USTFCCCA News & Notes
Weekend Preview: Top-10 Matchups Between NAIA & NJCAA Programs Headline
It’s October 6.
That means we’re just about one month from the start of championship season when NJCAA DIII athletes and teams take the course on November 5 in Westfield, Massachusetts. Then, in order, we’ll see the NJCAA DI Championships on November 12 and the NAIA Championships on November 18 and finally all three NCAA Championships on Saturday, November 19.
From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets This Weekend | USTFCCCA Scoreboard
We must get through the regular season before we get to championship season, though.
Here are some meets that stand out to us from this weekend’s slate.
Lewis Crossover
Year in and year out, the Lewis Crossover lives up to its name.
Don’t think for a second that 2022 will be any different on Saturday, as teams from seven different NCAA DII regions and all reaches of the nation descend on Romeoville, Illinois.
The men’s 8k goes off first at 9:45 am CT with five nationally ranked programs in the mix: No. 9 Colorado Christian, No. 14 Michigan Tech, No. 18 Alabama Huntsville, No. 22 Lewis, No. 25 Illinois Springfield and No. 26 Western Washington. Already, you can see four regions that are represented (Midwest, South, South Central and West), as well as five different states (Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan and Washington).
The women’s 6k follows 45 minutes later with seven nationally ranked programs competing for the top spot on the podium: No. 13 Minnesota Duluth, No. 14 Colorado Christian, No. 15 Lewis, No. 16 Winona State, No. 18 Western Washington, No. 26 Saginaw Valley State and No. 29 Michigan Tech. A closer look reveals four different regions (Central, Midwest, South Central and West), as well as five different states (Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Washington).
You know how we said eight regions? Add up those from the two previous paragraphs and you get five with the Central, Midwest, South, South Central and West, plus two others from teams like Atlantic rivals Wheeling (W.Va.) and Edinboro, plus Adelphi out of the East.
FSU Invitational
A top-5 matchup between two NAIA programs highlights the FSU Invitational on Friday.
Fans won’t have to wait long to see that duel, as No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan faces No. 4 The Master’s (Calif.) in the Men’s Garnet 8k at 7:40 am ET on the same course that will host the NAIA Cross Country Championships on November 18. The Wildcats, who were previously ranked No. 1, will look to assert themselves two weeks after a strong fourth-place showing in the Men’s Maroon 8k at the Roy Griak Invitational. The Mustangs, who will travel more than 2,250 miles from Santa Clarita to compete in Florida, last ran at the UCR Invitational in mid-September and finished seventh behind six NCAA programs. Not to be outdone, three top-25 programs from NJCAA DII are also entered in the race with No. 7 Daytona State (Fla.), No. 15 Lake-Sumter State (Fla.) and No. 17 Pasco-Hernando (Fla.). Don’t forget about Florida State with front-runner Fearghal Curtin.
The Women’s Garnet 5k starts at 8:10 am ET with several nationally ranked programs, led by NCAA DI No. 24 Florida State. The Seminoles were last in action at the Joe Piane Invitational and posted an impressive fifth-place finish behind four top-10 teams. Florida State had fallen out of the National Coaches’ Poll between Week 1 and Week 3, but reemerged in the top-25 after that performance. The Seminoles will be joined by at least five other programs that are ranked in various forms of National Coaches’ Polls: NAIA No. 5 The Master’s (Calif.), NAIA No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan, NAIA No. 25 Shawnee State (Ohio), NJCAA DII No. 8 Pasco-Hernando (Fla.) and NJCAA DII No. 11 Daytona State.