EARLYSVILLE, Va. – The No. 4 Stanford men's cross country team essentially opens its season Friday when it races at the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational.
Stanford's men's and women's teams officially opened Sept. 2 at the USF Invitational, but treated the meet like a workout. This meet will include the Cardinal men, not the women.
The team is expected to hold out three of its potential championship top-seven -- All-Americas Sean McGorty and Grant Fisher, and sophomore Alex Ostberg. Instead, the Cardinal should be led by 2014 All-America Sam Wharton, and two potential All-Americans: Garrett Sweatt (28:51, 10,000 meters) and Jack Keelan (13:40, 5,000).
Here are the details:
Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational
When: Friday
Course: Panorama Farms
City: Earlysville, Va..
Time: Men (8K; 4.97 miles), 7:30 a.m. PT
Live Results: Click here.
USTFCCCA Rankings:
Stanford: No. 4
Men's preview: No. 4 Stanford is among 14 teams in the field, with defending NCAA champion and No. 1 Syracuse, No. 11 Virginia, and No. 12 BYU offering the top competition. Justyn Knight and Colin Bennie, who placed fourth and eighth, respectively, at the NCAA Championships last year, are expected to make their season debut. Virginia, which finished 22nd at NCAA's last year, was picked to finish second to Syracuse in the Atlantic Coast Conference. BYU, coached by Ed Eyestone, is the defending West Coast Conference champion and placed 12th at NCAA's. Even if Sean McGorty doesn't run, there will be a McGorty in the field – Sean's brother Ryan will race for William & Mary.
Stanford breakdown: With Sean McGorty and Grant Fisher likely to be held out (coaches' decision), fans will not see a dual between Stanford and Syracuse's top two runners. Alex Ostberg will not run, nor will any of Stanford's top-ranked recruiting class, who are all expected to redshirt. The Cardinal's No. 1 runner should be between veterans Garrett Sweatt and Jack Keelan. This year, the Cardinal returns five of its seven from the 2015 NCAA third-place team, though only Keelan, Sweatt, and Sam Wharton are expected to run Friday from that lineup.
Stanford's probable lineup (with years of eligibility):
Steven Fahy, so.
Blair Hurlock, so.
Jack Keelan, jr.
Will Lauer, fr.
Patrick Perrier, so.
Garrett Sweatt, sr.
Sam Wharton, jr.