When was the last time a Patriot League men's team other than American qualify for NCAA Cross Country Championships? When was the last time Navy or Bucknell or Army qualified as a team? Early 90's? Bucknell was like '91 maybe. I'm too lazy to look it up. Maybe there is a renaissance around the corner?
According to
summary in The Fairest of All Time:
Looks like a generation gap has occurred even with American. Kids today probably don't even know American was a national player in XC for a few years. The last time they went to NCAAs a current 18 year old was only 11-12 years old.
The Patriot League is not a national player of late, but Navy, Bucknell, and Army certainly were back in the day! Why are they not getting it done in past 15-20 years? What are some stories from the guys on these old school teams that got the job done and didn't make excuses?
Of the 148 teams ever to qualify for nationals below are the rankings. Remember, there are 347 teams in U.S. D1 so a whopping 199 men's teams have NEVER been to The Show.
Navy--41st best in U.S. with 10 appearances
1997--21st
1992--7th
1989--21st (@ USNA)
1988--21st
1985--7th
1984--18th
1976--25th
1975--25th
1974--15th
Bucknell--51st best in U.S. with 9 appearances
1991--13th
1988--22nd
1987--16th
1986--19th
1982--12th
1981--20th
1980--16th
1979--17th
1978--17th
Army--70th best in U.S. with 6 appearances
1996--15th
1993--6th
1986--18th
1978--26th
1965--16th
1961--11th
American--85th best in U.S. with 4 appearances
2006--26th
2005--30th
2004--20th
1971--19th
Lehigh--140th best in U.S. with 1 appearance
1970--24th
Those are the facts.
Of particular note are the following:
Army - 6th in 1993
Navy - 7th in 1992 and 1985
That's pretty solid.
lehigh is going to be nasty for the next two years.
also, rome, della pelle, and johnson are all in the 1500 final. patriot league ball so hard.
Kosgei and Bunnell ran well. Kosgei missed the final round by 2 seconds after doing all of the work in the first heat running 8:49. Solid showing from the Patriot League distance crew.
Rome and Johnson will do well
reppin the PL.