USTFCCCA News & Notes
Division II Regional Championships Preview: Go Big or Go Home
NEW ORLEANS – Lost in the shuffle surrounding this weekend’s NCAA Division I and Division III Cross Country Championships, as well as the NAIA national meet, is the fact that Division II is also in action this weekend, albeit at the regional level.
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Division II has a different qualifying procedure than both Division I and Division III. Rather than taking a set number of teams per region as automatic bids into the NCAA Championships – which, for Division II, will be held December 6 in Louisville, Kentucky – and filling out the remainder of the field with at-large teams, DII took the automatic-qualifying concept to the next level.
Namely, that’s the only game in town. Qualify automatically or go home. It’s that simple. No at-large bids, no room for error on Saturday.
Each region has a set number of teams it will send to the NCAA Championships, ranging from three for a handful of regions to six for the loaded West and South Central regions. Those numbers are determined by how the regions’ teams performed at the NCAA Championships the year before.
That creates for some awkward situations in regions like the Midwest and Central, regions in which there are upwards of eight nationally ranked (or vote-receiving) teams vying for just four NCAA berths.
We’ve created the following color-coded chart to help decipher what spots are up for grabs in what regions (based on the USTFCCCA Regional Team Rankings).
| Ranked Among Region’s Projected NCAA Bids for the Entire Season | Ranked Among the Region’s Projected NCAA Bids for More than Half of the Season | Ranked Among the Region’s Projected NCAA Bids for Less than Half of the Season |
| Gray: Not ranked among the region’s NCAA Bids in 2014 | ||
Of course, opposing teams aren’t the only aspect of the day teams need to take into account. Here’s the weather forecast for Saturday’s meets:
| Atlantic Region | Central Region | East Region | Midwest Region |
| Slippery Rock, PA | Wayne, NE | Nashua, NH | Evansville, IN |
| Low 30s | Mid 30s | Mid 30s | Mid 50s |
| Chance of showers | Partly Cloudy | Partly Cloudy | Chance of Storms |
| South Region | South Central Region | Southeast Region | West Region |
| Huntsville, AL | Denver, CO | Montevallo, AL | Billings, MT |
| Mid 40s | High 30s to low 40s | Low 50s | High 30s to low 40s |
| Chance of Showers | Mostly Cloudy | Chance of Showers | Chance of Rain |
So there we go. Ready? Let’s set the stage in each region, in alphabetical order.
Atlantic Region
| Slippery Rock, Pa. Cooper’s Lake Campground host: Slippery Rock |
Saturday MEN: 11:00 AM ET WOMEN: 12:15 PM ET |
Meet Home Part. Manual Meet History/Previous Champs |
Defending Men’s Team Champ: Lock Haven
2013 Champion: Alex Monroe, Lock Haven (three-time) (graduated)
Top Returner: Aaron Dinzeo, California (Pa.)
Defending Women’s Team Champ: Edinboro
2013 Champion: Vicki Davis, Bloomsburg (graduated)
Top Returner: Rachel Magliane, Indiana (Pa.) (third)
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Central Region
| Wayne, Neb. host: Wayne State (Neb.) |
Saturday MEN: 11:00 AM CT WOMEN: 12:15 PM CT |
Meet Home Part. Manual Meet History/Previous Champs |
Defending Men’s Team Champion: Augustana (S.D.) (two in a row)
2013 Champion: Paul Yak, Augustana (S.D.) (graduated)
Top Returner: Samantha Nadel, Georgetown (3rd)
Defending Women’s Team Champion: Minnesota Duluth
2013 Champion: Jennifer Agnew, U-Mary (graduated)
Top Returner: Samantha Rivard, Minnesota Duluth (fourth)
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East Region
| Nashua, N.H. Mines Falls host: Franklin Pierce |
Saturday MEN: 1:15 PM ET WOMEN: 2:30 PM ET |
Meet Home Part. Manual Meet History/Previous Champs |
Defending Men’s Team Champion: Stonehill
Defending Individual Champion: Mike Biwott, American International
Defending Women’s Team Champion: Stonehill
2013 Individual Champion: Tara Dooley, Bentley (Redshirted)
Top Returner: Chloe Boutelle, Saint Michael’s (seventh)
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Midwest Region
| Evansville, Ind. Angel Mounds host: Southern Indiana |
Saturday MEN: 10:30 AM CT WOMEN: 11:45 AM CT |
Meet Home Part. Manual Meet History/Previous Champs |
Defending Men’s Team Champion: Grand Valley State (12 in a row)
Defending Individual Champion: Johnny Guy, Southern Indiana
Defending Women’s Team Champion: Grand Valley State (13 in a row)
2013 Individual Champion: Samantha Johnson, Ferris State
Top Returners: Jessica Janecke, Grand Valley State (runner-up); Allyson Winchester, Grand Valley State, 2012 champion
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South Region
| Huntsville, Ala. Sharon Johnston Park host: Alabama-Huntsville |
Saturday MEN: 9:00 AM CT WOMEN: 10:00 AM CT |
Meet Home Part. Manual Meet History/Previous Champs |
Defending Men’s Team Champion: Florida Southern
Defending Individual Champion: Fernando Ojeda, UPR-Rio Piedras
Defending Women’s Team Champion: Tampa (seven in a row)
2013 Individual Champion: Vicky Winslow, Alabama Huntsville (not yet competed)
Top Returner: Jelena Tancic, Saint Leo (fourth)
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South Central Region
| Denver, Colo. Washington Park host: Metro State |
Saturday MEN: 10:00 AM MT WOMEN: 11:15 AM MT |
Meet Home Part. Manual Meet History/Previous Champs |
Defending Men’s Team Champion: Adams State (two in a row)
2013 Individual Champion: Vegard Olstad, Western State (transferred)
Top Returners: Kevin Batt, Adams State (2012 champ); Tabor Stevens, Adams State (2013 NCAA Champion)
Defending Women’s Team Champion: Adams State (two in a row)
Defending Individual Champion: Lauren Martin, Adams State
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Southeast Region
| Montevallo, Ala. Montevallo Cross Country Course host: Montevallo |
Saturday MEN: 10:30 AM CT WOMEN: 11:45 AM CT |
Meet Home Part. Manual Meet History/Previous Champs |
Defending Men’s Team Champion: Mount Olive
2013 Individual Champion: Dylan Lafond, Mount Olive (transferred)
Top Returner: Job Kemboi, Clayton State (third)
Defending Women’s Team Champion: Wingate
2013 Individual Champion: Hannah Witt, King
Top Returner: Cheyenne Thompson, Montevallo (runner-up)
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West Region
| Billings, Mont. Amend Park host: Montana St.-Billings |
Saturday MEN: 11:00 AM MT WOMEN: 12:15 PM MT |
Meet Home Part. Manual Meet History/Previous Champs |
Defending Men’s Team Champion: Chico State (two in a row)
2013 Individual Champion: Isaac Chavez, Chico State (graduated)
Top Returner: Johnny Sanchez, Chico State (runner-up)
Defending Women’s Team Champion: Adams State (two in a row)
2013 Individual Champion: Susan Tanui (two-time) (graduated)
Top Returner: Katelyn Steen, Western Washington (third)
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