The Warm-Up Lap (Part One): Division III Conference Championships

 

 

RANKED TEAMS PER CONFERENCE Men Conference  # of Top 25 NESCAC 6 UAA 6 WIAC 4 Centennial 3 IIAC 3 CCIW 3 SUNYAC 2 NCAC 2 SCIAC 2 MIAC 2 MIAA 1 NEWMAC 1 Women Conference  # of Top 25 UAA 6 NESCAC 5 Centennial 3 MIAC 3 WIAC 2 MIAA 2 NCAC 2 Northwest Conference 2 SUNYAC 2 Liberty League 2 IIAC 1 Middle Atlantic 1 NEWMAC 1 SCAC 1 SCIAC 1 Colonial States 1

NEW ORLEANS – Five consecutive weekends ofchampionship cross country began last weekend with the Division II conference championships, and it continues this weekend with Division I and Division III conference meets.

With so many league championships in the queue, The Warm-Up Lap will tackle the preview duties in two articles, beginning with an overview of Division III action today and concluding with the full docket of DI contests.

Among 10 men’s and 10 women’s races with multiple ranked teams, the NESCAC and UAA meets are the headliners in DIII with some of the nation’s premier match-ups and the largest amount of nationally ranked top-35 teams.

Info on the full slate of Division III conference championship meets, including dates, times and locations, can be found on the USTFCCCA’s Conference Championship Central page.

These two meets highlight a busy weekend, which The Warm-Up Lap previews below. In addition, The Warm-Up Lap includes some Quick Strides through the remaining men’s and women’s top-10 teams in action this weekend — including men’s No. 1 North Central (Ill.) and its quest for a 40th(!) straight CCIW title.

NESCAC Championships

Saturday, Nov. 2 | Meet Homepage

New England has been filled with parity this cross country season, and it is set to continue with six ranked men’s teams and five ranked women’s teams toeing the line at the NESCAC Championships, hosted by Connecticut College.

Men

The No. 23 Tufts men are defending champs, but the fifth-highest ranked team in the meet behind, among others, No. 4 Middlebury and No. 6 Williams in what has been a revolving door of top-ranked teams.

The team that has most recently risen to the top is No. 4 Middlebury. The Panthers were the top Division III team at the NEICAAA Championships with a fifth-place finish, ahead of No. 17 Bates in seventh and No. 23 Tufts in eighth. Nate Sans led the way in 13th place.

RANKED TEAMS NESCAC CHAMPIONSHIPS Ranked Men’s Teams   4. Middlebury 6. Williams 13. Bowdoin 17. Bates 23. Tufts* 25. Colby Ranked Women’s Teams 2. Middlebury 6. Williams* 11. Tufts 21. Bates 29. Colby *Defending Champions

Before Middlebury, the top-ranked team in the conference was No. 6 Williams, which defeated Middlebury by a slim one-point margin at the Purple Valley Classic in late September, 59-60. Colin Cotton was the individual champ in leading the Ephs to a runner-up team finish behind MIT, and he was also the top finisher in 20th overall at the Paul Short Run to lead Williams to a 17th-place team finish among 47 mostly-Division I teams.

Even earlier in the season it was Bowdoin that occupied the top national rank of any team in the conference. After starting the preseason No. 5 and falling into the mid-20s, but Polar Bears have worked their way back to No. 13.

Defending NESCAC individual champ and former National Athlete of the Week Coby Horowitz has been the squad’s top runner all season long with wins at the Southern Maine Invitational and the Maine State Championship.

Most recently, Bowdoin claimed the Maine State meet with 41 points over No. 25 Colby’s 46 points and No. 17 Bates 47 points with former National Athlete of the Week Mike Martin.

Another team that will factor significantly into the race is host Connecticut College, which is led by former National Athlete of the Week Michael LeDuc.

Women

The women of No. 6 Williams will look to defend their title for a second consecutive season, but will have to contend with No. 2 Middlebury and No. 11 Tufts.

This won’t be the first time these teams have met. A month ago, Middlebury edged out both No. 4 MIT and No. 6 Williams at the Purple Valley Classic, 38-43-46, and two weeks ago the Panthers were the top DIII finishers at the NEICAAA Championships in fifth overall, ahead of No. 11 Tufts in 12th and No. 21 Bates in 18th.

Led by Sarah Guth in 24th place, Middlebury was one of just two teams at the NEICAAA meet to get all five scorers within the top 50 finishers. At the Purple Valley Classic, it was fourth-place Erzsebet Nagy who led four finishers in the top eight.

Since Williams matched up with Middlebury since the Purple Valley Classic, the Ephs’ highlight of the season was a 27th-place finish at the mostly-Division I Paul Short Run out of 48 teams, second among DIII teams to only defending national champion No. 1 Johns Hopkins.

Kaleigh Kenny was the individual champion for Williams at its home Purple Valley Classic, while Shayna Barbash was the top finisher at Paul Short in 100th.

Tufts’ top performance was a narrow runner-up showing to No. 4 MIT at the Southern Maine Invitational, 52-54, ahead of No. 21 Bates and No. 29 Colby.

 

UAA Championships

Saturday, Nov. 2 | Meet Homepage

The UAA meet in Pittsburgh, Pa., is the site of the largest gathering of ranked teams, with six men’s and six women’s teams. No. 2 Washington (Mo.) and No. 7 NYU will square off in the men’s race, while the women’s race will feature a top-10 showdown between No. 8 NYU, No. 9 Chicago and No. 10 Washington (Mo.).

RANKED TEAMS UAA CHAMPIONSHIPS Ranked Men’s Teams   2. Washington (Mo.)* 7. NYU 14. Chicago 26. Carnegie Mellon 31. Rochester 35. Case Western Reserve Ranked Women’s Teams 8. NYU 9. Chicago* 10. Washington (Mo.) 20. Case Western Reserve 33. Brandeis 34. Rochester *Defending Champions

Men

Led by former National Athlete of the Week Drew Padgett, No. 2 Washington (Mo.) is gunning for its fourth conference title in a row. The Bears gave two-time defending champion No. 1 North Central its biggest DIII challenge of the year when they finished runners-up to NCC at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational, 33-64. Padgett finished runner-up individually, while defending UAA champion Kevin Sparks was fifth overall.

Two weeks before that outing, the Bears were third among 11 non-DI teams at the Greater Louisville Classic and first among DIII teams. Padgett and Sparks again led the way in 15th and 16th.

Last season, NYU lost out to WashU in the team race, 52-60, and the individual race a year ago as Dylan Karten finished runner-up to Sparks. The Bobcats are No. 7 in the National Coaches Poll this year and hungry for their first conference title since 2009. As a team, NYU has won its past two outings at Oberlin and the NYC Metro Championship, which was also won individually by Karten.

 Karten is in prime form at the front of their pack. The senior has won two races and finished runner-up in another this season, most recently taking second at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble two weekends ago.

Other ranked teams giving chase to these two top-10 teams are No. 14 Chicago, No. 26 host Carnegie Mellon, No. 31 Rochester and No. 35 Case Western Reserve.

Women

Very little separates the top three UAA teams in the latest National Coaches Poll, as only three voting points stand between No. 8 NYU (224) and defending champion No. 9 Chicago (221), and No. 10 Washington (Mo.) is just behind at 203 points. Needless to say, Chicago’s pursuit of a title defense will not be easy.

Easy is exactly how Chicago made their 2012 title look, as the Maroons put four finishers within the top 10 — three of whom will be returning this season — en route to a 37-96 win over NYU.

If the UW-Oshkosh Invitational two weekends ago is any indication, this year will be much closer. Led by fourth-place finisher Catherine Young, Chicago finished runner-up to No. 5 Calvin, 71-120, and just four points ahead of No. 10 Washington  (Mo.) in third place.

Meanwhile, NYU was in almost the reverse situation, comfortably winning the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble over in-state rival No. 11 SUNY Geneseo, 72-118 behind individual winner Emily Cousens. She edged out UAA foe Kelsey Aamoth of Case Western by just one second, leading four Bobcats in the top 25.

Prior to Chicago’s title last season, WashU had claimed each of the past three league titles, and are hoping to start a new streak this season. Lucy Cheadle has a streak of her own to continue, as the junior will look to defend her individual crown from a year ago. She finished runner-up at UW-Oshkosh most recently behind two-time National Athlete of the Week Chelsea Johnson.

 

Quick Strides: Men’s Top 10

Two-time defending champion No. 1 North Central (Ill.) is aiming for not one, not two, not three CCIW titles in a row, but its 40th consecutive conference crown. The streak of 39 is by far the longest of its kind active in the NCAA by either a men’s or women’s team (Calvin’s men have won 26 MIAA titles in a row), and the Cardinals look poised to extend it.

Three-time National Athlete of the Week John Crain, who was the conference runner-up a year ago, and his squad have been met with little resistance in competition this season, with the most recent team victory coming at the expense of No. 2 Washington (Mo.) at UW-Oshkosh, 33-64. The top conference challengers include No. 30 Augustana (Ill.) and No. 34 Wheaton (Ill.)

Other significant active conference streaks on the line include No. 16 Calvin’s 26 MIAA titles in a row, Christopher Newport’s 20 straight USA South titles, St. Lawrence’s 18 consecutive Liberty League crowns, TCNJ’s 17 NJAC championships in a row and MIT’s 15 straight NEWMAC titles.

No. 3 St. Olaf is fresh off a big victory over then No. 2 UW-La Crosse (now No. 5) at La Crosse’s Jim Drews Invitational, 41-96, behind third-place finisher and defending MIAC champ Grant Wintheiser and four other top-13 finishers. They are the defending team champs in the MIAC, with the only ranked opposition coming from No. 33 Carleton.

No. 5 UW-La Crosse will try to bounce back from the loss at the Jim Drews Invitational at the WIAC Championships, a meet at which the Eagles are the defending champions. Former National Athlete of the Week David Stilin and his UWL crew will take on a pair of teams at the outer edge of the top 10 in No. 10 UW-Oshkosh and No. 11 UW-Eau Claire, as well as No. 27 UW-Stout.

No. 8 Dickinson is the top-ranked team in the Centennial Conference, led by Ryan Steinbrock. The senior has been the top finisher for the Red Devils at the mostly-Division I Paul Short Run and the Division II & III Challenge. Dickinson was 27th overall and second among DIII teams at the former, and finished runner-up to No. 8 Lock Haven of DII at the DII/DIII Challenge.

Dickinson will have to claim the title from reigning champion Haverford, which has claimed the past three. Haverford and defending individual champ Chris Stadler are looking for some redemption after dropping from No. 2 early in the season to No. 12 at present. No. 32 Johns Hopkins will also challenge.

No. 9 Central (Iowa) is the defending champion in the IIAC and is rounding into form at the right time. After being ranked in the top 10 in the preseason, the Dutch fell into the 30s midway through the season before jumping back into the top 10.  Led by runner-up Austin O’Brien, the Dutch finished a narrow third to St. Olaf and UW-La Crosse at the Jim Drews Invitational. Eli Horton is going for a defense of his individual crown.

 

Quick Strides: Women’s Top 10

Before it defends its national championship from a year ago, No. 1 Johns Hopkins will first look to extend its five-year winning streak in the Centennial Conference. The Blue Jays have been strong all season long, including a 15th-place finish out of 48 teams in the mostly-Division I Paul Short Run gold race, led by former National Athlete of the Week Hannah Oneda in 39th overall.

Oneda won the conference title as a freshman last season, and has been the top finisher for the Blue Jays in all of her races this season. Most recently she won the CNU Invitational, her second overall win of the season. No. 15 Haverford and No. 19 Dickinson are Johns Hopkins ranked challengers.

Johns Hopkins’ streak of five is impressive, but not the longest active women’s streak in DIII. That honor belongs to Grove City, which has claimed 17 consecutive PAC titles. Other notable streaks include Keene State’s 13 in the Little East, St. Scholastica’s 12 in the UMAC, No. 18 St. Lawrence’s 11 in the Liberty League, and Ithaca’s 10 in the Empire 8.

Tied for No. 2 in the National Coaches Poll with Middlebury is Wartburg, which has taken the past two IIAC titles. Alana Enabnit is the defending individual champ, forming a formidable one-two punch with 2012 runner-up Sammi Bruett. Behind this pair, the Knights easily won the Maroon III race at the Roy Griak Invitational and the team title at the Tori Neubauer Invitational at UW-La Crosse.

Challenging the pair for the individual title will be former National Athlete of the Week Tricia Serres of Luther.

No. 4 MIT will be going for its seventh consecutive NEWMAC title, led by 2012 runner-up Elaine McVay. The Engineers put together a perfect 15 team score and claimed the top eight individual spots.

No. 5 Calvin, led by defending MIAA champion Nichole Micherhuizen and former National Athlete of the Week Cassie Vince, will look to defend its title over rival No. 22 Hope, the lone ranked challenger to the Knights. Calvin has momentum following a dominant win over No. 9 Chicago, No. 10 Washington (Mo.) and No. 13 Trinity (Texas) at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational.

No. 7 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is the three-time defending champion in the SCIAC, led by 2012 runner-up Allison Barnwell. At the SCIAC Multi-Dual earlier this month, CMS finished 8-0 over its conference foes, led by Barnwell as the runner-up.