What's to See in D3 - ft. Interview With Maddie Coffman of Willamette

Oct 5, 2008 by Daniel Suher

So another big week in XC across all divisions...those that did not participate in Griak last weekend, were at some of the nations other big meets this weekend with Paul Short, Notre Dame, Pre Nationals, Cowboy Jamboree and more. Upsets were a plenty this weekend and so the National Rankings should see some large adjustments once again this week. This week I conducted my third interview, and as promised I have kept moving around the country, this time a female from the West region, scroll down past the recap to skip to the interview. Speaking of the recap, here goes.

The USTFCCCA came updated the national rankings once again this week, and like last week I will simply link to it to save space.

The Men:

http://ustfccca.cstv.com/sports/division3/spec-rel/100108aam.html

The Women:

http://ustfccca.cstv.com/sports/division3/spec-rel/100108aaj.html

On the men's side Cortland held the top spot but surrendered a first place vote to Calvin, however as you will see, this may not be for long... On the Women's side Calvin too held the top spot, as Wartbug and Wiliams moved up, after Amhersts 3rd place finish last week at Williams caused them to drop to 6th. The Midwest has a crazy 8 teams on the men's poll with 13 total, the most of any region, while the UAA leads all conferences with 9 teams total, 5 men and 4 women.

Looking at predictions for nationals, based on this past week's top 35 (which will change big time this week), on the Men's side, The Great Lakes, Midwest, New England and Mideast will all get the full 5 teams in. The Atlantic will get 4 teams, the Central and west will place 3 teams, while the South will get their Automatic 2 bids. The last team out looks to be defending champions NYU in the atlantic, in favor of the second Auto Qualifier from the South. For the women, no one unexpected (not in their region's top 5 but in the top 35) will miss out. The Atlantic, Central, Midwest and New England regions should all get the maximum 5 teams, the Great Lakes will put in 4, the Mideast and West should get 3 while the South advances only their 2 auto bids.

Now lets see how this weekend should impact these predictions based on how the top 35 teams for each gender did in their respective races.

MEN

1st ranked Cortland went to Paul Short to race with the big boys in the Brown Race coming in 9th in a race where Wisconsin, Syracuse and Villanova took the top 3 spots. 9th Ranked Haverford was the second D3 team in the race coming in a distant 27th, while 20th ranked TCNJ was nipping at their heels in 30th place overall. The course was fast, but was not the fastest of the weekend, however Cortland managed a team average of 24:50.

The big upset of the weekend came as 2nd ranked Calvin finished 4th at Notre Dame, behind Meet winners and 7th ranked North Central, D2 Grand Valley St. (second) and 4th ranked Steven's Point (third). 8th ranked Oshkosh finished a bit off the pack in 11th overall (4th D3 team).

3rd ranked Lacrosse took a team of freshmen and sophomores and placed 9th overall at Eau Claire, while Oshkosh's B-team finsihed 10th, behind 19th ranked Hamline who finished 8th without their top runners. Running without the top runners seemed to be the theme of this meet as 22nd ranked Platteville finished 18th with a team of 6 freshmen and 1 sophomore. Not everyone ran a B squad as the 24th ranked host Eau Claire team finished 3rd, behind 31st ranked St. Olaf (2nd) and unranked St. Thomas the meet winners.

12th ranked Emory led by a RIDICULOUS 23:41 (23rd overall) finished 9th at Auburn, the first D3 team. This course is rumored to be a bit short, and if not may be the fastest course in the country as multiple runners broke 23, however this should not take away from the accomplishment as that is a VERY FAST TIME.

13th ranked Geneseo won their home invite putting 5 in the top 10 and scoring 36 points. Also of note, the Geneseo alumni team finished 3rd overall.

16th ranked Keene State won their home invite with 16 points

17th ranked Allegheny won Pre-Nats in Hanover, Indiana, ahead of 30th ranked Trinity (second), 23rd ranked Mt. Union (third), unranked Hope and Centre (fourth and fifth), 21st ranked MIT in sixth place.

18th ranked Dickison took their B-team to Goucher and finished second to NAVY.

26th ranked Willamette was 6th at their home invite but the first D3 team, ahead of unranked Whitworth (seventh) and 35th ranked Claremont (ninth).

27th ranked Nebraska Wesleyan finished 15th at OK State's Cowboy Jamboree, the top D3 team in the race.

Rounding out the Top 35 results, 29th ranked St. Lawrence was victorious at the Liberty League meet scoring 22 points.

WOMEN

1st ranked Calvin finished 4th at Notre Dame behind only Michigan State, Grand Valley State and Northwestwen. 11th ranked Oshkosh was the second D3 team, finishing 11th overall. Oshkosh's Ayla Mitchell was the top runner overall in the race finishing the 5k course in 17:28.

2nd ranked Eau Claire was third at their home meet behind Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth.Oshkosh's B-team finished 9th in this race, behind 32nd ranked St. Olaf (fourth), 17th ranked Luther (sixth) and 12th ranked Carleton (seventh),

7th ranked Middlebury finished 2nd to Vermont at the Vermont State Meet without their top runners.

8th ranked Geneseo put 4 in the top 7 to win their home meet with 25 points.

10th ranked MIT was victorious at Pre-Nats 2 points ahead of 28th ranked Bethel, which had the individual meet winner in Marie Borner. 20th ranked Depauw finished third.

14th ranked Cortland won the Pual Short White race intended for non-ranked non-D1 teams, ahead of 27th ranked Messiah which finished 5th in this race.

18th ranked TCNJ finsihed 24th overall at the Paul Short Brown race (meant for D1 and ranked non-D1 teams), ahead of 22nd ranked Ithaca, which finished 29th in the race. West Virginia, Villanova and Baylor went 1,2,3 in the race.

16th ranked St. Lawrence won the Liberty League meet putting 5 in the top 10 and scoring 21 points.

21st ranked Whitworth was 6th at Willamette, behind 33rd ranke Claremont (third overall, 1st D3 team) and 26th ranked Willamette (fifth overall). Willamette's Maddie Coffman who happens to be this week's interviewee was the individual winner.

24th ranked Nebraska Wesleyan finished 16th at the Cowboy Jamboree

25th ranked Washington & Lee won the Virginia State Meet

30th ranked Dickinson put 15 in the top 25 to win at Goucher

34th ranked Wheaton finished second to unranked Illinois Wesleyan at Carthage

and 35th ranked Emory finished 11 and the wicked fast Auburn Invite.

INTERVIEW WITH MADDIE COFFMAN OF WILLAMETTE

Maddie Coffman is a Senior at Willamette University in Oregon and is the Fifth fastest returner from last year's National Championship. At St. Olaf last November Maddie finished 11th overall earning All American status in Cross Country and will be looking to do it again this year. Here is a little bit about Maddie.

Since many people reading this article may not know who Maddie Coffman is, tell them a little about yourself, where you grew up, how you began running (did you play any other sports before you started running)?

Well, I'm a senior Bio major with a minor in French and I spent last spring in Paris. I grew up in Boise, ID with my younger brother and sister and a lot of dogs that love to run. I never did a lot of sports as a kid in the team sort of way but I was always very active and I spent a lot of time running around and climbing trees. I'm not really the most coordinated person and I don't have super fast reflexes so games with balls have never been my strong suit. I began doing track in 5th grade but ignored the teachers and my parents who told me to try the mile. In 6th grade I finally did try it, did way better and the rest is history. As a freshman I got to race up with Boise High (we have a Jr High system) and that's when I realized I would have to run in the offseasons to keep doing well and not get injured again. Since then I run pretty much everyday and love it.

What did you do this summer, running and otherwise?

In June I came back to the US after a semester in Paris. I loved being abroad but having trails and hills to run again was wonderful. And it helped that running is normal here and people in the park are friendlier. I also got to change shoes finally (800 miles on one pair was way too many!) I couldn't find a job so I just ran and traveled a lot. In July I visited my boyfriend in North Carolina and we got engaged so that was definately the highlight of my summer right there! I also visited a lot of family in the midwest and visited my cousin to see her 6 one-year olds in August.

What made you decide to attend/run for Willammette? When you were deciding on schools what was your view of D3 and how has that changed now?

I visited a couple schools before and during my senior year at Boise High but when I went to Willamette I just knew that was where I was meant to be. I loved the girls I met on the TEAM, I like and trust our coaches and the size was what I wanted. I could never have run at a big school coming out of high school, even being a top runner in Idaho. I wanted a program that I could be a part of, imporove my running and still focus on school. Willamette had everything I wanted in a school and coming here wasone of my best decisions.

What was it like overlapping at school with someone like Nick Symmonds, and how has his improvement since leaving Willamette impacted the current program?

I've known Nick since I was about 14 and he was a skinny little teenager so it's strange to me now that he's rather famous, at least in running. He and former WU coach Kelly Sullivan were the first place I heard about Willamette, at running camp in Stanley, ID. I saw how he imporoved under the program here and how Ian Batch (08 and from ID) did so well his first year and that really drew me to WU. As far at impacting the program now it's a good story to tell prospees but we still train the same way and have our own goals. We're still very much focused on ourselves and our season now.

What were your PRs in High School in XC and Track, and what are they now?

I'll have to ask my roommate Jena, she remembers my PRs better than I do. In high school for a 5k, probably high 18 something. It's now 17:37 and 21:05 for 5 and 6k respectively. My track PRs were 2:16 and 5:17 for a 1600 I think. As of my sophomore year I have run a 2:13 800 and 4:32 in the 1500.

You were 11th last year at Cross Nationals, and the 5th fastest returner from a year ago, how does the impact the way you train, or is it something you try to ignore?

Last year I wanted to be All-American but I was actually surprised to finish 11th. I would like to move up this year but I don't change my training because of it. I've been doing these workouts for 3 years and making big improvements every time. I trust Matt to know what he's doing and I believe in our program so I don't worry.

As of yesterday, your team stands at 26th in the USTFCCCA poll, what does that mean to you and how does your team feel about/ treat national rankings.

Some of the guys look up rankings and our coaches probably know where we "are" but honestly, we don't give a hoot. Rankings don't mean anything if you don't bring your very best to the National meet.

What if any pre or post race traditions do you and your team have?

Pre race we warm up the same way we do for a workout. For us it's important to have the consistancy and structure to get ready and be focused. Afterward we cool down together and head home, nothing too special. We do always have a dinner together the night before at an offcampus house and we wear ribbons to keep track of each other in races but we don't have specific TEAM rituals for a race.

What goals do you have for yourself and your team for this year in XC and Track?

I really just want to improve my times and place at Nationals but I'm also really excited to see some of the younger girls step up and do well. We have a lot of talent developing in our underclassmen which is great to see and we're all looking forward to pushing ourselves.

Thanks Maddie for a fantastic Interview

After some of the performances this week, I plan on doing another interview next week so look forward to not having to wait two weeks for another one.