The Warm-Up Lap: Preseason Cross Country

NEW ORLEANS – While some undoubtedly dread the return to classes at the end of summer, there is at least one aspect of the back-to-school season to which many are looking forward with great expectation: the start of cross country season.

Lucky for us, the wait is over.

Division I and Division III competition officially opens up Friday with more than 90 meets around the country, while Division II will have to wait to get its start until next Thursday, September 5.

A complete listing of meets this weekend can be found on the USTFCCCA Infozone’s This Weekend’s Meets page. The page will update each week to provide the most up-to-date and centralized listing of cross country meets anywhere on the web. Once the weekend’s meets are completed, head over to TFRRS.org to view all the results from across the nation. An indispensable tool for track & field, TFRRS is now in its second season as the central location for collegiate cross country results.

The ground won’t rumble under the feet of many of the nation’s top runners until later into September and October, but the races in the interim will provide early-season opportunities for young and developing runners to put on display what they’ve worked so hard for over the summer and make an early statement to be included on late-season rosters.

Speaking of the latter stages of the season, it’s never too early to look ahead to championships season. The different processes by which teams and individuals can qualify to the three NCAA divisions’ championships on November 23 are outlined here (recommended: bookmark this page for later in the season). Regardless of division, the road to nationals runs through the regional championships. Division I will hold its regionals November 15; Division II’s will take place November 9 & 10; and Division III is last up with November 16 regional championships.

More detailed information as it becomes available and locations for each site can be found at the Regional Championships Central pages for Division I, Division II and Division III.

This weekend also marks the start of the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week award, which will be awarded in cross country for the first time after a successful run during the 2013 track & field season. Coaches, sports information directors, teammates, friends, family and fans of cross country in general are encouraged to nominate student-athletes to be awarded the week’s top honor. A male and female honoree will be recognized in all three NCAA divisions each week (except for this weekend, due to Division II not starting until next weekend). The first award will be announced Tuesday, September 3, with nominations due by noon ET. The award will move to Mondays in the following weeks.

Preseason Rankings

Before student-athletes take to the trails this weekend, the USTFCCCA revealed the preseason National Coaches Polls and Regional Rankings for all three NCAA Divisions, while the NAIA announced its own top-25 men’s and women’s rankings.

All of the rankings can be viewed on the USTFCCCA’s redesigned Rankings Central.

Division I

National Coaches Poll | Regional Rankings
Division I XC Rankings Central

Wood Report Preseason National Rankings Countdown

The coaches chose the defending champion Oklahoma State men and the Providence women as the top teams in the country entering the 2013 season. Providence displaced defending champion Oregon at the top, making the Ducks the only 2012 national champion between all three divisions to not start 2013 at No. 1.

Oklahoma State will be going for its fourth title in five seasons, while Providence is chasing its first since 1995 — the lone title in program history.

Division I Preseason Top 10
Men	Women
1) Oklahoma State	1) Providence
2) Northern Arizona	2) Florida State
3) Colorado	3) Oregon
4) BYU	4) BYU
t5) Arkansas	5) Washington
t5) Tulsa	6) Georgetown
7) Wisconsin	7) Arizona
8) Portland	8) Stanford
9) Syracuse	9) Arkansas
10) Princeton	10) Cornell

Division II

National Coaches Poll | Regional Rankings | Division II XC Rankings Central

Both defending champions from Division II are back in 2013 as preseason favorites in the Adams State men and the Grand Valley State women. Adams State is going for its fifth title in six years and is the preseason favorite for the fourth straight season, while GVSU is a preseason favorite for the first time despite going for its third title in four years in 2013.

Division II Preseason Top 10
Men	Women
1) Adams State	1) Grand Valley State
2) Western State	2) Adams State
3) Augustana (S.D.)	3) Western State
4) Chico State	4) Augustana (S.D.)
5) Grand Valley State	5) Chico State
6) Colorado Mines	6) Shippensburg
7) Missouri Southern	7) Alaska Anchorage
8) Edinboro	8) UC-Colorado Springs
9) Alaska Anchorage	9) Winona State
10) Southern Indiana	10) West Texas A&M

Division III

National Coaches Poll | Regional Rankings | Division III XC Rankings Central

As in Division II, both Division III champions from 2012 return in 2013 as preseason No. 1 teams in the North Central (Ill.) men and the Johns Hopkins women. It’s another year, another top preseason rank for North Central, which has entered four of the past five seasons as favorites — three of which ended with national crowns. This marks the first preseason No. 1 for Johns Hopkins, which is coming off its first NCAA title in program history.

Division III Preseason Top 10
Men	Women
1) North Central (Ill.)	1) Johns Hopkins
2) Haverford	2) Wartburg
3) UW-La Crosse	3) MIT
4) Washington (Mo.)	4) Williams
5) Bowdoin	5) Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
6) Bates	6) UW-Eau Claire
7) Central (Iowa)	7) Oberlin
8) Williams	8) Trinity
9) Calvin	9) St. Lawrence
10) UW-Eau Claire	10) Middlebury

NAIA

National Rankings – Men | Women
Conference Rankings – Men | Women

Two brand new preseason favorites were announced by the NAIA Wednesday afternoon, as the St. Francis (Ill.) men and the British Columbia women were tapped as the first No. 1 teams of 2013. Both the St. Francis men and the British Columbia women are coming off their first-ever national titles in their respective programs’ histories.

NAIA Preseason Top 10
Men	Women
1) St. Francis (Ill.)	1) British Columbia
2) Southern Oregon	2) College of Idaho
3) Aquinas (Mich.)	3) Olivet Nazarene
4) British Columbia	4) CSU San Marcos
5) Shawnee State (Ohio)	5) Carroll (Mont.)
6) Oklahoma Baptist	6) Oklahoma Baptist
7) Bryan (Tenn.)	7) Aquinas (Mich.)
8) Lewis-Clark (Idaho)	8) Dordt (Iowa)
9) CSU San Marcos	9) St. Francis (Ill.)
10) The Master’s (Calif.)	10) The Master’s (Calif.)