DIII NCAA Conference Recap: North Central Makes It 45 In A Row
DIII NCAA Conference Recap: North Central Makes It 45 In A Row
When the North Central men began their streak of conference titles in 1974, Richard Nixon was president & Steve Jobs was two years away from founding Apple.
Conference weekend in NCAA cross country is always a bit head-spinning given the sheer volume of results pouring in, but we’ve parsed out the best from Division III to give you the highlights from a busy Saturday across the country.
D3 Men: North Central Stretches Their Conference Streak To 45 Years
When the North Central (Ill.) men’s cross country team began their current streak of CCIW conference titles in 1974, Richard Nixon was president and Steve Jobs was two years away from founding Apple.
Much has changed in the time between then and now, but on Saturday in Warrenville, Illinois, one thing remained resoundingly the same from over four decades ago: Division III’s premier distance squad won their 45th straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship crown, and 53rd overall.
.@NCCMensXCTF Wins 45th-Straight @CCIW_Athletics Title https://t.co/oGJQEg9nU5 #WeAreNC pic.twitter.com/SkQNgQfQ8x
— NCC Cardinals (@NCC_Athletics) October 27, 2018
For the third straight season, the No. 1 Cardinals won the meet with a perfect 15-point score, and this year they swept the top nine places, a dominating feat they last accomplished back in 2009.
NCC senior and No. 1-ranked Dhruvil Patel once again displayed his superiority in a season in which he has yet to lose to any DIII competition, as the two-time national champion won by over 21 seconds in 23:55. Junior Matt Osmulski, the third-ranked individual in Division III, was second behind Patel in 24:16 for the 8k course.
D3 Women: Johns Hopkins Wins 11th Straight Title With Conference’s First Perfect Score
In much the same fashion that DIII’s top-ranked men’s squad dominated their conference championship, their female counterparts at Johns Hopkins similarly had a perfect day at the Centennial Conference Championships, winning their 11th straight crown with the first perfect score in Centennial cross country history.
It was a perfect day on the course for @HopkinsTFXC as the women's cross country team put up the first perfect score in @CentennialConf history! #GoHop https://t.co/L7KMPNEizn pic.twitter.com/dzsLKbc7wV
— HOPKINS ATHLETICS (@HopkinsSports) October 27, 2018
The two-time defending national champions were led by senior Ellie Clawson, who won the race for the second straight year. Clawson finished the 6k course in 21:27 to beat teammate Caelyn Reilly by four seconds.
With an 18-second spread 1-5, Hopkins once again asserted their position atop Division III on Saturday. Like North Central, they’re going to be all but impossible to beat at nationals on November 17.
D3 Men: Led By Conference Champ Thomas Schultz, No. 2 Wisconsin-La Crosse Takes WIAC Title
The second-ranked UWL Eagles easily dispatched of their fellow Wisconsinites in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships on Saturday in Colfax, Wisconsin, beating UW-Eau Claire 38-69 to win their second straight WIAC crown.
La Crosse’s Thomas Schultz won the meet in 24:44 to lead a trio of Eagles in the top 10. Schultz, DIII’s No. 8 individual in the FloXC rankings, was runner-up in the 2017 race.
2017’s NCAA runner-up is still leaps and bounds behind North Central in terms of depth, but in Schultz, junior All-American Josh Schraeder, and junior Tyler Nault, the Eagles have three men capable of top 40 finishes at NCAAs.
D3 Women: No. 2 WashU Makes It Five Straight At UAA Championships
The Bears of Washington U. (St. Louis) are likely the only group that could potentially hang with Hopkins at NCAAs, and they showed as much on Saturday at the UAA Championships in Somers, Wisconsin, as the second-ranked women’s team put all five scorers in the top nine to win their fifth-straight conference title. The Bears won 24-71 over University of Chicago.
No. 2 @WASHU_XCTF women won their 5th consecutive @NewsUAA Title, as 6 Bears earned all-UAA honors. The WashU women have accounted for 17 UAA titles in school history. Paige Lawler became the 11th individual champion during Jeff Stiles 18 years as head coach.#d3xc#LetsGoWashU pic.twitter.com/YrRRelJpLK
— WashU Bears (@WASHUBears) October 28, 2018
Junior Paige Lawler led the squad with a convincing 14-second win over fellow FloXC-ranked Emily Bryson of Brandeis. Lawler crossed the tape in 21:15, with Bryson second in 21:29. 2016 UAA champ Aly Wayne of WashU was third in 21:46.