NCAA DII/DIII Weekend Preview: Louisville, Paul Short, UW-Eau Claire & More

NEW ORLEANS – It’s not the busiest weekend of the NCAA DII or DII seasons, but it might be one that at least makes some waves in the next Regional Rankings and National Coaches‘ Polls out next week.

NCAA Division II

Much like in Division I, the hotbed of DII action this weekend is centered in Louisville – site of last year’s NCAA DII Championships. In that race, Grand Valley State’s women rolled to their third consecutive national title over runner-up Hillsdale.

Nearly one year later for this weekend’s Greater Louisville Classic, the tables have turned. Hillsdale enters as the country’s No. 1 team after defeating GVSU a couple weekends ago at the Michigan State Spartan Invite. The Lakers have since gone from three-time defending champs (they still are, of course) to No. 3 in the country.

The Chargers’ front-running stars in Emily Oren and Kristina Galat are both in the field for a fully-charged Hillsdale squad. GVSU, running in just its second meet of the year, will run most of its top squad with one notable exception – defending national champion Kendra Foley is not entered for the second consecutive meet.

Both teams will be running in the mostly nationally ranked Division I gold race, along with No. 10 Bellarmine, No. 15 Southern Indiana, No. 18 Edinboro and vote-receiving Indianapolis. No. 25 Roberts Wesleyan will compete in the Blue section.

The men’s competition is headlined by Grand Valley State in its first competition since being awarded the National Coaches’ Polls top spot this Wednesday. Redshirt frosh Zach Panning and returners Bryce Bradley, Kyle Flores, Chad Cini, Wuoi Mach and company will take on a strong nationally ranked DI field in the Gold race, as well as No. 5 Southern Indiana. The Screaming Eagles are led by multiple-time All-American and former track 10K champion Johnnie Guy.

A pair of vote-receiving teams will look to bolster their cases in the Blue race in Roberts Wesleyan and Lee (Tenn.). Lee is the top-ranked team in the South Region, while Roberts Wesleyan is No. 2 in the East.

Two more meets have multiple nationally ranked teams going head-to-head: Arkansas’ Chile Pepper Festival and the Paul Short Run.

The men’s race at Arkansas is headlined by NO. 4 Colorado Mines against No. 13 West Texas A&M, and vote-receiving Pittsburg State. In the women’s race, former National of the Week Kelsey Bruce of No. 22 Dallas Baptist leads her squad against a pair of vote-receiving teams in Colorado Mines and Southwest Baptist.

Paul Short is headlined by No. 10 Lock Haven battling No. 16 Shippensburg and vote-receiving Indiana (Pa.).

Check out the full nationally-ranked DII schedule below.

NCAA Division III

Paul Short Run

Friday, October 2

If you thought last weekend’s Purple Valley Classic was loaded with top-35 Division III programs, you haven’t seen anything yet. This weekend’s Paul Short Run features nine of the top-35 men’s teams and nine of the top-35 women’s teams.

The women’s race should have most of the fireworks as No. 1 Johns Hopkins will go against No. 2 Williams College and No. 5 Middlebury. Based on what they’ve done so far this season – and in the past – you’d expect the Blue Jays, who were second at the Paddy Doyle Meet of Champions behind Division-I powerhouse Wisconsin, to contend for a team title in the College Open.

Men’s teams of note entering teams in this weekend’s meet include No. 5 Williams, No. 16 Haverford, No. 18 Bates, No. 20 Johns Hopkins and No. 21 Colby, among others.

UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational

Friday, October 2

There is a top-10 showdown brewing in the men’s race at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational on Friday. Host UW-Eau Claire, ranked No. 6 in the latest National Coaches’ Poll, gets a crack at No. 2 St. Olaf College and No. 8 UW-La Crosse. The Blugolds and Oles tangled a few weeks ago at the St. Olaf Invitational with the latter getting the upper hand. UW-Eau Claire should have John Thorson back in the mix, so he should mix it up well with St. Olaf’s Jake Campbell for the individual title.

Mike Woods Invitational

Saturday, October 3

Just like the Paul Short Run, multiple top-ranked teams will be competing at the Mike Woods Invitational hosted by Geneseo State.

Most eyes will be on the women’s race since two top-1o teams will duke it out – No. 6 Geneseo State and No. 7 St. Lawrence. Both teams slipped a few spots in the recent National Coaches’ Poll, so they’ll want to reassert themselves to climb back up. No. 15 Dickinson and No. 18 Elizabethtown are trending in the other direction, so they’ll want to keep that momentum moving forward.

On the men’s side, No. 6 St. Lawrence and No. 8 Geneseo State will tangle with No. 23 Dickinson and No. 30 RPI in the field as well.

Check out the full nationally-ranked DIII schedule below.