"I choose Division II" is the recent motto for NCAA Division II sports. The question is why would one choose Division II running? It is not for scholarship money; there are only one and half scholarships, or the free swag; my sweats have been in college longer than the seniors on the team, or for the chance to turn pro; though some still do. I did not intentionally choose Division II, Carson Newman College was a good fit for me. The honors program is excellent, the class sizes are small and campus is beautiful. Running was not a secondary thought; the women's cross country team had made it to Division II National Championships the year before. So why would one choose Division II sports? Well, one could choose Division II running for the pure love of the sport, for the camaraderie of the team, for the joy of victory, the desire to improve in the face of defeat and for a little more money. This is not to say that Division II running is inferior to that of Division I running. It is just as exciting and compelling as Division I running. At the 2006 Division II men's National Championships, there was only a two second time gap between the champion, Nicodemus Naimadu of Abilene Christian, and Julius Kosgei of Harding. Naimadu won the race in the time of 29:17.5. The team race was almost just as close with Abilene Christian's men edging Adam State by a mere twelve points. The women's Division II race was also tight. In the team race, Adam's State won its fourth straight NCAA title by seven points, edging out Western State. Luckily, Western State had another title to celebrate with the Esther Komen, who won over Massachusetts Lowell's Nicole Plante with a time of 20:09.4. Both champions are returning and many teams are making a strong showing early in the season. With these elements this 2007 Division II Championships is already showing glimmers of greatness. This weekend has provided an early preview of the 2007 National Championships with many teams traveling to the Joplin, Missouri to the Missouri Southern Stampede where the National Championships will be held later this year. In the women's race, Missouri Southern was highest placed Division II team placing second to the Division I school of University of Tulsa with UC San Diego and Pittsburg State coming in third and fourth, respectively. Missouri Southren's Kimi Shank was the first Division II finisher with a time of 17:34 and Northern Kentucky's Julianne Hoekzema finished behind her with a time of 17:39. Missouri Southern also placed high in the men's race coming in second to Arkansas and Northern Kentucky finishing fourth overall. James Cheruiyot of Harding was the highest Division II placed runner with a 24:47 for 10th place. In other meet news, the top ranked Adams State's men team scored a perfect 15 to win the Colorado Classic over several Division I schools and Adams State's women finished second to Colorado State University. Anthony Tomsich from Western Washington was the top Division II finisher at the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle, Washington with a 24:22 and a ninth place finish. Western Washington's men finished fifth overall. Jessica Pixler from Seattle Pacific finished in 21:04 for a fourth place finish at the same meet. The University of Alabama in Huntsville cross country teams won both the women's and men's titles at the 2007 Wingate University Invitational Saturday. Charger junior Erin Zellers won the woman's 6K race with a time of 23:20. Concord junior Randy Horner won the individual men's title with a time of 33:47. Edinboro University's men topped nineteen other teams at the Midwest Collegiate Invitational at Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Abdullah Saleh from Wayne State was the highest Division II finisher with a fourth place and the time of 25:08. Wisconsin Parkside was the top Division II team finisher in the women's team competition finishing second behind Marquette University. Rachelle Malette from Wayne State won the title with a 17:39. I am hoping to provide a reason for following and choosing Division II running by bringing results, recaps, interviews and a bit of an insider's perspective each week. If there is anything you as a reader would like to see covered in Division II, just contact me and I will try to do my best to bring it to you.