Johns Hopkins Women, North Central (Ill.) Men Set to Defend Division III Titles as No. 1

NEW ORLEANS – North Central (Ill.)’s men and Johns Hopkins’ women will both enter the NCAA Division III Championships as favorites to defend their 2012 national titles, as revealed with the release Monday of the final U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III National Coaches Polls prior to the championships.

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NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
North Central (Ill.).	Washington (Mo.)	St. Olaf	Williams (+1)	Middlebury (+1)
View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll

Both squads dominated in their regions this past weekend to retain the top spots in their respective polls, while the positions below them underwent a significant shakeup as a result of regionals as teams around the nation jockeyed for position and qualification ahead of the NCAA Championships this Saturday, Nov. 23, in Hanover, Ind.

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
Johns Hopkins	Williams (+4)	Calvin (+2)	Middlebury (-2)	Wartburg (-2)
View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

Johns Hopkins’ women were the only team in the top 10 to remain stationary in the poll from two weeks ago, while North Central, No. 2 Washington (Mo.), No. 3 St. Olaf and No. 8 Johns Hopkins were the lone men’s squads to stand pat in the top 10.

Many of the moves were significant with 16 men’s teams moving up — or down — more than five positions in the poll and eight more women’s teams doing the same.

Women

In their final tune-up before defending their 2012 NCAA title, the Johns Hopkins women trounced the Mideast Region field. Individual runner-up Hannah Oneda led four Blue Jays in the top five as they scored 26 points to runner-up Dickinson’s 94. The Blue Jays retained all eight first-place votes.

Williams jumped four spots to No. 2 after taking down former No. 2 Middlebury (now No. 4) in the New England Region, 44-57, behind individual champ Kaleigh Kenny and three other top-10 finishers.

No. 3 Calvin jumped two spots to its highest rank since a No. 1 mark entering the 2009 championships following a decisive 54-104-105 win over No. 15 Oberlin and No. 18 Hope. Individual champion Cassie Vince and fourth-place Nicole Michmerhuizen led the way for the Knights. Calvin will hope for the reverse of that 2009 championship, when it entered No. 1 and finished third.

Middlebury dropped two spots to  No. 4 following its loss to Williams in the New England Region. The Panthers were arguably the deepest team in the region with seven top 25 finishers, led by fourth-place Alison Maxwell.

Wartburg, despite winning the Central Region, 86-104, over No. 13 Carleton, fell two slots to No. 5. The Knights had two top-10 finishers led by sixth-place Sammi Bruett, but ran without top runner Alana Enabnit.

No. 6 Chicago moved up one position to No. 6, a spot it has held for much of the season, following a dominant 60-101 victory over No. 14 UW-La Crosse — which increased five positions from the previous poll. Third-place Catherine Young led five top-20 finishers for the Maroons.

Up to its best rank since the beginning of USTFCCCA records in 2006 is No. 7 NYU, which edged out No. 9 St. Lawrence, 97-103, in the Atlantic Region. Ninth-place Emily Cousens paced five top-20 individual finishers for NYU.

St. Lawrence improved seven positions from the previous poll as a result of that close finish, led by third-place finisher Amy Cymerman.

In a loaded New England Region, No. 8 MIT finished third behind No. 2 Williams and No. 4 Middlebury to drop four positions.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps fell two spots to No. 10 despite winning the West Region, 62-81, over No. 25 Willamette.

TCNJ made the poll’s biggest jump, leaping from the "also receiving votes" category to No. 17 with a third-place finish in the Atlantic Region behind No. 7 NYU and No. 9 St.  Lawrence. It is the highest rank for the program since it was No. 16 midway through the 2009 season.

Also returning to the poll were No. 29 Luther, No. 31 Ithaca, No. 34 Colby and No. 35 St. Scholastica.

One of the teams TCNJ defeated to make its triumphant jump into the poll was No. 19 SUNY Geneseo, which fell nine spots from last time. Making similar descents were No. 26 Haverford (down 12 positions) and No. 28 Bates (down eight).

Men

Behind individual winner John Crain, North Central (Ill.) cruised to a 56-101 win over No. 2 Washington (Mo.) in the Midwest Region. Each of the Cardinals’ five scorers finished within the top 20 of arguably the most difficult and deepest region in the nation.

For WashU, Kevin Sparks finished sixth to lead four top-25 finishers.

St. Olaf remained steady at No. 3 with a close 51-61 victory over No. 8 Central (Iowa) in the Central Region. Individual runner-up Grant Wintheiser led three Oles in the top six and seven in the top 25.

Central moved up to spots behind individual winner Eli Horton and two other top-10 runners. The Dutch, who fell into the low-30s in the poll at one point during the season, enter the NCAA Championships just one position shy of their No. 7 preseason rank.

No. 4 is where the action began. A fifth-place finish in the Midwest Region dropped former No. 4 UW-La Crosse eight rungs to No. 12, opening the door for another team to move closer to the top.

 That team would be Williams, which scraped by Middlebury in the New England Region, 77-78, as the two moved to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Williams recorded two of the top three individuals with runner-up Colin Cotton and third-place Chris Lee, but the Panthers showed more depth with four top-20 finishers to Williams’ three.

UW-Oshkosh jumped five spots to No. 6 with a third-place finish in the Midwest Region, just 17 points behind No. 2 Washington (Mo.). Right behind them in the poll was No. 7 SUNY Cortland, which also moved up five slots based on a 37-62 win over former No. 6 NYU (now No. 11) with individual champ Nick Marcantonio.

Johns Hopkins remained No. 8, though it was joined in a tie with the aforementioned Central (Iowa) squad. The Blue Jays won the Mideast over No. 14 Dickinson, 62-88, behind three top-10 finishers.

No. 10 UW-Eau Claire rounded out the top 10 with its fourth-place finish at the Midwest Championships.

Other significant gains include a five-position increase for No. 15 Wabash — which snapped the nation’s longest region winning streak of 17 by Calvin in the Great Lakes Region; No. 21 Pomona-Pitzer (up 14 spots), No. 22 Luther (up six), No. 23 Bates (up nine), No. 24 Allegheny (Pa.) (up seven), No. 24 CMS (up five), No. 24 Wheaton (Ill.) (up six) and No. 27 Carleton (up six).

Returning to the poll was No. 34 Manchester.

The NCAA Championships will be contested November 23 in Hanover, Ind. NCAA.com will carry live broadcasts of all the NCAA cross country championships.