The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- October 11, 1999

Division III Men's Cross Country

Field: The field increases by 31 competitors this year from 184 to 215. Twenty-four teams (up from 21) of seven individuals (with at least one team from each of eight regions) plus 47 individuals (at least four from each region and 10 more than 1998) will make up the field.

Dates and sites: Regional qualifying at eight sites will be November 13. The championships will be November 20 at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/563-1133 (pin code 1915); request numbers are 1290 for dates/sites and 5074 for championships results. Regional results will appear in the November 22 issue of The NCAA News, and championships results will be published December 6.

Championships notes: North Central is the two-time defending champion, but in one respect, it is hoping that history does not repeat itself. The Cardinals, the top-ranked team in the latest Division III Cross Country Coaches Association poll, have a division-best 11 titles but have not been able to win three consecutive years. In its previous four attempts at a three-peat, North Central has finished second twice, third and seventh. If North Central is to be unseated as champion, it is likely that the team doing so will come from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Tied for second in the most recent rankings were Wisconsin-La Crosse and Wisconsin-Stevens Point, followed by Wisconsin-Whitewater in the fourth position. Wisconsin-Stevens Point won the St. Olaf Invitational by placing all seven of its runners in the top 10, separated by just 47 seconds.