Division III Men's Cross Country Championships

Dates and sites: Regional competition will be conducted at eight sites November 12. The championships will be November 19 at Dornoch Golf Club in Delaware, Ohio (hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University).

Field: A field of 215 runners will compete.

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

2004 team champion: Calvin.

2004 individual champion: Josh Moen (Wartburg).

Top team contenders: Calvin, Wisconsin-La Crosse, North Central, Nebraska Wesleyan, Tufts.

Championships notes: Last year's top three team finishers appear set to battle again for the title, with 2004 runner-up North Central and third-place Wisconsin-La Crosse looking to break through and end Calvin's two-year hold on the crown ... The Calvin pack that claimed last year's championship despite placing no one higher than 20th individually graduated four of its top five finishers, but appears to have reloaded behind returning all-American Tim Finnegan ... North Central fought off a strong challenge from Wheaton (Illinois) to recently win its 32nd straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin title, while Wisconsin-La Crosse posted a convincing win at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships with three seniors and two juniors leading the way ... Williams' Neal Holtschulte, who dominated the field at the New England Small College Athletic Conference championships October 29, and Otterbein's Mike Sawicki, two-time Ohio Athletic Conference champion, are the top returning individual finishers (they placed second and third, respectively, last year).

Division III Women's Cross Country Championships

Dates and sites: Regional competition will be conducted at eight sites November 12. The championships will be November 19 at Dornoch Golf Club in Delaware, Ohio (hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University).

Field: A field of 215 runners will compete.

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

2004 team champion: Williams.

2004 individual champion: Missy Buttry (Wartburg).

Top team contenders: Williams, Wisconsin-La Crosse, Geneseo State, Amherst, Washington University of St. Louis.

Championships notes: Teams from the New England Small College Athletic Conference have claimed the last five championships, and defending champion Williams' victory October 29 in the NESCAC championships sets the Ephs up for a run at their third crown in four years. Williams senior Caroline Cretti is the top returning individual finisher from last year (fourth place) ... Senior Julia Rudd, who did not compete last year, returned this fall to win a second Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference individual crown and spark Wisconsin-La Crosse's championships hopes ... Geneseo State steadily has been climbing in recent years toward national prominence and may have put the final piece in place to contend for a title with freshman Liz Montgomery, who won this year's State University of New York Athletic Conference crown ... Cretti is the only returning top-10 individual finisher from last year and certainly ranks as the favorite to succeed departed three-time titlist Missy Buttry on the awards platform.

Division III Football Championship

Dates and sites: First-round (November 19), second-round (November 26), quarterfinal (December 3) and semifinal (December 10) games are at campus sites. The championship final will be December 17 at the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Virginia.

Field: Thirty-two teams.

Selection date: November 13.

2004 champion: Linfield.

Top contenders: Linfield, Mount Union, Rowan, Mary Hardin-Baylor and St. John's (Minnesota).

Championship notes: Linfield, which led the nation in scoring last season at 51.8 points, is lighting up the scoreboard again this season with a 49.0 average. Quarterback Brett Elliott is producing 324.2 yards of total offense per game ... Mount Union had its 110-game regular-season win streak snapped October 22 with a 21-14 defeat to Ohio Northern ... Rowan is seeking its 12th appearance in the NCAA championship bracket since 1991 ... Mary Hardin-Baylor advanced to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in 2004 ... St. John's (Minnesota) is the all-time winningest Division III football program with 525-216-24 record.

Division III Men's Soccer Championship

Dates and sites: Preliminary-round games are at campus sites. First- and second-round games will be November 9-13 and sectionals will be November 18-20. The semifinals and final will be November 25-26 at Macpherson Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina. Greensboro College and the City of Greensboro will host the event.

Field: The bracket has been expanded this year to 56 teams. Thirty-six conferences have been granted automatic qualification. Eight teams receive first-round byes. Eight first-round matches determine the teams that advance to the second round to play the bye teams.

Selection date: November 7.

2004 champion: Messiah.

Top contenders: Messiah, Ohio Wesleyan, Rochester, Trinity (Texas) and Salisbury were atop the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.

Championship notes: Messiah, undefeated in late October, had both its men's and women's teams atop the NSCAA polls. The men's team hopes to capture its fourth national championship in six years ... The Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops hope to avenge a conference tournament loss in 2004 that kept them out of the NCAA tournament for only the third time in 28 years ... Rochester returns two players who received multiple honors in 2004, Nate Micklos and Gary Stom. The pair leads the team in points with 37 and 26, respectively ... Trinity (Texas) looks to return to the national championship game after a semifinal appearance in 2002 and taking the title in 2003 ... Salisbury completed a nearly perfect season, but the Sea Gulls dropped their last game to Marymount -- their first loss to a league opponent in 24 tries.

Division III Women's Soccer Championship

Dates and sites: First and second rounds will be November 9, 12 and 13 at on-campus sites. Sectionals will be November 18-19 or 19-20 at four campus sites. The semifinals and final will be November 25-26 at Macpherson Stadium at Bryan Park in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Field: Sixty teams, with four teams receiving first-round byes.

Selection date: November 7.

2004 champion: Wheaton (Illinois).

Top contenders: An October 25 coaches poll ranked Messiah, TCNJ, Macalester, Virginia Wesleyan and William Smith as the top five.

Championship notes: Messiah, undefeated as of late October, had both its men's and women's soccer teams atop the National Soccer Coaches Association of America polls. The women's team recorded shutouts in 10 of its first 13 games ... Macalester senior goalkeeper Louisa Bigelow had a 0.40 goals-against average in her first five conference starts ... By late October, Virginia Wesleyan had tied a school record with 14 shutouts on the season ... Sophomore forward Laura Burnett-Kurie has been stellar for the William Smith Herons, recording 27 points by late October and earning conference and Liberty League honors multiple times ... TCNJ senior Brittny Boyd has tallied 100 career points, ranking fourth all-time at her institution.

Division III Women's Volleyball Championship

Dates and sites: Preliminary-round matches will be conducted on the campuses of participating institutions. Regionals will be November 10-12, and the quarterfinals, semifinals and final matches are November 17-19 in Salem, Virginia.

Field: Sixty-two teams.

Selection date: November 6.

2004 champion: Juniata.

Top contenders: Washington-St. Louis, Juniata, Emory, New York University and Wisconsin-Whitewater were the top five ranked teams in the October 25 College Sports Television/American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.

Championship notes: Washington-St. Louis has captured eight Division III national titles, with the last coming in 2003 ... Juniata will enter the postseason with a 26-match win streak ... Emory ranks first in team hitting percentage at .394 ... New York U. coach Ed Ceasar has guided his team to the round of 16, the national finals and the national semifinals in his first three seasons on the job ... Stacy Boudreau is in her first season coaching Wisconsin-Whitewater.