North Central (Ill.) Men Now Unanimous No. 1 in First Regular-Season DIII National Coaches Polls

North Central (Ill.) Men Now Unanimous No. 1 in First Regular-Season DIII National Coaches Polls
September 18, 2013

NEW ORLEANS – All is relatively quiet atop the first regular-season edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III Cross Country National Coaches Poll released Wednesday, but the early portion of the season has stirred up the sections of the men’s and women’s polls outside the top five relatively well.

NATIONAL PDFs: National Summary | Week-by-Week | All-Time Week-by-Week
REGIONAL PDFs: Regional Summary | Week-by-Week
Division III XC Rankings Central

The UW-La Crosse men moved up one spot into a tie with Haverford at No. 2 for the only top-five movement this week in either poll, while nearly every team from No. 6 on down is in a different spot than their preseason projections.

Beginning at the top, the defending champion North Central (Ill.) men have gained unanimous No. 1 status after two-time reigning National Athlete of the Week John Crain led the Cardinals to a decisive team victory over five Division I programs at the Illinois State Invitational this past weekend. The Cardinals claimed six of the first-place votes in the preseason, and have now claimed the other two from Haverford and Washington (Mo.)

Haverford and UW-La Crosse came in tied at No. 2. The Eagles of La Crosse won a UW-River Falls Falcon Invitational that featured another ranked squad in UW-Eau Claire and many other Cheese State rivals.

The Washington (Mo.) hold steady at No. 4, just one vote ahead of No. 5 Bowdoin. Washington (Mo.), along with North Central (Ill.) and UW-La Crosee, gives the formidable Midwest Region three teams in the nation’s top four. Bowdoin, meanwhile, is the top-ranked New England Region squad among three in the top 10.

Calvin took the biggest leap of any top-10 squad, improving three spots from its preseason rank to No. 6.

New to the rankings were No. 29 Augustana (Ill.) and No. 34 Occidental.

The women’s defending champion No. 1 Johns Hopkins have looked nearly as impressive as NCC in their role as the unanimous top-ranked squad. With a National Athlete of the Week honoree of their own in Hannah Oneda, the Blue Jays turned in a strong showing this past weekend against Division I teams at Penn State and a perfect 15 team score against Division II and III competition.

No. 2 Wartburg was similarly dominant with a resounding 57-point win at Grinnell’s Les Duke Invitational.

No. 3 MIT, No. 4 Williams and No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps all remained stationary in their preseason positions.

Just beyond those top five teams, a pair of squads made big strides into top-10 territory in No. 6 Chicago — up seven spots to tie its all-time program-best from week eight of the 2010 season — and No. 7 Calvin, which improved four positions behind reigning National Athlete of the Week Cassie Vince.

The New England and Great Lakes regions appear the strongest in terms of top-10 representation, with the New England claiming three of the top 10 and the Great Lakes two.

An 11-position jump for Ithaca up to No. 17 was the biggest positive move outside the top 10.

Joining the rankings for the first time this season were No. 19 UW-Stevens Point (tied with Bates), Carnegie Mellon and Vassar tied at No. 30, No. 32 Gustavus Adolphus and No. 34 SUNY Cortland.

The 2013 NCAA Division III National Championships will be contested November 23 in Hanover, Ind.



USTFCCCA NCAA DIVISION III
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL
2013 Week #1 — September 18
next poll: September 25

Rank Institution (FPV) Points Region Conference Head Coach (Yr*) Last
Week
1 North Central (Ill.) (8) 280 Midwest CCIW Al Carius (48th) 1
2 UW-La Crosse 268 Midwest WIAC Derek Stanley (2nd) 3
2 Haverford 268 Mideast Centennial Tom Donnelly (39th) 2
4 Washington (Mo.) 251 Midwest UAA Jeff Stiles (13th) 4
5 Bowdoin 250 New England NESCAC Peter Slovenski (28th) 5
6 Calvin 234 Great Lakes MIAA Brian Diemer (28th) 9
7 Bates 233 New England NESCAC Al Fereshetian (19th) 6
8 Williams 222 New England NESCAC Peter Farwell (35th) 8
9 UW-Eau Claire 215 Midwest WIAC Dan Schwamberger (7th) 10
10 Dickinson 207 Mideast Centennial Don Nichter (24th) 12
11 Tufts 205 New England NESCAC Ethan Barron (9th) 11
12 St. Olaf 190 Central MIAC Phil Lundin (6th) 15
13 NYU 172 Atlantic UAA Nick McDonough (16th) 17
14 Carnegie Mellon 157 Mideast UAA Dario Donatelli (21st) 19
15 UW-Oshkosh 154 Midwest WIAC Eamon McKenna (2nd) 20
16 SUNY Cortland 148 Atlantic SUNYAC Steve Patrick (6th) 21
17 Wabash 140 Great Lakes NCAC Roger Busch (8th) 24
18 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 132 West SCIAC John Goldhammer (30th) 14
19 Middlebury 131 New England NESCAC Nicole Wilkerson (3rd) 25
20 UW-Platteville 130 Midwest WIAC Tom Antczak (21st) 13
21 Johns Hopkins 126 Mideast Centennial Bobby Van Allen (15th) 18
22 Pomona-Pitzer 119 West SCIAC Tony Boston (6th) 26
23 Central (Iowa) 117 Central IIAC Joe Dunham (6th) 7
24 Allegheny (Pa.) 102 Mideast NCAC Brent Wilkerson (4th) 22
25 Chicago 85 Midwest UAA Chris Hall (13th) 33
26 Rochester 75 Atlantic UAA John Izzo (14th) 30
27 Manchester 72 Great Lakes HCAC Brian Cashdollar (16th) 29
28 MIT 70 New England NEWMAC Halston Taylor (32nd) 27
29 Augustana (Ill.) 69 Midwest CCIW Paul Olsen (48th) RV
30 UW-Stevens Point 56 Midwest WIAC Rick Witt (35th) 23
31 SUNY Geneseo 43 Atlantic SUNYAC Mike Woods (22nd) 32
32 Wheaton (Ill.) 29 Midwest CCIW Scott Bradley (12th) 16
33 Case Western Reserve 19 Great Lakes UAA Kathy Lanese (13th) 33
34 St. Lawrence 15 Atlantic Liberty League John Newman (13th) 28
34 Occidental 15 West SCIAC Robert Bartlett (9th) NR
Others Receiving Votes: Keene State 11, Saint John’s (Minn.) 11, Centre 7, Colby 6, Willamette 3, Rowan 2, Elizabethtown 1

(* year as head coach of that team in men’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed)



USTFCCCA NCAA DIVISION III
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL
2013 Week #1 — September 18
next poll: September 25

Rank Institution (FPV) Points Region Conference Head Coach (Yr*) Last
Week
1 Johns Hopkins (8) 280 Mideast Centennial Bobby Van Allen (15th) 1
2 Wartburg 271 Central IIAC Steve Johnson (25th) 2
3 MIT 264 New England NEWMAC Halston Taylor (7th) 3
4 Williams 255 New England NESCAC Peter Farwell (14th) 4
5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 246 West SCIAC John Goldhammer (30th) 5
6 Chicago 236 Midwest UAA Chris Hall (13th) 13
7 Calvin 229 Great Lakes MIAA Brian Diemer (8th) 11
8 Trinity (Texas) 225 South/Southeast SCAC Derick Lawrence (2nd) 8
9 Oberlin 223 Great Lakes NCAC Ray Appenheimer (8th) 7
10 Middlebury 208 New England NESCAC Nicole Wilkerson (3rd) 10
11 St. Lawrence 197 Atlantic Liberty League Mike Howard (15th) 9
12 St. Olaf 189 Central MIAC Chris Daymont (33rd) 18
13 SUNY Geneseo 183 Atlantic SUNYAC Mike Woods (22nd) 17
13 UW-La Crosse 183 Midwest WIAC Derek Stanley (2nd) 16
15 Carleton 163 Central MIAC Donna Ricks (21st) 14
16 Dickinson 155 Mideast Centennial Don Nichter (24th) 22
17 Ithaca 139 Atlantic Empire 8 Erin Dinan (2nd) 28
18 Hope 135 Great Lakes MIAA Mark Northuis (26th) 26
19 UW-Stevens Point 130 Midwest WIAC Megan Craig (5th) NR
19 Bates 130 New England NESCAC Jay Hartshorn (9th) 20
21 Luther 125 Central IIAC Yarrow Pasche (9th) 15
21 NYU 125 Atlantic UAA Nick McDonough (7th) 19
23 Elizabethtown 105 Mideast Middle Atlantic Brian Falk (6th) 31
24 Amherst 104 New England NESCAC Cassie Funke-Harris (2nd) 25
25 Washington (Mo.) 87 Midwest UAA Jeff Stiles (13th) 24
26 Haverford 86 Mideast Centennial Fran Rizzo (23rd) 12
27 Willamette 72 West Northwest Matt McGuirk (10th) 30
28 Case Western Reserve 49 Great Lakes UAA Kathy Lanese (16th) 35
29 Tufts 43 New England NESCAC Kristen Morwick (14th) 32
30 Vassar 42 Atlantic Liberty League James McCowan (9th) NR
30 Carnegie Mellon 42 Mideast UAA Dario Donatelli (21st) NR
32 Gustavus Adolphus 36 Central MIAC Dale Bahr (5th) RV
33 Emory 25 South/Southeast UAA John Curtin (29th) 33
34 SUNY Cortland 17 Atlantic SUNYAC Steve Patrick (6th) NR
35 UW-Eau Claire 16 Midwest WIAC Dan Schwamberger (7th) 6
Others Receiving Votes: Kenyon 14, Whitman 11, Centre 1

(* year as head coach of that team in women’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed)




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