Trio of Meets Highlight Big NCAA DIII Weekend

It’s the biggest weekend of the NCAA DIII Cross Country regular season.

Each of the top-30 men’s and women’s programs in the most recent USTFCCCA NCAA DIII Cross Country National Coaches’ Polls are in action across the nation from Connecticut to California and everywhere in between. Plus, we’ll see top-10 matchups at three different meets.

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results

We told you it was a big weekend.

Let’s take a closer look at what Saturday has to offer.

Holy ranked teams, Batman!

Twenty of the sixty combined teams that were ranked in the most recent National Coaches’ Polls will compete at the Connecticut College Invitational. That’s one-third of them.

First on the course is the women’s race at 11 am ET, which features a top-10 matchup between No. 1 MIT, No. 5 Amherst and No. 7 NYU. Both the Engineers and the Violets held the No. 1 spot in the National Coaches’ Poll at some point this season, with the former currently owning that spot since Week 4. MIT usurped then No. 1 Colorado College thanks to a resounding victory at the NCAA DIII Twilight two weeks ago, beating No. 3 UChicago, 56-145. The Mammoths are looking to build upon the momentum they gained from a breakthrough triumph in the Women’s College White 6k at the Paul Short Run where they beat a plethora of ranked squads, including NYU.

The men’s race at noon ET isn’t as top heavy, but features two programs who appear to be hitting their stride at the right time: No. 13 Tufts and No. 17 Middlebury. Both the Jumbos and the Panthers climbed six spots in the Week 4 edition of the National Coaches’ Poll after top-5 finishes in the Men’s College White 6k at the Paul Short Run. Plus, with seven teams ranked between Nos. 10-22, we’re bound to see some movement in the National Coaches’ Poll next week.

The Augustana Interregional Invitational has quickly become a proving ground of sorts for the nation’s top teams. That will continue to be the case on Saturday in Rock Island, Illinois.

Three top-5 programs square off in the men’s race at 11:45 am CT: No. 2 Wartburg, No. 4 UW-Whitewater and No. 5 North Central (Ill.). This will be the first meeting between those three squads this season. Each of those squads did race at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana, though, but at different times. The Knights and the Cardinals faced each other at the John McNichols Invitational in September, while the Warhawks raced the fabled tract two weeks ago at the NCAA DIII Twilight. Fans should expect an exceptional battle for the individual title between Isaiah Hammerand of Wartburg, Emerald Svienty of North Central (Ill.) and the UW-Whitewater duo of Christian Patzka and Gunner Schlender.

Colorado College upset the apple cart back on September 21 when it finished as the top NCAA DIII squad at the John McNichols Invitational, beating then No. 1 NYU and No. 2 UChicago in the process. The Tigers soared from No. 11 to the top of the National Coaches’ Poll for its first No. 1 ranking in program history. Colorado College has since fallen one spot to No. 2 to no fault of its own. Now, the Tigers hope to show the nation they’re the rightful No. 1 program when they go head-to-head once again against the Maroons, as well as three other top-25 programs at 11 am CT.

If the Paul Short Run was any indication, we’re in for a treat.

Just two weeks ago, No. 7 RPI, No. 8 SUNY Geneseo and No. 9 Carnegie Mellon all raced on the same course – albeit in different races: RPI and CMU finished in that order in the Men’s College Gold 8k; SUNY Geneseo romped to victory in the Men’s College White 8k. Score the meet with just athletes from those teams and it would be close – like really close – with the Engineers taking the win with 38 points, just ahead of the Tartans (39) and Knights (41). The race starts at noon ET.

RPI and SUNY Geneseo needed a shoehorn to separate themselves at the finish of the Women’s College White 6k at the Paul Short Run. The Engineers ended up fourth in the team standings with 191 points, just three points fewer than the Knights. Fans are going to see a tremendous battle for the individual title between Jules Bleskoski of RPI and Penelope Greene of SUNY Geneseo. Bleskoski took top individuals honors at the Paul Short Run, while Greene was fourth. They’ll take the course at 11 am ET.