Oct. 31, 2007

NEW ORLEANS - Top-ranked Amherst and ninth-ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire won competitive conference meets Saturday, and Willamette moved up two spots in the national rankings as the Division III women's cross country season entered the homestretch.

In winning the New England Small College Athletic Conference women's championship in Williamstown, Mass. Amherst defeated five teams ranked in the top 35 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll. The Lord Jeffs won the NESCAC title with 37 points behind the first-place finish of Heather Wilson.

Trailing Amherst were No. 8 Williams (77 points), No. 21 Bowdoin (109 points), No. 27 Middlebury (124 points), No. 29 Colby (125 points) and No. 31 Tufts (126 points).

At the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships in Winneconne, Wisc., Wisconsin-Eau Claire won its first women's team championship since 1985 with a 44-point total. Tenth-ranked Wisconsin-Platteville was second with 49 points, followed by three other nationally ranked opponents - No. 18 Wisconsin-La Crosse, No. 25 Wisconsin-Oshkosh and No. 35 Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Ayla Mitchell of Wisconsin-Oshkosh won the WIAC individual championship.

This week's top 10 consists of Amherst, Calvin, Washington (Mo.), SUNY Geneseo, Willamette, SUNY Plattsburgh, Case Western Reserve, Williams, Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Wisconsin-Platteville.

Second-ranked Calvin won its third straight Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's title with 19 points as Christina Overbeck won individual honors.

Third-ranked Washington (Mo.) won the University Athletic Association championship with 31 points, 13 points in front of seventh-ranked Case Western Reserve.

Willamette won its fifth straight Northwest Conference title. Willamette's Sarah Zerzan, the defending NCAA Division III champion, successfully defended her NWC individual crown.

Division III teams will compete in eight regional championship meets Nov. 10. The NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held Nov. 17 in Northfield, Minn. Middlebury is the defending women's team champion.

The Division III men's and women's cross country rankings are determined by a committee comprised of coaches representing the eight different regions of the country.

Calvin is ranked No. 1 in the Division III men's poll.

USTFCCCA Division III women's cross country poll
Oct. 31, 2007
(first place votes in parenthesis)

Team	Votes	Previous
1. Amherst College (8)	280	1
2. Calvin College	272	2
3. Washington (Mo.) University	264	3
4. SUNY Geneseo	256	4
5. Willamette University	243	7
6. SUNY Plattsburgh	238	6
7. Case Western Reserve	235	8
8. Williams College	228	5
9. Wisconsin-Eau Claire	216	9
10. Wisconsin-Platteville	208	10
11. Nebraska Wesleyan	199	11
12. Dickinson College	190	12
13. DePauw University	180	13
14. Ithaca College	170	15
15. Luther	160	17
16. Haverford	150	16
17. St. Thomas	144	21
18. Wisconsin-LaCrosse	140	24
19. Emory University	135	28
20. Puget Sound	132	19
21. Bowdoin	128	18
22. Carleton College	109	NR
23. College of New Jersey	107	23
24. St. Olaf College	100	14
25. Wisconsin-Oshkosh	98	22
26. MIT	75	24
27. Middlebury College	72	20
28. Grinnell	62	26
29. Colby College	54	NR
30. Baldwin-Wallace	53	27
31. Tufts University	37	34
32. Allegheny	24	NR
33. Wartburg College	23	30
34. SUNY Cortland	19	32
35. Wisconsin-Stevens Point	12	NR