Division III Men's Cross Country Championships

Dates and sites: Regional qualifying at eight sites will be November 15. The championships will be November 22 at Hanover.

Field: A total of 215 runners will compete.

Selection date: The 24 teams of seven individuals and 47 additional individuals will be determined through regional competition.

2002 team champion: Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

2002 individual champion: Ryan Bak [Trinity (Connecticut)].

Top team contenders: Wisconsin-Oshkosh, North Central, Calvin, Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Championships notes: Calvin battled to a draw with the top-ranked host team at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Invitational October 18, serving notice that the Knights aspire to improve on the past two years' runner-up finishes in Division III and reclaim the title they won in 2000 ... The meet in Oshkosh also featured contenders Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which finished third led by Curt Johnson, and North Central, which placed fifth but held out three top runners ... Among individual contenders, Wartburg's Josh Moen was impressive in placing second in a Jim Drews Invitational race dominated by runners from Division I power Wisconsin October 18, and could join classmate Missy Buttry in bringing Wartburg dual individual titles. Top individual contenders: Josh Moen (Wartburg), Ryan Kleimenhagen (Wisconsin-Platteville), Tom Haxton (Chicago), Nick Boehlke (Wisconsin-Oshkosh), Curt Johnson (Wisconsin-Stevens Point).

Division III Women's Cross Country Championships

Dates and sites: Regional qualifying at eight sites will be November 15. The championships will be November 22 at Hanover.

Field: A total of 215 runners will compete.

Selection date: The 24 teams of seven individuals and 47 additional individuals will be determined through regional competition.

2002 team champion: Williams.

2002 individual champion: Missy Buttry (Wartburg).

Top team contenders: Middlebury, Williams, Amherst Trinity (Connecticut), Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Championships notes: The team competition looks to be highly competitive, in contrast to last year when Williams easily outdistanced the field ... A fourth straight winner could emerge from the New England Small College Athletic Conference, where Middlebury (Division III champion in 2000 and 2001), Trinity (Connecticut), Amherst and Williams all rank among top contenders. Middlebury and Trinity both outdistanced Williams at the New England Championships, while Amherst was impressive at the league meet ... Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Liz Woodworth dominated the individual competition at her school's invitational meet October 18, but Wisconsin-Stevens Point placed five runners in the top 10 to claim the team title ... While the team competition looks close, much of the pre-race buzz focuses on whether Wartburg's Missy Buttry will be challenged in individual competition after last year's record victory margin of nearly one minute. Top individual contenders: Missy Buttry (Wartburg), Liz Woodworth (Wisconsin-Oshkosh), Aly Venti (Amherst), Jessica Manzer (Middlebury), Caroline Cretti (Williams).

Division III Field Hockey Championship

Dates and sites: First-round games will be played on campus November 12, and second- and third-round games will be played on campus November 15 and 16. The semifinals and final will be November 21 and 22 at Lebanon Valley.

Field: 18 teams.

Selection date: November 9.

2002 champion: Rowan.

Top contenders: The top five squads listed in the November 4 Division III National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll were Middlebury, Salisbury, College of New Jersey, Rowan and Messiah.

Championship notes: Middlebury carried an unblemished mark of 14-0 into the November 8 New England Small College Athletic Conference semifinals ... Defending-champion Rowan is 13-3 this season and has made an appearance in the championship tournament every year since 1997 ... Messiah, with a 13-3 mark, has competed in the last two championship games.

Division III Football Championship

Dates and sites: The first rounds are November 22, the second rounds are November 29, the quarterfinals are December 6 and the semifinals are December 13, all on the campus of a participating institution. The final -- the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl -- will be played December 20 in Salem, Virginia.

Field: Twenty-eight teams.

Selection date: November 16.

2002 champion: Mount Union.

Top contenders: Mount Union, St John's (Minnesota), Linfield, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Wheaton (Illinois) represented the top five teams in the October 28 American Football Coaches Association poll.

Championship notes: The top five teams all were undefeated as of the October 28 AFCA poll. A total of 10 teams in the top 25 remained undefeated as of October 28. Linfield has now posted 48 consecutive winning seasons, which is the longest such streak in college football history ... Mount Union has won the championships six of the last seven years, the streak broken only by Pacific Lutheran in 1999.

Division III Men's Soccer Championship

Dates and sites: All games are played on campus. First-round games are November 12, regionals are November 14-16 and quarterfinals are November 22 or 23. The semifinals and final will be November 28-29 or 29-30.

Field: Forty-four teams.

Selection date: November 9.

2002 champion: Messiah.

Top contenders: Trinity (Texas), Redlands, Emory, Williams and Denison were the rankings leaders in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America November 3 poll.

Championship notes: Unbeaten Trinity's 17th win was its first at DePauw, a 2-0 triumph sparked by second-half goals from Rusty Harrington and Josh Smith. Fifteen of the Tigers' 18 wins this year have been shutouts ... Several contending teams have players who rank among the nation's leading goal scorers, including Chris Quinn of Trinity (21 goals in 16 games), Khari Stephenson of Williams (13 goals in 11 games), Adam Acosta of Redlands (18 goals in 16 games) and Matthew Levine of Emory (14 goals in 14 games) ... Since 1990, only UC San Diego and Messiah have won more than one title. UC San Diego, now a Division II school, won in 1991 and 1993. Messiah, the defending champion, also won in 2000.

Division III Women's Soccer Championship

Dates and sites: All games are played on campus. First-round games are November 12, regionals are November 14-16 and quarterfinals are November 22. The semifinals and final will be November 28-29 or 29-30.

Field: Forty-five teams.

Selection date: November 9.

2002 champion: Ohio Wesleyan.

Top contenders: Chicago, Ohio Wesleyan, Wheaton (Massachusetts), Puget Sound and Scranton were the rankings leaders in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America November 3 poll.

Championship notes: Renee Neuner leads 14-0-3 Chicago with 19 goals and four assists. The Maroons' ties came against Carnegie Mellon, Illinois Wesleyan and Case Reserve ... Ohio Wesleyan at 17-1-1 has allowed only seven goals this year. Unfortunately for the two-time defending-champion Bishops, three came in a loss to Allegheny ... Five of the last six championship games have been 1-0 contests.

Division III Women's Volleyball Championship

Dates and sites: Regionals are November 13-15, quarterfinals are November 22 and the finals will be December 5-6 on campus.

Field: Forty-eight teams.

Selection date: November 9.

2002 champion: Wisconsin-Whitewater

Top contenders: Juniata, Washington (Missouri), Trinity (Texas), La Verne and Wittenberg represented the top five teams in the October 22 American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.

Championship notes: Top-ranked Juniata was the only undefeated team in the AVCA top 25 through the October 22 poll with a 27-0 record. The Eagles have been ranked first since the season began. Washington had a season-high 15-game winning streak through mid-October and a record of 24-3 as of the October 22 poll ... Washington has been dominant in this event, winning seven times since 1989 and placing second in 2002. Juniata was last in the championship match in 1997, losing to UC San Diego.