The Meat Grinder: Individual Power Rankings 1st Edition
If NCAA cross country were a type of food, it would most definitely be meat. The Meatgrinder is one writer's attempt to comment on the delicious, sometimes salty, always satisfying taste of the college cross country scene. It is written by ben wietmarschen, who can be reached at ben@trackshark.com. He resides somewhere and does something for a living. Enjoy.
The photo above is of the late rapper, Tupac. I'm sure you already knew that. More than a decade ago he recorded the song, "Thug Luv" with a rap group from Ohio called Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Hopefully, you are also familiar with them.
"Thug Luv" is a great song. It’s raw, it’s tough, it’s riddled with the sound of rhythmic gun shots. It’s everything you could want from a late ‘90’s rap. I mainly love it because whenever it comes on I am immediately transported into another identity. I'm no longer "quiet-guy-riding-the-train-home-from-work", I become "thug that you love to hate," so to speak. The song puts me into a mood where I can step outside of my real personality and feel the rappers’ expression and even take on a sliver of their identity, even if it's only in my head. I get a similar transcendence from Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie.” Similar, but different.
It's tough to describe exactly how or why “Thug Luv” gives me this feeling, because it's not like it makes me want to go out and be like the rappers or do the things they rap about. Specifically, I never had the urge to kill people or drop fools or fly out to Cleveland / late some evening / to clean up some (people) no longer breathin'. That would be insane, right? I know that's ridiculous because I, like most people, are intelligent enough to tell the difference between artistic expression and role modeling.
For whatever reason, though, the song gives me a shot of adrenaline that makes me feel invincible. It also makes me do this weird dance thing where I rock my shoulders back and forth and make some not-so-covert gun shooting motions with my arm, hands, and fingers. It's very embarrassing but, I mean, I really get into it.
This transformation is, first and foremost, funny. Mainly because I’m white as hell and have no business identifying with anything remotely close to a song like “Thug Luv.” I'm nowhere close to a thug, I've never held a gun, and I'm literally scared shitless of prison. Literally. But, the change is also really cool because it gives me a unique feeling that I can only capture in very rare times in life. Even if that feeling is felt vicariously, and embarrassingly, through a song.
It’s that feeling you get where you think to yourself, I alone am the master of my destiny. I stand up to anyone who challenges me and I shoot them down (figuratively, folks). I am bulletproof. I'm a linebacker who just clocked the quarterback, I'm the scrappy point guard who just drove the lane and somehow dunked all over the 7 foot All-American Center. I am Muhammed Ali standing over Sonny Liston, pounding my chest.
Sure, that is some really egotistical stuff, but it gets me pumped up. And it's healthy as long as it's captured in moments here and there and not taken to heart or taken overboard. Whether it is a private fantasy while you're listening to a song or a public fist pump as you cross the line winning a big race, that feeling is a validation of your individuality.
This is not to say that, in a team sport for instance, this feeling is a selfish hoarding of a team’s accomplishment or a failure to recognize how someone else helped you in your accomplishment. Not at all. A healthy sense of the individual is important to buying into any team atmosphere. After all, it does take a group of individuals accomplishing their task well for the team to be good. This is especially true in cross country.
Cross country is the perfect blend of individuality and teamwork. As a cross country runner you get to stand up alone and pound your chest and let out all of that egotistical aggression by pointing to your specific place in a race and saying you are better than everyone behind you on that day (once again, figuratively, only a true butthole would actually point and/or say something like that). At the same time, you realize that you are standing alongside your teammates and you get to pound their chest a bit, build them up when they're struggling, and draw inspiration and satisfaction from their willingness to do the same to you.
This all sounds a bit corny, I know. But, Bone always takes me to a very sentimental place. I’m looking at you, Phil Collins.
In a little over two months, one runner will get to throw up a fist as he strides across the line in Terre Haute, becoming the king of college cross country for 2008. No doubt, it will be one of those moments in that runner's life where he feels a surge of invincibility and toughness and that very real, very fleeting thought that HE is the greatest and is miles ahead of the competition. And he will deserve it. The great thing about running, though: in the next race, everyone starts at the same line again.
As promised, Power Rankings for the individual championship at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships:
1. Galen Rupp – Oregon
The only thing funnier than picturing me listening to “Thug Luv” is picturing Rupp listen to “Hit ‘em Up.” It’s impossible to argue with him being the favorite this year, but I can see a few runners making a bid by really impressing at Pre-Nationals.
2. Ryan Vail -- OK St.
Vail seems to be on the same page as Coach Smith and ready to continue his impressive improvement curve. He’ll be asked to lead this baby giraffe of an OK St. team onto the podium and second place is about as good as it gets this year. Guy ran 13:42 last Spring, too. Pretty good, but he’s a grass and hills guy for sure.
3. Matt Withrow – Wisconsin
Sometimes runners have a performance early in their career that is not necessarily career defining, but shows so much potential that it becomes the shadow that haunts the runner for years and years until they can match it. Brian Olinger’s 8:19 in 2005, Adam Goucher’s 13:11 in 1999, and Matt Withrow’s 4th place finish at USA XC champs in 2005 come to mind. The Kid’s still tough, though. Top 3 tough.
4. Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwot -- Oregon
You guys know I don’t want this to happen, but Oregon is going to have at least two in the top ten, and that’s all I’m giving them. I would not be surprised is they went 1, 4, 11, 12, 13, though. The ‘Rack, as Rupp calls him, is the fourth best returner from last year’s championship, no reason to think he will slide out of the top 5.
5. Andrew Bumbalough -- Georgetown
Bumbalough has all the makings of a big jump this year and the Big East deserves to have someone in the top 5 every year. Georgetown runners always seem to be hanging around when no one expected them to show up, kind of like me at the Sigma Tau ‘Golf Pros and Tennis Hoes’ party every year in college. What can I say? Those tennis skirts are captivating and I can never wear my plaid pants anywhere else without feeling like a huge douche.
6. Stuart Eagon -- Wisconsin
As the smartest and most practical of the Ghost Busters, Eagon has experience dealing with adversity, ghosts from the past, and, of course, the hilarious antics of Peter Venkman. All the tools he will need to help this Badgers team to a finish on the podium.
7. David Kinsella -- Portland
Portland could be the surprise this year and Kinsella will have to lead the way for the Pilots. He is the third best returner from last year’s championship. The pilot’s are adding two proven Kenyan freshmen and five of their top seven from their 14th place finish last year.
8. David McNeill -- Northern Arizona
First off, could this guy look any more Australian? Second, he was the top freshman from last year in 10th place. Third, he ran 13:35 this past spring as a freshman, albeit a TWENTY-ONE year old freshman (how does that happen?).
9. Augustus Maiyo – Alabama
Alabama is ranked ahead of Arkansas this year in the SEC preseason rankings. It will be the first time Arkansas lost an SEC title in 137 years. I like to think Maiyo’s coach, whoever that is, will probably be focusing on that conference meet.
10. German Fernandez -- OK St.
I did it, ok. I put him on the list. I don’t have to explain myself to you. Ok, maybe I do. Some stats: Ritzenhein was 4th his freshman year. Germ was faster on the track than him. By quite a bit. Of course, Ritz dominated Foot Locker while Germ didn’t. Alan Webb was 11th his freshman year. I might go so far as to argue that Germ was just as impressive as Webb on the track his senior year of high school, but then I might be beat with a club by the Nike representative standing behind me right now. So I won’t. The fact is, Fernandez made a big jump going into the track season and deserves the benefit of the doubt. Plus, he has to live in Stillwater, Oklahoma for the next four years, you gotta let the guy have some fun.
Next week, with meets of actual importance getting started, tha' Grinder will get into the swing of things with a Thirsty Thursday Weekend Preview. Feel free to let me know how white you think I am in the comments.
--ben@trackshark.com
post comment
shadrack songkok?
01:32, Friday, September 12, 2008
.. Posted by Anonymous
what about ranking shaddy? had rupp on a plate couple of years back...
Sam Chelanga
01:05, Friday, September 12, 2008
.. Posted by Anonymous
What about Sam Chelanga from Liberty University. Running a 13:24.73 in the 5k last year as a redshirt. Oregon vs Liberty again for the individual championship?
this is ridiculous.
05:20, Sunday, September 14, 2008
.. Posted by Anonymous
do you have any idea what you're talking about? what the fuck does "he's a grass and hills guy" mean? please, tell me about your credentials as a runner. what exactly gives you the authority and wisdom to be critiquing these guys who are actually running?
get a job.
Chris Derrick
04:33, Tuesday, September 16, 2008
.. Posted by Anonymous
'Grass and hills guy' can be reasonably applied to any number of runners who tend to perform better in XC than their track times would indicate.
I think Fernandez could place as high as top 5. He had injury issues last year, and third at Footlocker is nothing to sneeze at. Chris Derrick, who was 2nd at Footlocker, is a less known quantity because he missed the end of track season due to mono. His early season solo 13:55 shows incredible potential though. I wouldn't be surprised to see him sneaking into the top ten.
There's another dozen frosh who have a decent chance at top 50. More here - http://www.trackshark.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10519&start=0
American Bias
04:02, Wednesday, October 8, 2008
.. Posted by Anonymous
This has american bias written all over it. do your homework concerning foriegn runners. any american from track shark can name a bunch of americans (except david mcneil). Way NOT to list many talented Kenyans.
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