Wednesday, August 31, 2016

North Central (Ill.) Men Are Preseason Favorites In NCAA DIII




North Central (Ill.) Men Are Preseason Favorites In NCAA DIII XC


By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA
August 31, 2016   



NEW ORLEANS — What do the years 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016 have in common as it pertains to the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Preseason National Coaches’ Poll?

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men

1)North Central (Ill.)2)St. Olaf3)UW-La Crosse4)UW-Eau Claire5)MIT
North Central (Ill.)SUNY GeneseoWilliamsUW-Eau ClairePomona-Pitzer
View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll
If you guessed North Central (Ill.) is ranked No. 1, you’re right.
For the sixth time in the past eight years, the Cardinals are atop the coaches’ poll to begin the season. North Central (Ill.) received five of the eight first-place votes available.
Third-ranked Williams nabbed two and second-ranked SUNY Geneseo snagged one.
NATIONAL PDFs: Summary | Week-By-Week 2016 | Week-By-Week All-Time
Regional Rankings: Preseason Summary | Preseason Recap
WOMEN’S PRESEASON NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL
Let’s go back to the Cardinals though and see why the coaches deemed them favorites for the 2016 season. North Central (Ill.) finished fifth at NCAAs last year and returns five of the seven runners that comprised that lineup, of which five placed inside the top-100 (Zach Plank, 4th; Al Baldonado, 65th; Dhruvil Patel, 77th; Zach Hird, 96th; Ethan Adlfinger, 99th). That’s not a bad sign for the Cardinals this year.
Coming in behind North Central (Ill.) are the Knights. Of note, the SUNY Geneseo men and women are both ranked No. 2 to begin the season.
The Knights finished third in Winneconne, Wisconsin and welcome back three members of its scoring lineup. SUNY Geneseo’s top returner is Isaac Garcia-Cassani — who was eighth last year — and he’ll be joined by Travis Briggs (61st) and Alfredo Mazzuca (83rd).
Top-end depth proved to be the Ephs undoing last year at NCAAs as they couldn’t hold off eventual champion UW-Eau Claire. Williams finished runner-up by nine points and is No. 3 entering the 2016 season. This year’s team for the Ephs features four runners from their NCAA team, namely Peter Hale (16th) and Noah Williams (40th).
Speaking of the defending champion Blugolds, they’re ranked fourth. UW-Eau Claire will be without the services of Josh Thorson and Ryan Mugan in 2016, but return Darin Lau (14th) and Nick Petersson (112th).
The No. 5 spot belongs to Pomona-Pitzer and this is a momentous ranking for that program. This is the first time in program history that the Sagehens have been ranked inside the top-10 in any USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll. Pomona-Pitzer must find a way to shore up its lineup as only two from its top-5 at NCAAs last year return.
Elsewhere in the top-10, St. Olaf is No. 6, followed by MIT at No. 7, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at No. 8, UW-La Crosse at No. 9 and Amherst at No. 10. This is the lowest the Oles have been ranked in the preseason since 2013, while the Stags set a new benchmark for the program.
The 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships are set for November 19 in Louisville, Kentucky at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division III

Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll

2016 Preseason — August 31

next poll: September 14
RankInstitution (FPV)PointsRegion (CR)ConferenceHead Coach (Yr*)
2015 FINAL
1North Central (Ill.) (5)275Midwest (1)CCIWAl Carius (51st)
5
2SUNY Geneseo (1)270Atlantic (1)SUNYACDan Moore (2nd)
3
3Williams (2)268New England (1)NESCACPete Farwell (38th)
2
4UW-Eau Claire254Midwest (2)WIACDan Schwamberger (10th)
1
5Pomona-Pitzer237West (1)SCIACTony Boston (9th)
6
6St. Olaf236Central (1)MIACPhil Lundin (9th)
4
7MIT235New England (2)NEWMACHalston Taylor (35th)
19
8Claremont-Mudd-Scripps224West (2)SCIACJohn Goldhammer (33rd)
7
9UW-La Crosse220Midwest (3)WIACDerek Stanley (5th)
9
10Amherst204New England (3)NESCACNed Nedeau (20th)
10
11Carnegie Mellon193Mideast (1)UAATim Connelly (2nd)
18
12Loras190Central (2)IIACBob Schultz (12th)
14
13Wabash186Great Lakes (1)NCACColin Young (2nd)
8
14St. Lawrence176Atlantic (2)Liberty LeagueJohn Newman (16th)
15
15UW-Platteville175Midwest (4)WIACTom Antczak (24th)
27
16Haverford164Mideast (2)CentennialTom Donnelly (42nd)
12
17Tufts154New England (4)NESCACJoel Williams (1st)
17
18Chicago139Midwest (5)UAAChris Hall (16th)
31
19Allegheny (Pa.)136Great Lakes (2)NCACBen Mourer (1st)
26
20Johns Hopkins122Mideast (3)CentennialBobby Van Allen (18th)
NR
21Middlebury115New England (5)NESCACNicole Wilkerson (6th)
24
21Calvin115Great Lakes (3)Michigan IntercollegiateBrian Diemer (31st)
23
23UW-Oshkosh108Midwest (6)WIACEamon McKenna (5th)
13
24RPI95Atlantic (3)Liberty LeagueJohn Lynch (6th)
NR
25Central (Iowa)66Central (3)IIACJoe Dunham (9th)
25
26UW-Stevens Point64Midwest (7)WIACBrett Witt
NR
27Colby60New England (6)NESCACJared Beers (11th)
NR
28Christopher Newport56South/Southeast (1)CACMatthew Barreau (6th)
32
29NYU54Atlantic (4)UAAErison Hurtault (1st)
NR
30Widener53Mideast (4)Middle AtlanticVince Touey (30th)
NR
31Willamette42West (3)Northwest ConferenceMatt McGuirk (13th)
28
32Emory36South/Southeast (2)UAAJohn Curtin (32nd)
29
33Ohio Northern35Great Lakes (4)OACJason Maus (11th)
NR
34Washington (Mo.)19Midwest (8)UAAJeff Stiles (16th)
16
35Hamilton11Atlantic (5)NESCACBrett Hull (26th)
21
35Dickinson11Mideast (5)CentennialDon Nichter (27th)
NR
35Bates11New England (7)NESCACAl Fereshetian (22nd)
NR
Also Receiving Votes: Gustavus Adolphus 7, Augustana (Ill.) 6, Washington and Lee 5, Messiah 4, Occidental 3, Wartburg 3, DeSales 3.
(* year as head coach of that team in men’s cross country, officially NCAA-recognized coach listed)




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