MEET PREVIEW: NCAA Division II Rock Pre-Nationals

The brand new cross country circuits at the Bob O’Connor Golf Course in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will be tested quite often over the next few months as it – along with Slippery Rock University – will host some of the biggest meets in the country in the upcoming weeks which include the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Championships and the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.

First up on the course though is the Rock Pre-Nationals that is set for this Saturday as the majority of teams around the country are closing their regular seasons and getting ready for postseason racing.

The men’s 8K race will get underway at 10:30 a.m. ET and will be followed by the women’s 6K event at 11:30 a.m.

Pre-Nationals will have a postseason feel to it as teams from around the country are looking to preview the new course. The meet fields one of the best and biggest competitions of the NCAA DII season.

“This will be the first chance we have to show off the hard work so many people associated with our program have put into this new course down in Pittsburgh,” Slippery Rock head coach John Papa told RockAthletics.com. “Outside of the National Championship meets we have hosted in the past, this will be the biggest college meet we’ve ever hosted and it will feature some of the very best teams and individual runners in the country.”

Six nationally-ranked men’s and women’s programs will be in attendance which includes three top-10 teams on the men’s side.

Like A Rock: Ranked Teams at Pre-Nationals

Ranked Men’s Teams		Ranked Women’s Teams
No. 3 Colorado Mines		No. 6 Colorado Mines
No. 6 Queens (N.C.)		No. 16 Walsh
No. 9 Mount Olive		No. 17 Queens (N.C.)
No. 15 Walsh		No. 18 Hillsdale
No. 21 Malone		No. 20 Edinboro
No. 25 Edinboro		No. 23 Mount Olive

Along with some of the best teams in the country the field is a diverse group of programs and individuals that range from all over the nation. It total there are 32 teams coming from 10 states (Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and West Virginia).

Within that the field are athletes from 41 different states to go with 16 hailing from different countries that will all be competing for their respective programs.

Seven of the eight regions in NCAA DII will also be represented with the Atlantic having the most with 16 programs in attendance. They are followed by the Midwest with eight, the East, Southeast and South with two apiece and the Southeast and South Central who each has one competing team.

The meet will also showcase some of the best teams the Atlantic Region has to offer, which will more than likely shift the next NCAA DII Regional Rankings when they’re released Tuesday afternoon.

Ranked Atlantic Programs at Pre-Nats

Men’s Teams		Women’s Teams
No. 1 Edinboro		No. 1 Edinboro
No. 3 Charleston		No. 3 Kutztown
No. 4 Lock Haven		No. 4 Seton Hill
No. 5 Kutztown		No. 5 West Chester
No. 6 West Chester		No. 7 Mercyhurst
No. 8 Indiana (Pa.)		No. 8 Slippery Rock
No. 9 Bloomsburg		No. 9 Lock Haven
No. 10 Concord

The 2018 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will be held at the Bob O’Connor Golf Course on Saturday, December 1.

What to Watch in the West

While the East is at Pre-Nats some of the best teams in the West will do battle at the Western Washington Classic this Saturday.

The men’s 10K race will start things off at 10 a.m. PT and will be followed by the women’s 6K event at 11 a.m.

The meet will feature two nationally-ranked men’s programs in No. 8 Simon Fraser and No. 19 Western Washington and four nationally-ranked women’s programs with No. 8 Alaska Anchorage, No. 10 Simon Fraser, co-No. 12 Seattle Pacific University and No. 14 Western Washington.