time from late October to late November where champions get crowned and legends are created. Some years, there is hope of an NCAA berth for West Virginia's flagship university. Some years, there is hope for a berth at Foot Lockers. And then there is 2008. This is a year when the stars are aligned. This is a year where fans of WV can hope for Big East Championships, unbelievably competitive State races, podium finishes at NCAAs and Foot Locker Finalists. Whole running careers will be judged by what happens in the next thirty days, so let's lace 'em up and I'll whet that appetite for destruction with some authentic W previews... (Note: previews are not authentic unless you listen to this song while you read them, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZkllM8znx4)
October 31st - Big East Championship
This is the easiest race to preview. WVU girls win. This is one of those "Mike Tyson in the 80's" sporting events. The reigning champion has been maiming opponents with such ferocity that an upset is unthinkable. Individually, the race is not as much of a sure thing... or is it? Marie-Louise, the pride of Sarnia, Ont., butchered the field at Paul Short. The girl's winner from last year's Big Easts transferred from Georgetown to Oregon, so Marie-Louise is also the top returning runner. If Ms. Asselin gets beat to the line, the likely people to do it are... Danette Doetzel of Providence and Keri Bland and Clara Grandt of WVU. The downside of a 1-2-3 WVU finish is that it would be done by Juniors, so Big East would probably just cancel next year's meet and send them the 2009 awards in the mail.
November 1st - West Virginia State Championship
AAA Boys - It is on like Donkey Kong. Hampshire v. Ciarolla v. Caldwell v. Pelliccioni in a Death Match. This season has been one of the more entertaining to watch. David Ciarolla coming out in October like a hurricane was one of the better plot twists. How will the race on Saturday play out? I have no idea. Hampshire has been tough all season, Ciarolla is the hot hand, Caldwell is lurking and Pelliccioni ran 15:45 against a serious Virginia field. I guess that most of the logical outcomes end with a spent Hampshire hoisting the trophy over an exhausted Ciarolla, but at this point, it's anyone's race.
AAA Girls - Let's not kid ourselves, this is Kasprowicz/Propst II. Kasprowicz took the first bout, but now the stakes are much higher. I can't see anyone running away from Ari at this point, so Propst better be figuring out a way to turn this into a kicker's duel. This is either going to go Rocky II (Propst is Rocky, Kasprowicz is Apollo... Rocky keeps hanging around, takes all of Apollo's punches and closes like a freight train) or it is going to go Rocky IV (Propst is Apollo, Kasprowicz is Ivan Drago... Apollo gets his head taken off in the second round and everyone becomes terrified of the blonde Drago).
AA-A Boys - Leonard Roach is the overwhelming favorite.
AA-A Girls - Chelsea Callaway is the overwhelming favorite.
November 15th - NCAA Regionals
What's there to preview? WVU qualifies, maybe with the victory over Princeton. Anything short of qualifying will be a complete disaster.
November 24th - NCAA Championship
Washington, Oregon, Florida State, Princeton and WVU are the schools at the top. Tough running by whoever emerges at WVU's #5 spot can vault the Mountaineers to third, maybe second if either Washington or Oregon have a disaster. WVU really should not finish lower than 5th, unless some girls have bad days. Any way you cut it, WVU should get their highest finish ever and maybe, just maybe, third place if they get a few breaks. Individually, they should pull down three All-American awards. Marie-Louise could be looking at a top-5 finish if Paul Short was any indication. Anyone with the free time should motor on over to Indiana State for the race. It's within pretty easy driving distance and I'll guarantee we won't get the chance to see another WV-loaded WVU team do this well at nationals ever again... or until 2009.
November 29th - Foot Locker South Regional
Here's where everyone gets to poke fun at dumb ol' W. I think we've got a really good slate of kids with a chance at qualifying for Foot Locker Nationals. I'll wait for the laughter to stop.
Ok, on the guy's side, I think Ciarolla, Hampshire and Tennant all have very outside shots of getting through. (Disclaimer: if Tennant has bagged the rest of the season then he's obviously out. But, depending on the diagnosis, he could cross train for 3-4 weeks and give it a pretty good shot. Cue the "He could die of a compound fracture!" crowd and their comments.) Last year 10th was 15:14 and Beabout and Grandt ran 15:25 and 15:26. If the AAA Boy's race goes 15:50s, I think that those there at the end of the State Meet race should strongly consider training hard for another 4 weeks and going to North Carolina. Major point of emphasis: 17 of the top 20 runners at 2007 Foot Locker South were seniors and won't be returning this year. Qualifying is do-able and I really hope our top guys take advantage of this opportunity.
Girl's side, I think our two top dogs have a very slim shot at qualifying. Kasprowicz probably has the better chance given that she's already run 18:30s and has been making huge improvements. Here's the part that probably sinks Kasprowicz's chances of qualifying... the top 20 last year went sub-18 and only 5 (!) were seniors. So there is a slew of girls coming back this year who are really doggone fast.
Best of luck to everyone out there as we close out this cross country season, and let's use the next thirty days to bring home some hardware for the Mountain State.
