2022 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Preseason
NEW ORLEANS – Cross country is back!
Here is the preseason edition of the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll for the 2022 season, as released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)! Remember that this poll is conducted by counting votes from 10 member coaches – one from each of the division’s ten regions – who also do the Regional Rankings.
NCAA Division III — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Pomona-Pitzer
Pomona-Pitzer
2
MIT
MIT
3
John Carroll
John Carroll
4
Williams
Williams
5
Wartburg
Wartburg
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Two-time defending champion Pomona-Pitzer is a near unanimous favorite to three-peat come November 19 in Lansing, Michigan. The Sagehens, who could become just the third program in meet history to win three consecutive national titles (North Central (Ill.) and UW-Oshkosh are the others), return five of those seven runners who helped them capture back-to-back crowns last year. Three of those five runners finished among the top-15 individuals: Colin Kirkpatrick was tenth; Derek Fearon was 12th; and Lucas Florsheim was 14th.
Last year’s national runner-up MIT looks to stand in Pomona-Pitzer’s way, as the Engineers were the only other program to receive a first-place vote. MIT also returns five of their seven runners from last year’s meet, including four All-Americans: Sam Acquaviva was 13th; Matthew Kearney was 28th; Ryan Wilson was 29th; and Andrew Mah was 33rd. Vedang Lad was right outside in 48th place.
It’s a near dead heat between third-ranked John Carroll and fourth-ranked Williams. The Blue Streaks own the slimmest one-point margin over the Ephs, as their improved depth and ultimate low stick at the front of their lineup (defending national champion Alex Phillip) was deemed slightly stronger than a Williams squad that put three in the top-20 last year (but lost one of those three runners in fourth-place finisher Aidan Ryan).
Wartburg sits fifth to begin the season with high hopes in 2022. The Knights are down one sizeable piece in Joe Freiburger, but welcome back the rest of the top-5 that helped them place ninth in the team standings last year. Christopher Collet is tabbed to be a leading athlete for Wartburg. Collet finished runner-up in four consecutive meets last year, including the Midwest Regional Championships, and won the steeplechase crown during the outdoor season.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in the preseason: No. 6 UW-La Crosse, No. 7 SUNY Geneseo, No. 8 Washington (Mo.), No. 9 UW-Whitewater and No. 10 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Of note is that each of the top-7 teams from the preseason poll are from a different region: East, Great Lakes, Mideast, Midwest, Niagara, North and West.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 19, as that’s when the 2022 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held in Lansing, Michigan.
