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Post by acutrackfan on Aug 19, 2023 14:56:24 GMT -6
Oops, I already missed one from the men's roster. Mikhail Fortner is a homeschooled kid who competed for Austin Champions Homeschool team (just like Neal Helgersen). Fortner is a solid addition - 5th in the Texas Homeschool XC, plus has placed in the 1600 and 3200 at the TX Homeschool T&F meet. Most likely will join the RS corps, but with 2 meets in Abilene (the Big Country XC meet hosted by McM and the Naimadu Invitational hosted by ACU), there will still be a chance to see how all of the redshirts look in a competitive setting.
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Post by acutrackfan on Aug 21, 2023 9:16:55 GMT -6
I just discovered that Georgia Lee is out for XC. Georgia ran on the XC team in 2021 and competed in 4 XC meets that year, but did not compete at conference. I saw Georgia run in 2021 and she has potential -- she certainly is capable of running in the top-9 and could possibly even break into the top-7 for this season. Incidentally, Georgia is from Lejeune HS in NC (military family) -- hopefully she has some of that Marine toughness.
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Post by bogeyman on Aug 21, 2023 11:32:18 GMT -6
I just discovered that Georgia Lee is out for XC. Georgia ran on the XC team in 2021 and competed in 4 XC meets that year, but did not compete at conference. I saw Georgia run in 2021 and she has potential -- she certainly is capable of running in the top-9 and could possibly even break into the top-7 for this season. Incidentally, Georgia is from Lejeune HS in NC (military family) -- hopefully she has some of that Marine toughness. And didn't drink the water.
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Post by stickman1 on Aug 21, 2023 14:49:30 GMT -6
Thanks for the updates, TrackFan! This upcoming XC year will be exciting to watch. I think the new coach is bringing new energy to the team and I hope to see some success. I am especially excited to see how Kevin C does after his solid outdoor season. He has been a great addition as a transfer. Also, I am wondering how the men's team will fare against the Texas schools within the Wac. The out of state schools are still dominant on the men's side (CBU, Southern Utah, and Utah Valley) but schools like SFA and UTA should be beatable. I would hope the men's team competes with GCU as well. We shall see!
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Post by acutrackfan on Aug 22, 2023 9:57:25 GMT -6
Stickman, thanks for jumping on about XC. The fact that ACU XC has so few newcomers does not have to mean this team can't be better than 2022 in both genders. For the women, getting Tessa Holdermann back is huge -- she was very close to being all-conference as a freshman, before losing last season to a surgery. I also believe that Peyton Bornstein, Bella Evans, and Kate Williams will take huge steps forward in their sophomore years. In XC, the 1st season of competition is a year of transition from the shorter HS races and having a year under their belts of running the longer distance.
On the men's side, I think there are lots of athletes who could see a huge jump in performance -- Kevin Castruita, who Stickman mentions in his post above, is absolutely at the top of the list. Kevin improved incredibly in his first year at ACU. He has a legit shot at top-25 this year in XC. Garrison Shindler is much stronger after a redshirt season. Gabe Embree has finished his toughest courses in his Pre-Med major and will be able to concentrate on running like never before. Neal Helgerson saw tremendous improvement from freshman to soph year (from 92nd place to 44th in one year) - if he continues that same improvement arc, he could also be a top-25 guy. A real sleeper could be O'Brien Verdin, who was beginning to show marked improvement on the XC course in 2021, but lost almost all of the 22-23 year to an injury during XC. And the 2 freshmen from last year, Jacob Russell and Samuel Lanham, did a good job filling in the breach when injuries took out 3 of the upperclassmen. Those 2 are now sophomores and have had lots of experience at the much longer men's XC distance (most high schoolers run no more than a 5K, but college races are at 8K and 10K).
I agree that the new coach, Nathan Meeuwenberg, is bringing a great energy and vitality to the program -- he appears to be a true motivator. This year will be a year where he can get a thorough look at the talent that is returning and get to develop our current runners to the next level. And, while Levi Chambers has used up his XC eligibility, he will still be training with the XC team all fall in preparation for his indoor and outdoor season. And, Levi is like a coach on the course.
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Post by bogeyman on Aug 22, 2023 12:59:41 GMT -6
Was wondering whether Tyler Richardson might be back for his senior year.
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Post by onewackyguy on Aug 23, 2023 22:09:26 GMT -6
acutrackfan. I have an inside scoop on both xc teams heading into the fall. They recently did a 2 mile time trial as they got back onto campus. For the men, Garrison Shindler ran 9:19, Gabe Embree 9:22, Kevin Castruita 9:26 to round out the top 3. For the women, Tessa Holderman, Bella Evans, and Peyton Bornstein rounded out the top 3. Not quite sure on their times. I think we’re in for an interesting season!
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Post by Cap'n on Aug 24, 2023 11:13:51 GMT -6
acutrackfan. I have an inside scoop on both xc teams heading into the fall. They recently did a 2 mile time trial as they got back onto campus. For the men, Garrison Shindler ran 9:19, Gabe Embree 9:22, Kevin Castruita 9:26 to round out the top 3. For the women, Tessa Holderman, Bella Evans, and Peyton Bornstein rounded out the top 3. Not quite sure on their times. I think we’re in for an interesting season! Welcome to Cat Chat, Wacky. I hope you will post liberally and help educate all of us on TFCC if that’s your fav sport. DM me any time if you have questions. Cap’n
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Post by acutrackfan on Aug 24, 2023 13:11:55 GMT -6
acutrackfan. I have an inside scoop on both xc teams heading into the fall. They recently did a 2 mile time trial as they got back onto campus. For the men, Garrison Shindler ran 9:19, Gabe Embree 9:22, Kevin Castruita 9:26 to round out the top 3. For the women, Tessa Holderman, Bella Evans, and Peyton Bornstein rounded out the top 3. Not quite sure on their times. I think we’re in for an interesting season! Those are 6 of the key people for this season. Particularly love seeing Garrison coming off a redshirt year reporting in such good shape. Of course, he is more of a 800/1500 guy and Kevin is more of of 5K/10K guy -- the "short" distance of 2 miles will definitely benefit the 800 guy. But, I love that all 6 of these (and hopefully the entire roster) is coming back to campus in great shape.
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dje
Rookie
Posts: 16
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Post by dje on Aug 28, 2023 8:55:16 GMT -6
Rumor has it that ACU XC will race at TCU John McKenzie invite 5K this Friday instead of McMurry Big County Festival (on ACU home course). It sounds as if EN 10th is still under construction so access to Zoe Park is difficult.
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Post by acutrackfan on Aug 28, 2023 10:17:46 GMT -6
Change of plans due to DJE's accurate intel -- I will not go to Abilene this Friday, but will head in the opposite direction to AP Ranch in west Fort Worth for the TCU John McKenzie Invitational XC meet and see the Wildcats in action.
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Post by texas48 on Aug 28, 2023 14:13:27 GMT -6
IF and WHEN ACU ever develops the land the current XC home tract is on, will ACU return to using the apartment/Smith-Adams land for its home course?
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Post by acutrackfan on Aug 28, 2023 15:15:14 GMT -6
Good question, Texas48 -- the ACU XC team was pushed down to the current location when ACU had started moving toward developing the land around the old Sherrod Apts. That was 6-7 years ago and nothing has moved on the Sherrod land. I think back pieces of development are on hold for the immediate future, although the land right around Taylor Elementary will apparently be the first land to be developed in that parcel.
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Post by texas48 on Aug 29, 2023 8:40:42 GMT -6
Maybe they can work that into the design. That'd be unique I'd say.
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dje
Rookie
Posts: 16
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Post by dje on Aug 30, 2023 10:06:11 GMT -6
Anyone know who's going to be at the TCU meet? It's on A&M's calendar but I can't find anyone else. It looks like a flat 5k course so it should be a great debut for everyone there.
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