Villanova Harriers Ranked #9 in FloTrack's Preseason XC Poll

The 2013 NCAA Regional Champions return 6 of 7 for the 2014 campaign.  Only Alex Tully (far right), the hero of the 2012 NCAA Regional, will be missing from this year's squad

XC COUNTDOWN: #9 Villanova Men

Flo Track on Aug 24, 2014 |

Head Coach:
Marcus O’Sullivan (15th Year)

Last Year:

1st Big East

1st Mid-Atlantic Region

18th NCAA

Probable Top Five:

SO Patrick Tiernan (7:57 3k; 13:31 5k; 9th NCAA XC '13)

SR Sam McEntee (3:36 1500m; 7:54 3k; 14:12 5k; 27th NCAA XC '13)

JR Jordy Williamsz (3:36 1500m; 8:04 3k; 10th Mid-Atlantic XC '13; 205th NCAA XC '13)

SR Brian Basili (8:17 3k; 14:08 5k; 12th Mid-Atlantic XC '13; 143rd NCAA XC '13)

JR Robert Denault (3:41 1500m; 8:15 3k; 9th Mid-Atlantic XC '13; 6th Big East XC '13)

Impact Freshman/Recruits:

Grant Wiggins - Norfolk Academy, VA (4:20 1600m; 15:41 5k)

Ishmael Muhammed - Oakcrest, NJ (4:16 1600m; 1:48 800m)

Analysis:
Villanova’s three boys from Down Under guarantee that Coach Marcus O’Sullivan can book their flights to Terre Haute, a little earlier than most. Patrick Tiernan was 9th as a freshman, and his 13:31 5k on the track is indicative of what this guy from Toowoomba (Australia) can produce on the day. His projected low stick may even be as good as top three at the Big Race. He is that good. Sam McEntee (Perth, Australia) was a terrific 27th at last year’s race, and he has as good a set of wheels as anyone in the race with a 3:36 for 1500. Jordy WIlliamsz (Melbourne, Australia) is not likely to have the nightmare he had at last year’s bogfest race where he finished 205th. He is much better than that, so look for him to redeem himself this time around.

Solid senior Brian Basili finished 12th in last year’s Region race, and he has improved throughout his years at Villanova as indicated by his PR last year of 14:08 for 5k on the track. He will be the lone American in O’Sullivan’s top five. Canadian Robert Denault leaped on to the list of Villanova’s many top 1500 meter runners with a 3:41 last spring. Showing he can run longer, he was 9th in the Mid Atlantic Region cross meet last year.

So, does anybody want to race Villanova over 1500 meters? How about 10,000 meters on grass?

Maybe no on both counts.

A winner in Coach O’Sullivan  and some very talented foreigners will make the Wildcats a team to be feared in November.

Tom Donnelly into USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame

Pat Devine (l) and Tom Donnelly (r) formed a dynamic duo as track and XC coaches at LaSalle High

Tom Donnelly into USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame

Tom Donnelly winning the 1969 IC4A Steeplechase Title, in 8:50

Here's the release today from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, naming former Villanova All-American Tom Donnelly as a 2014 inductee into its Coaches Hall of Fame

Tom Donnelly

Haverford

Tom Donnelly

While Tom Donnelly of Haverford has said the impact a coach makes on a student-athlete is "maybe one percent," the long-running thread of successes his Haverford men’s track & field and cross country squads have achieved during his 40-year-and-counting career as the head coach of the Fords says otherwise.
Since taking over at the small liberal arts school of little more than 1,000 students in 1974, Donnelly has become one of the most influential distance coaches in the country. Even though numerous world-class athletes have trained under his tutelage over the years – including sub-3:50 milers Marcus O’Sullivan and Sydney Maree – Donnelly has remained loyal to the program he built in Haverford.
That program-building culminated in 2010 with his cross country team winning the school’s first-ever national team title, led by individual national champion Anders Hulleberg and five All-Americans. The team title is part of a streak of 29 consecutive team appearances at the NCAA Championships, and a overall total of 33 team appearances.
Hulleberg was the second national cross country champion Donnelly coached, along with Seamus McElligott in 1990, and his All-Americans were among 32 different men who have earned the honor in cross country during his tenure.
He has been equally as successful on the track as on the trails, with 66 men having earned outdoor All-America honors and 59 earning the award indoors – including 15 outdoor event champions and 10 indoor champions.
His teams have dominated at the conference level both indoors and out. Since the Centennial Conference was formed in 1994, Donnelly’s Fords have claimed 18 of 21 outdoor track & field team titles and 17 of 21 indoor team crowns.
Those victories were powered by the largest number of event champions in conference history. His men have combined for 106 event wins at the Centennial Conference Outdoor Championships, and 130 indoors.
Before beginning his legendary Haverford coaching career, he contributed to the track & field and cross country legacy of another historic Pennsylvania institution in Villanova. He was a member of a Wildcats program from 1966 through 1969 that won three-straight NCAA cross country team titles and another in track & field.

1998 in BudapestSonia O'Sullivan wins European Championship at 10,000m