Women’s Cross Country Opens Season Ranked No. 1 in Nation

NEW ORLEANS – Cross country squads at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., and at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire have a reason to smile on this Wednesday as they are the top-ranked teams in the nation according to the Division III national coaches’ poll as sponsored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The men’s teams of WASHU finished seventh in the nation a year ago and are closely trailed by second-ranked and defending national champs, North Central (Ill.). The women of UW Eau Claire won their first national title last fall with a nine-point victory over No. 2 St. Lawrence and enter the 2010 season as favorites to repeat.

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Washington (Mo.) earned half of the first-place votes in the men’s poll as North Central (Ill.) claimed three of eight and No. 3 Allegheny notched a lone FPV. North Central (Ill.) won their 13th national crown in 2009 and their first since 1999 with a decisive, 131-point margin over Williams College. The Cardinals’ national title was the first of three in the school year as they would go on to win the NCAA team titles in indoor track & field and outdoor track & field.

The Bears of WASHU return top-20 national finisher Michael Burnstein and top-65 finisher Dave Spandorfer to a squad that claimed seventh at the NCAA Championships last year. North Central’s top five runners a year ago all finished in the national top 25 and two of those will be back for the 2010 campaign. Senior Michael Spain was the national runner up for the Cardinals last year and junior Neal Klein was a top 20 finisher a year ago. The Gators of Allegheny will return seniors Jermaine Parker and Chris Marker who placed in the top 15 of the national race in 2009.

Washington (Mo.) opens the season today at 6 p.m., central with the Gateway Dual where the Bears will take on Greenville College. The Bears will also host the Washington University Early Bird this Saturday. North Central will open the season with the Elmhurst Invitational on Friday, followed by the Aurora Invitational on September 10 and the Illinois Intercollegiates on September 17. Allegheny opens the season Saturday at Case Western Reserve’s Bill Sudeck Classic, followed by the Mideast Region Preview Meet on September 25.

The University Athletic Association tops all the leagues in Division III with six of their members in the national men’s top 35, including top-ranked Washington (Mo.), No. 5 NYU, No. 9 Brandeis, No. 11 Carnegie Mellon, No. 30 Rochester, and No. 34 Emory. The WIAC placed five teams in the top 35 and the SUNYAC and NESCAC each had three.

The women of UW Eau Claire swept the first-place votes in the preseason poll. No. 2 St. Lawrence earned all but one second-place vote and enter the season as the second-ranked team in the country. No. 3 Middlebury placed fourth at last year’s national championships and is the lead representatives of the New England Region.

UW Eau Claire’s Blugolds had four of their runners place in the top 45 at the national championships a year ago to lead the team to the national title. Three of those are back for another run at it in 2010 with junior Alyssa Sybilrud, Margaret Ho, and Beth Easker returning to squad. For St. Lawrence, defending individual national champion Wendy Pavlus is back for her senior campaign. In 2009, Pavlus won the six-kilometer championship race by over 17 seconds ahead of nearest finisher, Marie Borner of Bethel (Minn.). Along with Pavlus, the Saints return Jenna Hulton who placed 15th in last year’s national race and Megan Derby who was a top-40 finisher. Middlebury returns sophomores Addie Tousley and Sarah Lange who both finished in the national top 40 last year as freshmen.

The Blugolds open the season on Saturday by hosting their own Alumni/Open run which will be followed by the Luther All-American Invitational on September 11. St. Lawrence opens 2010 by hosting the Run for Ryan Alumni Race and will come back Wednesday, September 8 for the North Country Five Meet. SUNY Oneonta will host an Atlantic Region preview meet on September 17 in which the Saints will test their No. 1 regional ranking. The Panthers of Middlebury will start the season with the Dartmouth Invitational on September 11 and their home Panther Invitational on September 18.

The next national poll will be announced on September 22. The NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday, November 20 at the Max Championship Cross Country Course in Waverly, Iowa.
USTFCCCA
NCAA Division III
Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll
2010 Preseason, September 1
next ranking: September 22

USTFCCCA
NCAA Division III
Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll
2010 Preseason, September 1
next ranking: September 22
Rank	Institution (FPV)	Points	Region	Conference	Location	2009 NCAA
1	Washington (Mo.) (4)	271	Midwest	UAA	St. Louis, Mo.	7
2	North Central (Ill.) (3)	267	Midwest	CCIW	Naperville, Ill.	1
3	Allegheny (1)	260	Mideast	NCAC	Meadville, Pa.	3
4	Haverford	255	Mideast	Centennial	Haverford, Pa.	8
5	NYU	249	Atlantic	UAA	New York, N.Y.	4
6	SUNY Geneseo	245	Atlantic	SUNYAC	Geneseo, N.Y.	6
7	UW Platteville	228	Midwest	WIAC	Platteville, Wis.	9
8	Calvin	224	Great Lakes	MIAA	Grand Rapids, Mich.	13
9	Brandeis	209	New England	UAA	Waltham, Mass.	24
10	UW La Crosse	207	Midwest	WIAC	La Crosse, Wis.	10
11	Carnegie Mellon	196	Mideast	UAA	Pittsburgh, Pa.	12
12	St. Lawrence	188	Atlantic	Liberty League	Canton, N.Y.	11
12	Williams	188	New England	NESCAC	Williamstown, Mass.	2
14	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps	181	West	SCIAC	Claremont, Calif.	15
15	UW Whitewater	158	Midwest	WIAC	Whitewater, Wis.	DNQ
16	St. Olaf	154	Central	MIAC	Northfield, Minn.	21
17	Willamette	138	West	Northwest	Salem, Ore.	20
18	UW Stevens Point	137	Midwest	WIAC	Stevens Point, Wis.	DNQ
19	Grinnell	114	Central	MWC	Grinnell, Iowa	DNQ
20	Elizabethtown	106	Mideast	MAC	Elizabethtown, Pa.	28
21	Mount Union	105	Great Lakes	OAC	Alliance, Ohio	32
22	Amherst	98	New England	NESCAC	Amherst, Mass.	17
23	Plattsburgh State	97	Atlantic	SUNYAC	Plattsburgh, N.Y.	DNQ
24	Hamline	91	Central	MIAC	Saint Paul, Minn.	23
24	Heidelberg	91	Great Lakes	OAC	Tiffin, Ohio	18
26	Colorado College	84	West	SCAC	Colorado Springs, Colo.	25
27	UW Oshkosh	83	Midwest	WIAC	Oshkosh, Wis.	DNQ
27	Dickinson	83	Mideast	Centennial	Carlisle, Pa.	22
29	Manchester	41	Great Lakes	HCAC	North Manchester, Ind.	26
30	Rochester	38	Atlantic	UAA	Rochester, N.Y.	DNQ
31	Centre	34	South/Southeast	SCAC	Danville, Ky.	DNQ
32	Tufts	32	New England	NESCAC	Medford, Mass.	DNQ
33	Keene State	25	New England	Little East	Keene, N.H.	29
34	SUNY Cortland	24	Atlantic	SUNYAC	Cortland, N.Y.	5
34	Emory	24	South/Southeast	UAA	Atlanta, Ga.	14
Others Receiving Votes: Wheaton (Ill.) 23, Oberlin 16, Southern Maine 13, MIT 11, Augustana (Ill.) 11, Nebraska Wesleyan 10, Lynchburg 8, UW Eau Claire 7, Whitworth 7, Pomona-Pitzer 6, Case Western Reserve 4, Ohio Wesleyan 2, Susquehanna 1, Bowdoin 1.

 

USTFCCCA
NCAA Division III
Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll
2010 Preseason, September 1
next ranking: September 22
Rank	Institution (FPV)	Points	Region	Conference	Location	2009 NCAA
1	UW Eau Claire (8)	280	Midwest	WIAC	Eau Claire, Wis.	1
2	St. Lawrence	271	Atlantic	Liberty League	Canton, N.Y.	2
3	Middlebury	259	New England	NESCAC	Middlebury, Vt.	4
4	Washington (Mo.)	249	Midwest	UAA	St. Louis, Mo.	10
5	Calvin	245	Great Lakes	MIAA	Grand Rapids, Mich.	3
6	MIT	241	New England	NEWMAC	Cambridge, Mass.	5
7	Whitworth	233	West	Northwest	Spokane, Wash.	6
8	Nebraska Wesleyan	221	Central	Independents	Lincoln, Neb.	12
9	SUNY Geneseo	215	Atlantic	SUNYAC	Geneseo, N.Y.	9
10	Williams	214	New England	NESCAC	Williamstown, Mass.	8
11	Johns Hopkins	197	Mideast	Centennial	Baltimore, Md.	7
12	Chicago	179	Midwest	UAA	Chicago, Ill.	DNQ
13	Carleton	171	Central	MIAC	Northfield, Minn.	11
14	Amherst	167	New England	NESCAC	Amherst, Mass.	21
15	UW Oshkosh	162	Midwest	WIAC	Oshkosh, Wis.	13
16	Haverford	158	Mideast	Centennial	Haverford, Pa.	30
17	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps	143	West	SCIAC	Claremont, Calif.	22
18	Hope	136	Great Lakes	MIAA	Holland, Mich.	DNQ
19	Dickinson	135	Mideast	Centennial	Carlisle, Pa.	18
19	NYU	135	Atlantic	UAA	New York, N.Y.	24
21	Oberlin	129	Great Lakes	NCAC	Oberlin, Ohio	23
22	St. Thomas (Minn.)	125	Central	MIAC	Saint Paul, Minn.	DNQ
23	Case Western Reserve	98	Great Lakes	UAA	Cleveland, Ohio	15
24	Luther	90	Central	IIAC	Decorah, Iowa	DNQ
25	UW Stevens Point	80	Midwest	WIAC	Stevens Point, Wis.	DNQ
26	Brandeis	78	New England	UAA	Waltham, Mass.	DNQ
27	Wesleyan (Conn.)	71	New England	NESCAC	Middletown, Conn.	14
28	Plattsburgh State	65	Atlantic	SUNYAC	Plattsburgh, N.Y.	DNQ
29	Baldwin-Wallace	64	Great Lakes	OAC	Berea, Ohio	29
30	Rhodes	45	South/Southeast	SCAC	Memphis, Tenn.	26
31	Grove City	35	Mideast	PAC	Grove City, Pa.	DNQ
32	St. Olaf	33	Central	MIAC	Northfield, Minn.	27
33	Occidental	25	West	SCIAC	Los Angeles, Calif.	DNQ
34	DePauw	23	Great Lakes	SCAC	Greencastle, Ind.	20
35	Emory	15	South/Southeast	UAA	Atlanta, Ga.	32
Others Receiving Votes: UW La Crosse 14, Gustavus Adolphus 12, Ithaca 11, Lynchburg 7, Elizabethtown 5, SUNY Cortland 3, Carnegie Mellon 1.