Nov. 14, 2007

NEW ORLEANS - After placing second at the 2006 NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships by the slimmest of margins, Amherst rolls into next week's nationals riding an uninterrupted string of No. 1 rankings.

The Lord Jeffs received all eight first-place votes in the final Division III women's cross country poll released today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Amherst was ranked No. 1 at the start of the 2007 season and has never relinquished the top spot.

Following Amherst in the top 10 are Calvin, Washington (Mo.), SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Plattsburgh, Willamette, Williams, Case Western Reserve, Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Luther.

The only significant change involved Luther, which jumped five spots on the heels of its victory at Saturday's Central Regional.

Other women's regional winners were Amherst (New England), SUNY Geneseo (Atlantic), Calvin (Great Lakes), Dickinson (Mideast), Emory (South/Southeast), Willamette (West) and Washington (Midwest).

Amherst won the New England Regional with 40 points, far in front of seventh-ranked Williams (96 points).

The 2007 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 17, at the St. Olaf Cross Country Trails in Northfield, Minn. The top two teams in each of Saturday's eight regional meets automatically qualified for nationals. Sixteen additional at-large teams were added to the field on Monday.

Additionally, the first seven individuals from each region who were not a part of a qualifying team were selected to participate in the NCAA Division III Championships.

Middlebury won last year's NCAA title with 144 points, narrowly edging Amherst (145) and Calvin (149). Middlebury is ranked 25th and is an at-large pick for this weekend's NCAA Championships.

Sarah Zerzan of sixth-ranked Willamette is the defending NCAA individual champion. Zerzan won the West Regional by nearly 50 seconds.

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

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

USTFCCCA Division III women's cross country poll
Nov. 14, 2007
(first place votes in parenthesis)

Team	Points	Previous
1. Amherst (8)	280	1
2. Calvin	269	2
3. Washington (Mo.)	263	3
4. Geneseo St.	258	4
5. Plattsburgh St.	246	6
6. Willamette	236	5
7. Williams	228	8
8. Case Western Reserve	225	7
9. Wisconsin-Eau Claire	215	9
10. Luther	212	15
11. Wisconsin-Platteville	201	10
12. Dickinson	197	12
13. Nebraska Wesleyan	179	11
14. DePauw	178	13
15. Wisconsin-LaCrosse	157	18
15. Ithaca	157	14
17. Bowdoin	148	21
18. Haverford	145	16
19. Wartburg	131	33
20. Emory	125	19
21. Colby	116	29
22. TCNJ	112	23
23. St. Thomas	108	17
24. Puget Sound	104	20
25. Middlebury	85	27
26. St. Olaf	81	24
27. Trinity Univ. (TX)	80	NR
28. Johns Hopkins	54	NR
29. Colorado College	46	NR
30. Elizabethtown	42	NR
31. Tufts	40	31
32. Kenyon	37	NR
33. Allegheny	34	32
34. Wisconsin-Oshkosh	23	25
35. Cortland St.	16	34

Also receiving votes: Loras 7, Oberlin 3 and Grinnell 2.