2023 NCAA DIII Regional Championships Saturday Preview

Regional Championships Saturday is almost here!

You can feel the excitement in the air.

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | USTFCCCA Scoreboard

Let’s find out which teams and individuals are headed to the 2023 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships set for next Saturday, November 18, at Big Spring High School in Newville, Pennsylvania.

Remember that the winning team (one) per gender in each region automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, while the other 22 teams will be at-large selections.

Here are three of the ten meets that offer the most intrigue.

Teams in the Midwest Region aren’t afraid to race each other.

That’s awesome when they’re often ranked among the best in the nation.

We’ll see a pair of top-10 matchups as No. 2 North Central (Ill.) goes up No. 6 Wartburg in the men’s race, while No. 2 UChicago squares off against No. 5 Wartburg in the women’s race. Both of those skirmishes played out on the grass circuit earlier this year at the Augustana Interregional, where both the Cardinals and the Maroons won by an average of 25 points. Both of the Washington (Mo.) programs raced in Rock Island, Illinois, too.

Only one automatic bid is up for grabs come Saturday in Waverly, Iowa. Even if North Central (Ill.) and UChicago reign once again, we’ll see several other programs from the Midwest Region at the NCAA Championships the following week thanks to earning at-large berths.

We’re focused on the men’s race in the North Region.

Top-ranked UW-La Crosse and fourth-ranked UW-Whitewater aren’t strangers. The Eagles and the Warhawks squared off two weeks ago at the WIAC Championships with the former taking home a 22-41 victory. UW-La Crosse’s front-end depth was just too much for UW-Whitewater to handle, as the champions went 2-3-4-6-7 with a 33-second spread.

Add athletes from 11th-ranked St. Olaf into the mix and it gets more interesting. All three teams tangled at the Blugold Invitational back on September 29 with the Warhawks emerging victorious by 29 points over the runner-up Oles and the third-place Eagles. It should be noted that UW-La Crosse didn’t race its full varsity squad, as several of its top runners were at the Paul Short Run that same weekend.

Williams is making itself at home in the Mideast Region.

The Ephs, who have the top-ranked teams in the field, swept the proceedings in each of the past two years. Williams made it look easy two years ago, but had to work for those crowns last year: both the men and women fended off strong challenges by Middlebury, winning by an average of just 11.5 points, compared to 20 the previous year.

Now, the Ephs battle RPI men and the Amherst women in their respective races. All four of those teams competed at the NCAA DIII Pre-Nationals back in October and Williams’ squads stood tall. Later on, the Ephs and the Mammoths locked horns in the women’s race at the NESCAC Championships and the result was the same: Williams on top.

Anything can happen when just one automatic bid is up for grabs, though.