North Central, Middlebury Takes Top Preseason Billing in Division III
NEW ORLEANS – Hot off the presses, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason coaches’ poll results for the 2012 NCAA Division III cross country season are here. The men of North Central College (Ill.) are the nation’s top-ranked team, sweeping all first-place votes, holding serve as the NCAA’s defending champions. Middlebury is the preseason No. 1 team on the women’s side, with seven of eight FPVs. Defending national women’s champion Washington (Mo.) is No. 4 in the poll with the other first-place vote.
PDF: National Rankings Summary | Week-by-Week
Rankings Central
NCAA Division III Championship History
The men’s top five is rounded out by No. 2 Haverford, No. 3 SUNY Geneseo, No. 4 Washington (Mo.), and No. 5 Wheaton (Ill.). Haverford won the NCAA crown in 2010 and finished second at the national championships last year. SUNY Geneseo is enjoying their highest national ranking since at least 2006 after recording their first-ever trophy finish in 2011 (fourth). Also notching their best national team ranking (since at least 2006) include No. 6 Tufts, No. 8 Bates, No. 14 St. Olaf, No. 16 Loras, No. 23 Johns Hopkins, and No. 25 Rochester.
The remainder of the women’s top five includes No. 2 Williams, No. 3 SUNY Geneseo, No. 4 Washington (Mo.), and No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The top four teams have won NCAA titles within the last ten years (last titles: Middlebury, 2010; Williams, 2004; SUNY Geneseo, 2005; Washington (Mo.), 2011). Middlebury finished runner-up last year while Williams and CMS placed third and fourth, respectively, to jump on the award stand. No. 13 Oberlin and No. 25 Occidental are enjoying their highest team ranking since at least 2006.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division III |
||||||
Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll |
||||||
2012 Preseason, August 22 |
||||||
| next poll: Wed., September 12 | ||||||
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region | Conference | Head Coach (Yr*) |
2011 FINAL
|
| 1 | North Central (Ill.) (8) | 280 | Midwest | CCIW | Al Carius (47th) |
1
|
| 2 | Haverford | 268 | Mideast | Centennial | Tom Donnelly (38th) |
2
|
| 3 | SUNY Geneseo | 247 | Atlantic | SUNYAC | Mike Woods (21st) |
4
|
| 4 | Washington (Mo.) | 246 | Midwest | UAA | Jeff Stiles (12th) |
3
|
| 5 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 244 | Midwest | CCIW | Scott Bradley (11th) |
12
|
| 6 | Tufts | 240 | New England | NESCAC | Ethan Barron (8th) |
9
|
| 7 | Calvin | 222 | Great Lakes | MIAA | Brian Diemer (27th) |
11
|
| 8 | Bates | 218 | New England | NESCAC | Al Fereshetian (18th) |
7
|
| 9 | Middlebury | 203 | New England | NESCAC | Nicole Wilkerson (2nd) |
13
|
| 9 | UW-La Crosse | 203 | Midwest | WIAC | Derek Stanley (1st) |
14
|
| 11 | SUNY Cortland | 200 | Atlantic | SUNYAC | Steve Patrick (5th) |
20
|
| 12 | NYU | 180 | Atlantic | UAA | Nick McDonough (15th) |
19
|
| 13 | Williams | 167 | New England | NESCAC | Peter Farwell (34th) |
6
|
| 14 | St. Olaf | 160 | Central | MIAC | Phil Lundin (5th) |
23
|
| 15 | Allegheny | 159 | Mideast | NCAC | Brent Wilkerson (3rd) |
24
|
| 16 | Loras | 131 | Central | IIAC | Bob Schultz (8th) |
25
|
| 17 | Wabash | 126 | Great Lakes | NCAC | Roger Busch (7th) |
16
|
| 18 | Augustana (Ill.) | 123 | Midwest | CCIW | Paul Olsen (47th) |
NR
|
| 19 | RPI | 115 | Atlantic | Liberty League | John Lynch (2nd) |
NR
|
| 20 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 113 | West | SCIAC | John Goldhammer (29th) |
29
|
| 21 | Bowdoin | 111 | New England | NESCAC | Peter Slovenski (27th) |
15
|
| 22 | Luther | 90 | Central | IIAC | Steve Pasche (8th) |
NR
|
| 23 | Johns Hopkins | 89 | Mideast | Centennial | Bobby Van Allen (14th) |
26
|
| 24 | UW-Stevens Point | 81 | Midwest | WIAC | Rick Witt (34th) |
NR
|
| 25 | Rochester | 80 | Atlantic | UAA | John Izzo (13th) |
22
|
| 26 | Amherst | 79 | New England | NESCAC | Ned Nedeau (16th) |
NR
|
| 27 | Dickinson | 74 | Mideast | Centennial | Don Nichter (23rd) |
10
|
| 28 | Willamette | 71 | West | Northwest | Matt McGuirk (9th) |
NR
|
| 29 | UW-Oshkosh | 67 | Midwest | WIAC | Eamon McKenna (1st) |
5
|
| 30 | St. Lawrence | 65 | Atlantic | Liberty League | John Newman (12th) |
8
|
| 31 | Pomona-Pitzer | 54 | West | SCIAC | Tony Boston (5th) |
NR
|
| 32 | UW-Platteville | 47 | Midwest | WIAC | Tom Antczak (20th) |
NR
|
| 33 | Manchester | 46 | Great Lakes | HCAC | Brian Cashdollar (15th) |
30
|
| 34 | Occidental | 37 | West | SCIAC | Robert Bartlett (8th) |
27
|
| 35 | UW-Eau Claire | 33 | Midwest | WIAC | Dan Schwamberger (6th) |
NR
|
| Others Receiving Votes: Elizabethtown 26, Hamline 25, Chicago 24, Carnegie Mellon 20, Oberlin 17, Nebraska Wesleyan 14, TCNJ 9, Ohio Northern 9, Centre 9, Lynchburg 8, Wesleyan (Conn.) 5, Bethel (Minn.) 2, MIT 1, Colorado College 1, Case Western Reserve 1. | ||||||
| (* year as head coach of that team in men’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed) | ||||||
USTFCCCA NCAA Division III |
||||||
Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll |
||||||
2012 Preseason, August 22 |
||||||
| next poll: Wed., September 12 | ||||||
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region | Conference | Head Coach (Yr*) |
2011 FINAL
|
| 1 | Middlebury (7) | 279 | New England | NESCAC | Nicole Wilkerson (2nd) |
2
|
| 2 | Williams | 267 | New England | NESCAC | Peter Farwell (13th) |
3
|
| 3 | SUNY Geneseo | 253 | Atlantic | SUNYAC | Mike Woods (21st) |
12
|
| 4 | Washington (Mo.) (1) | 251 | Midwest | UAA | Jeff Stiles (12th) |
1
|
| 5 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 245 | West | SCIAC | John Goldhammer (29th) |
4
|
| 6 | MIT | 244 | New England | NEWMAC | Halston Taylor (6th) |
5
|
| 7 | Johns Hopkins | 230 | Mideast | Centennial | Bobby Van Allen (14th) |
14
|
| 8 | St. Lawrence | 220 | Atlantic | Liberty League | Mike Howard (14th) |
8
|
| 9 | Wartburg | 219 | Central | IIAC | Steve Johnson (24th) |
6
|
| 10 | Calvin | 204 | Great Lakes | MIAA | Brian Diemer (7th) |
13
|
| 11 | Amherst | 203 | New England | NESCAC | Cassie Funke-Harris (1st) |
11
|
| 12 | St. Olaf | 187 | Central | MIAC | Chris Daymont (32nd) |
10
|
| 13 | Oberlin | 183 | Great Lakes | NCAC | Ray Appenheimer (7th) |
15
|
| 14 | UW-Eau Claire | 182 | Midwest | WIAC | Dan Schwamberger (6th) |
17
|
| 15 | Tufts | 157 | New England | NESCAC | Kristen Morwick (13th) |
20
|
| 16 | Ohio Northern | 151 | Great Lakes | OAC | Jason Maus (7th) |
19
|
| 17 | Rowan | 147 | Atlantic | NJAC | Derick “Ringo” Adamson (6th) |
26
|
| 18 | Dickinson | 137 | Mideast | Centennial | Don Nichter (23rd) |
25
|
| 19 | St. Thomas (Minn.) | 133 | Central | MIAC | Joe Sweeney (33rd) |
NR
|
| 20 | Elizabethtown | 123 | Mideast | Middle Atlantic | Brian Falk (5th) |
22
|
| 21 | Chicago | 116 | Midwest | UAA | Chris Hall (12th) |
27
|
| 22 | Hope | 110 | Great Lakes | MIAA | Mark Northuis (25th) |
21
|
| 23 | Emory | 109 | South/Southeast | UAA | John Curtin (28th) |
24
|
| 24 | TCNJ | 101 | Atlantic | NJAC | Phil Jennings (10th) |
NR
|
| 25 | Occidental | 85 | West | SCIAC | Robert Bartlett (8th) |
NR
|
| 26 | Haverford | 73 | Mideast | Centennial | Fran Rizzo (22nd) |
28
|
| 27 | Case Western Reserve | 69 | Great Lakes | UAA | Kathy Lanese (15th) |
NR
|
| 28 | Grove City | 66 | Mideast | PAC | Sean Severson (9th) |
NR
|
| 29 | Luther | 50 | Central | IIAC | Yarrow Pasche (8th) |
23
|
| 30 | Rhodes | 38 | South/Southeast | SAA | Robert Shankman (22nd) |
32
|
| 31 | Illinois Wesleyan | 36 | Midwest | CCIW | Greg Huffaker (8th) |
NR
|
| 31 | Vassar | 36 | Atlantic | Liberty League | James McCowan (8th) |
NR
|
| 33 | Baldwin-Wallace | 32 | Great Lakes | OAC | Bill Taraschke (21st) |
NR
|
| 34 | Lewis & Clark | 27 | West | Northwest | Keith Woodard (6th) |
NR
|
| 34 | NYU | 27 | Atlantic | UAA | Nick McDonough (15th) |
30
|
| Others Receiving Votes: Carleton 18, Allegheny 12, Nebraska Wesleyan 10, SUNY Cortland 7, Wellesley 2, UW-La Crosse 1. | ||||||
| (* year as head coach of that team in women’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed) | ||||||
