NEW ORLEANS – Hot off the presses, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason coaches’ poll results for the 2012 NCAA Division III cross country season are here. The men of North Central College (Ill.) are the nation’s top-ranked team, sweeping all first-place votes, holding serve as the NCAA’s defending champions. Middlebury is the preseason No. 1 team on the women’s side, with seven of eight FPVs. Defending national women’s champion Washington (Mo.) is No. 4 in the poll with the other first-place vote.

PDF: National Rankings Summary | Week-by-Week
Rankings Central
NCAA Division III Championship History

The men’s top five is rounded out by No. 2 Haverford, No. 3 SUNY Geneseo, No. 4 Washington (Mo.), and No. 5 Wheaton (Ill.). Haverford won the NCAA crown in 2010 and finished second at the national championships last year. SUNY Geneseo is enjoying their highest national ranking since at least 2006 after recording their first-ever trophy finish in 2011 (fourth). Also notching their best national team ranking (since at least 2006) include No. 6 Tufts, No. 8 Bates, No. 14 St. Olaf, No. 16 Loras, No. 23 Johns Hopkins, and No. 25 Rochester.

The remainder of the women’s top five includes No. 2 Williams, No. 3 SUNY Geneseo, No. 4 Washington (Mo.), and No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The top four teams have won NCAA titles within the last ten years (last titles: Middlebury, 2010; Williams, 2004; SUNY Geneseo, 2005; Washington (Mo.), 2011). Middlebury finished runner-up last year while Williams and CMS placed third and fourth, respectively, to jump on the award stand. No. 13 Oberlin and No. 25 Occidental are enjoying their highest team ranking since at least 2006.