Even though it is already the fourth week of the season, this weekend marked the real start of the march toward november for many of the nations top teams. Many regional rivals squared off for the first time giving the eight regional voters in the coaches' poll a good look at who was overrated and who was overlooked. After the recap of this weekend's results and its impact on the nationals scene, keep reading for an interview with one of the nation's top male xc/track runners - UW Oshkosh's Willy Kaul.

RECAP:

MEN - 

1st ranked SUNY Cortland tied for first place with SUNY Plattsburgh at the Oneonta 6k. Hamilton's Peter Kosgei most people's pick for individual national champion won the individual title in a meet record time.

2nd ranked Calvin kicked off their season with a win at home scoring 24 points, defeating 12th ranked UW Oshkosh (second), 9th ranked Ohio Northern (third) and 16th ranked Case (fourth). Calvin's Christiansen was the individual winner, while also of note, Calvin's JV team finished 9th overall in the meet. 

3rd ranked UW Lacrosse took the win at the midwest open hosted by UW Parkside ahead of 35th ranked Bethel, which placed a distant ninth. Also competing, unranked Kenyon finished fourth overall.

4th ranked Stevens Point had 9 in the top 10 en route to a convincing victory at Concordia scoring only 19 points as a team.

5th Ranked Carnegie Mellon split their squad at the Dickinson Long/Short Invitational. They were victorious over the short course led by Senior Brian Harvey, took 3rd over the long course and were 2nd overall in the combined scoring behind host Dickinson ranked 19th. The hosts won the long course, took second in the short and were first in the combined. Also competing was 28th ranked Johns Hopkins, which took third in the short 4k course, 2nd in the 8.1k long course and were 3rd overall in the combined standings. Only the first 3 runners for each team in each race were scored. 

7th ranked North Central was fourth at the Illinois state champs behind Illinois, Illinois State and Rend Lake (who was without Boaz Lalang) and ahead of 10th ranked Augustana.

8th Ranked Amherst running against most of the top teams in the northeast came in fourth at the UMass Dartmouth Invite behind overall winners Keene State ranked 21st, The United States Coast Guard Academy unranked in the most recent poll and 28th ranked MIT. The Lord Jeffs were ahead of 14th ranked Trinity (fifth), unranked University of Southern Maine (sixth) and 30th ranked Brandeis (seventh) who was without some of their top 7. In Junior Varsity action (of note because of depth), MIT was victorious over Brandeis who had the race's individual winner.

25th ranked St. Olaf was third at their home invite behind Minnesota State and Minnesota-Duluth.

26th ranked Willamette opened their season with a win at home over the ever popular 7085 meter distance, defeating 33rd ranked Whitworth, which finished third in the process.

27th ranked NYU was victorious at their home invite, covering the 5k course at storied Van Cortland Park, Bronx, NY.

Finally, 32nd ranked Emory finished 4th at Vanderbilt behind three D1 programs.

Overall, the major impacts came in the regions where multiple teams faced off at common meets, most notably in the Northeast but also the midwest/Great Lakes, and lesser so the Mideast region where the split nature of the Dickinson invitational complicates things a bit.

First in the Northeast, it seems unlikely the the Coast Guard Academy will be left off the top 35 given their pack running, which led to their finishing ahead of 4 national ranked programs - this may lead to Brandeis being knocked off the poll. Keene State should bump ahead of Amherst and Trinity, more than likely moving into the 10-15 range. Southern Maine could sneak into one of the bottom 5 spots. MIT should bump up to around 15th, while Amherst falls to around 15th as well and Trinity moves into the 15-20th range. 

In the Midwest/ Great Lakes, Oshkosh should bump up ahead of Ohio Northern perhaps even switching spots completely.

Finally in the mideast, the split nature of the Dickinson Invite should cause Carnegie Mellon's defeat to be ignored, but perhaps Dickinson will move up a few spots in the process. 

WOMEN:

Top ranked Amherst was led by Tropiano, the individual winner at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational, but as a team came in second overall to 23rd ranked MIT. Unranked Brandeis University was third at the meet ahead of 11th ranked Colby, which came in fourth. Tufts university was present at the meet but did not run in the varsity race, only running their B squad which placed third in the JV race.

2nd ranked Calvin College won their home invitational, ahead of 10th ranked Case (second) and 20th ranked Oshkosh (third).

7th ranked Depauw was the first D3 team at the Indiana State Championship finishing 6th overall.

9th ranked Platteville was 4th at their home invite

12th ranked Wartburg finished 3rd overall at the University of Nebraska Invite, behind Nebraska and Kansas State which finished 1-2 and ahead of 33rd ranked Nebraska Wesleyan, which finished fourth overall.

13th ranked Ithaca College placed 7 in the top 11, en route to victory at Misconcordia, scoring 28 points as a team.

14th ranked Middlebury won their home invitational with 19 points, paced by Krieg who led 7 runners in the top 8.

16th ranked Lacrosse finished 1st at the St. Olaf Invitational.

At the Dickinson Long/Short Invitational, 17th ranked Johns Hopkins finished 1st overall, after coming in 2nd in the 4k and 1st in the 6k. 30th ranked Messiah was second overall, after finishing 3rd in the short course and 3rd in the long course (the short course winners did not compete in the long course). Finally the hosts were 3rd overall, after placing 5th in the 4k and 2nd in the 6k. Again like on the Men's side only the top three runners for each team were scored in each race. 

18th ranked Willamette finished second to unranked Whitworth at their home invite.

19th ranked Emory was 3rd at Vanderbilt behind D1 Vandy and Albany

24th ranked SUNY Cortland put 2 in the top 5 but placed 4th overall behind Oneonta. Hamilton and Plattsburgh went 1-2.

Finally, 34th ranked Kenyon was the top D3 team at the Midwest Open, finishing 6th overall.

Unlike the Men's side, most races went according to plan for the top 35 teams, at least outside of the Northeast. Amherst may lose the top spot to Calvin and MIT should gain some ground, although it does appear as if the Lady Jeffs were somewhere between a tempo and an all out race (though I could be wrong). This should not discredit the performance by the engineers/beavers of MIT who should move into the top 15 or maybe better. Colby should drop quite a bit after coming in 4th behind unranked Brandeis perhaps more to the 25-30th range, and Brandeis who was without their top runner could sneak into the bottom 5 but should at the very least receive votes in this week's poll. 

That wraps up week four, and things are only going to heat up with the Roy Griak Invitational next weekend. Please keep reading for an interview with multiple All-American Willy Kaul of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

 

INTERVIEW WITH WILLY KAUL OF WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH

Willy Kaul is a Senior at Wisconsin Oshkosh and a multi-time All American, and was named the Male Midwest Track Athlete of the Year in 2008. His team is currently ranked 12th in the USTFCCCA Poll. 

Since many people reading this article may not know who Willy Kaul is, tell them a little about yourself, where you grew up, how you began running (did you play any other sports before you started running)?

Well- My name is Willy Kaul, and I am from Menomonee Falls Wisconsin. It's a suburb just north of Milwaukee, and I have been there my whole life. I have two older brothers, an older sister, and one younger sister. Also, my younger sister and I were adopted and it was the best thing that ever happened to me, my family is great. I went to Milwaukee Lutheran High School along with every other sibling. As a kid and teenager I was really playing, sports, particularly soccer and basketball( I could dunk, seriously!). I ran track on the side just to stay in shape, but I never got into running until I ran XC my senior year and won a state championship. From there I quit soccer and basketball and took up running. I love running.

Since summer recently came to an end, what did you do this summer, running and otherwise?

This summer was great. I moved to Lacrosse, Wisconsin to run, bike, and do everything I could to get faster. The trails and parks are great for running, and there roads are prime for riding. Along with all the running and biking, I scored a job at a sweet bike shop just a few blocks from where I stayed. It was a very good summer.

What made you decide to attend/run for Oshkosh? When you were deciding on schools what was your view of D3 and how has that changed now?

Well, I was looking at Oshkosh before I even started running seriously because they have a good business school here. After I started running XC Coach Zupanc started recruiting me, and was really the only person that did. So that made my mind up for me. I didn't have any knowledge on D3 running at all, but from when I started, to now, it has come along way. Guys are coming out of D3 and are fast enough to run after college. It makes me feel good that it has matured so much.

What were your PRs in High School in XC and Track, and what are they now?

High School: 800-1:57, 1600m-4:20, 3200m-9:25, XC 5k-16:00

You had some serious injuries last year, talk a little bit about this, how it impacted you, and how you have come back from it.

Yea I did, the 10k two years ago really messed my foot up. I ran through it all last summer and it never got better. So Zup and I threw in the towel, and I took close to 3 months off of running. It was a big blow being that it was the longest I've taken off, and the biggest injury I had up until then. But it opened my eyes to other things like cycling, which I still do 3 times a week along with running. It made me a strong person and runner, and I take care of myself a lot more along with doing the little things. I rode a lot and lifted a lot in my time off and it helped my come back strong, fast, and healthy.

Your team was ranked 12th in the most recent national coaches poll, how do you and your team treat this distinction and what does it mean to you/them?

We don't really think anything of it, we never talk about it because we know we are better than that. The guys just didn't have a good year at all last season. But we've returned everyone, including myself and everyone is much much stronger. If anything the 12th ranking is a blessing, no one is expecting anything out of us except ourselves. I'm excited to see what the season brings us.

What goals do you have for yourself and your team this year, in both XC and track?

For myself, to improve as a runner. To build on what i've already established and put myself in a good position in XC. For track, I haven't thought about it yet, I'm focused on XC right now. I'll have to sit down and talk with Zup about that.

Your checkered jerseys are some of the more interesting uniforms in D3 or the NCAA as a whole, how does your team feel about them, and is there another jersey you wear until you earn your checks?

They are, if you make the team you get the checkers. There is no test you have to pass or anything. Just wait and see what they look like at Notre Dame! You could say we changed them up a bit!

Speed Goggles - have them or not?....you do not need to answer this one, but really... ?

Hahahah! Yes sometimes. Thats all I can say. Haha!

Is there anything else you think FloTrackers should know about you?

I am proud to be a D3 runner, we do it because we love the sport! And hard work ALWAYS pays off.

Thank You Willy for a fantastic Interview.