Purple Valley Classic Leads To Big Changes In NCAA DIII Men’s XC Coaches’ Poll
NEW ORLEANS — With top-ranked North Central (Ill.) idle this past weekend, second-ranked SUNY Geneseo wanted to put some pressure on the Cardinals at the top of the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll.
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The Knights loaded the bus and traveled north to the Purple Valley Classic. Once there, SUNY Geneseo would take on eight other ranked teams, including third-ranked Williams, fifth-ranked MIT and 10th-ranked Amherst.
What transpired shook up the most recent National Coaches’ Poll, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The Knights put four runners in the top-10 — led by NCAA DIII Male National Athlete of the Week Isaac Garcia-Cassani — and rolled to the team title. SUNY Geneseo ended up with 48 points, compared to the Ephs’ 64 and the Engineers’ 89. Alex Kramer (7th), Alex Burks (9th) and Alfredo Mazzuca (10th) were the other Knights in the top-10.
With that result fresh in the minds of the voting coaches, SUNY Geneseo jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 in this week’s poll. The Knights nabbed seven first-place votes compared to just one for the previously top-ranked Cardinals.
NATIONAL PDFs: Summary | Week-By-Week 2016 | Week-By-Week All-Time
Regional Rankings: Week 3 Summary | Week 3 Recap
WOMEN’S WEEK THREE NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL
This is the first time in program history that SUNY Geneseo’s men have been ranked No. 1 in the poll. The Knights’ previous high was second, which had been done three times this season. And, coupled with the SUNY Geneseo women being ranked No. 1, this is the first time in NCAA DIII poll history that one school has had the top-ranked men’s and women’s team at the same time.
North Central (Ill.) only fell one spot to No. 2 and has a perfect opportunity to showcase its talent this upcoming weekend. The Cardinals will go up against fifth-ranked Pomona-Pitzer as well as several other ranked teams at the Greater Louisville Classic, which will serve as DIII Pre-Nats.
Like SUNY Geneseo, the Purple Valley Classic had a positive push on RPI. Last week the Engineers were ranked 19th, but with its fifth-place showing in Massachusetts, they moved up to 12th. RPI put two runners in the top-10 — Benjamin Fazio (3rd) and Grant O’Connor (6th) — and will look to build depth around them.
Another big gainer this week was Washington (Mo.). The Bears were idle, but topped North Central (Ill.) two weeks ago at the Gil Dodds Invitational and received delayed gratitifcation.
Three teams returned to the poll this week: No. 21 St. Lawrence, No. 32 UW-Oshkosh and No. 33 Middlebury.
The 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held November 19 in Louisville, Kentucky at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park. That same locale played host to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships last year.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division III |
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Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll |
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2016 Week #3 — September 28 |
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| next poll: October 5 | ||||||
| Rank | Institution (FPV) | Points | Region (CR) | Conference | Head Coach (Yr*) |
Last
Week |
| 1 | SUNY Geneseo (7) | 279 | Atlantic (1) | SUNYAC | Dan Moore (2nd) |
2
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| 2 | North Central (Ill.) (1) | 273 | Midwest (1) | CCIW | Al Carius (51st) |
1
|
| 3 | Williams | 262 | New England (1) | NESCAC | Pete Farwell (38th) |
3
|
| 4 | UW-Eau Claire | 257 | Midwest (2) | WIAC | Dan Schwamberger (10th) |
4
|
| 5 | Pomona-Pitzer | 249 | West (1) | SCIAC | Tony Boston (9th) |
5
|
| 6 | MIT | 238 | New England (2) | NEWMAC | Halston Taylor (35th) |
6
|
| 7 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 228 | West (2) | SCIAC | John Goldhammer (33rd) |
8
|
| 8 | UW-La Crosse | 225 | Midwest (3) | WIAC | Derek Stanley (5th) |
7
|
| 9 | St. Olaf | 215 | Central (1) | MIAC | Phil Lundin (9th) |
9
|
| 10 | Amherst | 214 | New England (3) | NESCAC | Ned Nedeau (20th) |
10
|
| 11 | Loras | 195 | Central (2) | IIAC | Bob Schultz (12th) |
11
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| 12 | RPI | 191 | Atlantic (2) | Liberty League | John Lynch (6th) |
19
|
| 13 | Carnegie Mellon | 183 | Mideast (1) | UAA | Tim Connelly (2nd) |
12
|
| 14 | Calvin | 174 | Great Lakes (1) | Michigan Intercollegiate | Brian Diemer (31st) |
15
|
| 15 | Haverford | 165 | Mideast (2) | Centennial | Tom Donnelly (42nd) |
14
|
| 16 | Washington (Mo.) | 160 | Midwest (4) | UAA | Jeff Stiles (16th) |
32
|
| 17 | Mount Union | 153 | Great Lakes (2) | OAC | Kevin Lucas (6th) |
13
|
| 18 | Johns Hopkins | 135 | Mideast (3) | Centennial | Bobby Van Allen (18th) |
17
|
| 19 | Colby | 134 | New England (4) | NESCAC | Jared Beers (11th) |
16
|
| 20 | Wabash | 122 | Great Lakes (3) | NCAC | Colin Young (2nd) |
20
|
| 21 | St. Lawrence | 106 | Atlantic (3) | Liberty League | (0th) |
RV
|
| 22 | Allegheny (Pa.) | 104 | Great Lakes (4) | NCAC | Ben Mourer (1st) |
23
|
| 22 | Chicago | 104 | Midwest (5) | UAA | Chris Hall (16th) |
18
|
| 24 | Bates | 100 | New England (5) | NESCAC | Al Fereshetian (22nd) |
21
|
| 25 | Wartburg | 97 | Central (3) | IIAC | Ryan Chapman (1st) |
26
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| 26 | Augustana (Ill.) | 71 | Midwest (6) | CCIW | Paul Olsen (51st) |
27
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| 27 | Dickinson | 66 | Mideast (4) | Centennial | Don Nichter (27th) |
32
|
| 28 | Gustavus Adolphus | 65 | Central (4) | MIAC | Dale Bahr (8th) |
23
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| 29 | NYU | 52 | Atlantic (4) | UAA | Erison Hurtault (1st) |
25
|
| 30 | Christopher Newport | 50 | South/Southeast (1) | CAC | Matthew Barreau (6th) |
29
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| 31 | Tufts | 44 | New England (6) | NESCAC | Joel Williams (1st) |
28
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| 32 | UW-Oshkosh | 36 | Midwest (7) | WIAC | Eamon McKenna (5th) |
RV
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| 33 | Widener | 21 | Mideast (5) | Middle Atlantic | Vince Touey (30th) |
30
|
| 33 | Middlebury | 21 | New England (7) | NESCAC | Nicole Wilkerson (6th) |
NR
|
| 35 | SUNY Oneonta | 20 | Atlantic (5) | SUNYAC | Brett Willmott (1st) |
31
|
| Also Receiving Votes: Emory 12, Ohio Northern 7, Rowan 5, Willamette 4, Central (Iowa) 3 | ||||||
| Dropped Out: No. 22 UW-Platteville, No. 34 Emory, No. 35 Ohio Northern | ||||||
| (* year as head coach of that team in men’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed) | ||||||
