Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Purple Valley Classic Leads To Big Changes In NCAA DIII Men’s XC Coaches’ Poll

Purple Valley Classic Leads To Big Changes In NCAA DIII Men’s XC Coaches’ Poll


By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA
September 28, 2016   



NEW ORLEANS — With top-ranked North Central (Ill.) idle this past weekend, second-ranked SUNY Geneseo wanted to put some pressure on the Cardinals at the top of the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll.

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men

1)St. Olaf2)St. Olaf3)UW-La Crosse4)UW-Eau Claire5)MIT
SUNY GeneseoNorth Central (Ill.)WilliamsUW-Eau ClairePomona-Pitzer
View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll
The Knights loaded the bus and traveled north to the Purple Valley Classic. Once there, SUNY Geneseo would take on eight other ranked teams, including third-ranked Williams, fifth-ranked MIT and 10th-ranked Amherst.
What transpired shook up the most recent National Coaches’ Poll, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The Knights put four runners in the top-10 — led by NCAA DIII Male National Athlete of the Week Isaac Garcia-Cassani — and rolled to the team title. SUNY Geneseo ended up with 48 points, compared to the Ephs’ 64 and the Engineers’ 89. Alex Kramer (7th), Alex Burks (9th) and Alfredo Mazzuca (10th) were the other Knights in the top-10.
With that result fresh in the minds of the voting coaches, SUNY Geneseo jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 in this week’s poll. The Knights nabbed seven first-place votes compared to just one for the previously top-ranked Cardinals.
NATIONAL PDFs: Summary | Week-By-Week 2016 | Week-By-Week All-Time
Regional Rankings: Week 3 Summary | Week 3 Recap
WOMEN’S WEEK THREE NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL
This is the first time in program history that SUNY Geneseo’s men have been ranked No. 1 in the poll. The Knights’ previous high was second, which had been done three times this season.
North Central (Ill.) only fell one spot to No. 2 and has a perfect opportunity to showcase its talent this upcoming weekend. The Cardinals will go up against fifth-ranked Pomona-Pitzer as well as several other ranked teams at the Greater Louisville Classic, which will serve as DIII Pre-Nats.
Like SUNY Geneseo, the Purple Valley Classic had a positive push on RPI. Last week the Engineers were ranked 19th, but with its fifth-place showing in Massachusetts, they moved up to 12th. RPI put two runners in the top-10 — Benjamin Fazio (3rd) and Grant O’Connor (6th) — and will look to build depth around them.
Another big gainer this week was Washington (Mo.). The Bears were idle, but topped North Central (Ill.) two weeks ago at the Gil Dodds Invitational and received delayed gratitifcation.
Three teams returned to the poll this week: No. 21 St. Lawrence, No. 32 UW-Oshkosh and No. 33 Middlebury.
The 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held November 19 in Louisville, Kentucky at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park. That same locale played host to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships last year.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division III

Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll

2016 Week #3 — September 28

next poll: October 5
RankInstitution (FPV)PointsRegion (CR)ConferenceHead Coach (Yr*)
Last
Week
1SUNY Geneseo (7)279Atlantic (1)SUNYACDan Moore (2nd)
2
2North Central (Ill.) (1)273Midwest (1)CCIWAl Carius (51st)
1
3Williams262New England (1)NESCACPete Farwell (38th)
3
4UW-Eau Claire257Midwest (2)WIACDan Schwamberger (10th)
4
5Pomona-Pitzer249West (1)SCIACTony Boston (9th)
5
6MIT238New England (2)NEWMACHalston Taylor (35th)
6
7Claremont-Mudd-Scripps228West (2)SCIACJohn Goldhammer (33rd)
8
8UW-La Crosse225Midwest (3)WIACDerek Stanley (5th)
7
9St. Olaf215Central (1)MIACPhil Lundin (9th)
9
10Amherst214New England (3)NESCACNed Nedeau (20th)
10
11Loras195Central (2)IIACBob Schultz (12th)
11
12RPI191Atlantic (2)Liberty LeagueJohn Lynch (6th)
19
13Carnegie Mellon183Mideast (1)UAATim Connelly (2nd)
12
14Calvin174Great Lakes (1)Michigan IntercollegiateBrian Diemer (31st)
15
15Haverford165Mideast (2)CentennialTom Donnelly (42nd)
14
16Washington (Mo.)160Midwest (4)UAAJeff Stiles (16th)
32
17Mount Union153Great Lakes (2)OACKevin Lucas (6th)
13
18Johns Hopkins135Mideast (3)CentennialBobby Van Allen (18th)
17
19Colby134New England (4)NESCACJared Beers (11th)
16
20Wabash122Great Lakes (3)NCACColin Young (2nd)
20
21St. Lawrence106Atlantic (3)Liberty League (0th)
RV
22Allegheny (Pa.)104Great Lakes (4)NCACBen Mourer (1st)
23
22Chicago104Midwest (5)UAAChris Hall (16th)
18
24Bates100New England (5)NESCACAl Fereshetian (22nd)
21
25Wartburg97Central (3)IIACRyan Chapman (1st)
26
26Augustana (Ill.)71Midwest (6)CCIWPaul Olsen (51st)
27
27Dickinson66Mideast (4)CentennialDon Nichter (27th)
32
28Gustavus Adolphus65Central (4)MIACDale Bahr (8th)
23
29NYU52Atlantic (4)UAAErison Hurtault (1st)
25
30Christopher Newport50South/Southeast (1)CACMatthew Barreau (6th)
29
31Tufts44New England (6)NESCACJoel Williams (1st)
28
32UW-Oshkosh36Midwest (7)WIACEamon McKenna (5th)
RV
33Widener21Mideast (5)Middle AtlanticVince Touey (30th)
30
33Middlebury21New England (7)NESCACNicole Wilkerson (6th)
NR
35SUNY Oneonta20Atlantic (5)SUNYACBrett Willmott (1st)
31
Also Receiving Votes: Emory 12, Ohio Northern 7, Rowan 5, Willamette 4, Central (Iowa) 3
Dropped Out: No. 22 UW-Platteville, No. 34 Emory, No. 35 Ohio Northern
(* year as head coach of that team in men’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed)


No comments: