Finally someone mentions Grinnell - great school, great running program. Look them up.
Finally someone mentions Grinnell - great school, great running program. Look them up.
Hamline and St. Olaf
Any school in the CCIW, North Central, Wheaton, or Elmhurst.
I ran at Pomona. Academics are second to none. I'm doing an MD/PhD now. I qual'd for XC Nat's 2x and track 1x. Program is better now than I was there. And still have great memories of long runs through the foothills of Mt. Baldy.
Def look into it.
Top academic schools with runners finishing at Nationals
US NEWS AND WORLD TOP 10 LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES 2006:
1 Williams College (MA) (Ind. #1,30)
2 Amherst College (MA) (Ind. #19)
3 Swarthmore College (PA) (None)
4 Wellesley College (MA) (None)
5 Carleton College (MN) (Ind. #10,91,142,179,189, Team #19)
6 Bowdoin College (ME) (None)
6 POMONA COLLEGE (CA) (Ind. #8,90,139,183,190, Team #20)
8 Haverford College (PA) (Ind. #14,29,42,54,57, Team #3)
8 Middlebury College (VT) (Ind. #47)
10 CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE (CA) (Ind. #44)
10 Davidson College (NC) (Very bad D1 team)
12 Wesleyan University (CT) (Ind. #12,37,119,160,170, Team #14)
13 Vassar College (NY) (None)
14 Washington and Lee University (VA) (Ind. #62)
15 Colgate University (NY) (None)
15 Grinnell College (IA) (None)
15 Hamilton College (NY) (None)
18 HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE (CA) (Counted with Claremont)
Like an earlier poster said, I can only speak with any authority about colleges I had my kids go to, Carleton and Grinnell. I think highly of their academic programs, and I think highly of Grinnell's Will Freeman as a coach. I like Bill Terriquez at Carelton but I believe he has stepped out as coach for either XC or track and I am less aware of the new leadership. Both have very good running programs and top academics.
haverford always runs their top guys in championship meets. they continue to be so successful and dominant because they take their competition seriously.
Haverford and the rest of the Centennial Conference have solid programs for the most part and all excel academically (except McDaniel). But I definitely would suggest Haverford; you cannot get better coaching, even if you go D1. This is coming from someone who is in the CC and runs against them.
There's a quote:
"the top schools are like banks. They'll provide you with a service only if you can first prove that you don't need it." Most of these schools have great academic reputations because they have highly selective admissions. If you're going to shell out the sort of large dollar amounts that a small school liberal arts education costs, then why not insure you get your money's worth. Look for a school which has a reputation for excellent teachers, not for students who would excel no matter where they went.
Shameless plug:
I'm at Emory and Henry College in Virginia. The faculty boasts several state-wide Carnegie teaching award winners (best college/university teachers in the state) and one national winner. The president of the college just resigned to become secretary of education in Governor Kaine's cabinet. It's ranked very highly among those colleges identified as ones which 'change lives'. It's graduated senators governors and national academy members. Not a great CC history, but they have a knowledgeable guy at the helm for the first time. The team is a lot of fun to be a part of, and recruiting is going very well for next year.
As mentioned earlier, the NCAC has some really good schools for both academics and athletics. Schools like Kenyon, Oberlin, Denison, Wooster, and Allegheny are all good in both respects. While some of the teams are not great, speaking as an NCAC alum there is good camraderies within the conference and the academics are on par with the good schools of the northeast. The one downside is the winters but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Academic wrote:
Shameless plug:
Not a great CC history, but they have a knowledgeable guy at the helm for the first time. The team is a lot of fun to be a part of, and recruiting is going very well for next year.
2005 ODAC results:
1. Washington and Lee 26 pts.
2. Lynchburg 52 pts.
3. Roanoke 82 pts.
4. Bridgewater 109 pts.
5. Eastern Mennonite 132 pts.
6. Hampden-Sydney 171 pts.
7. Virginia Wesleyan 176 pts.
8. Guilford 233 pts.
9. Emory and Henry 240 pts.
recruiting can't go much worse...
I definitely agree. The NCAC is getting more competitive (both boys and girls), and ALL of the schools are respected highly for their academic opportunities. There are a lot of "hidden gems" in the Midwest that you should definitely take a look at.
go wasps? wrote:
recruiting can't go much worse...
True enough. Things will be getting better, much better, though. Believe it or not, they already have. If you were to check the history of ODAC you'd see that the men's and women's combined performance ranks among the best in wasp history!
I suppose you have to decide what you're looking for. It's one thing to be a link in a chain, it's quite another to begin a winning tradition. We train over the same trails and routes as Intermont. Almost all the ingredients are here.
Carleton College in Northfield, MN. As seen in above we\'re ranked number 5 of all liberal arts colleges, great town, great people, great running. I wouldn't be posting if I didn't think it was great.
Carleton College in Northfield, MN. As seen in above we\'re ranked number 5 of all liberal arts colleges, great town, great people, great running. I wouldn't be posting if I didn't think it was great.
And you especially wouldn't be posting twice if you didn't think it was great.
No mention of Keene St. in New Hampshire or Trinity College in Hartford, CT. Trinity is where Ryan Bak went, he was not very good and just took off.
Sewanee, The University of the South:
10,000 acres of Cumberland Plateau forest, cliffs, overhangs, lakes and scenic overlooks with hundreds of miles of trails, all located in Southern Tennessee (about 1.5 hours south of Nashville).
The running program is very well tailored to everyone and running XC/track at Sewanee is like joining a family. Lots of soft trails, good freinds, Great Food (seriously--it kicks ass compared to other schools and has lots of great options for runners)and a beautiful campus.
ClaremontMC is hard enough to get into, Pomona is really tough, and hardly anyone on this board could get into Harvey Mudd; not even all of those that get into MIT or CalTech can.
I ran with the Pomona-Pitzer team when I was in Grad school in the 70s. They had a consistently good program, and appear to still have a good one. The smog is a pain, but it is actually getting steadily better over time; besides, the school year does not cover most of the smoggy time of year (it takes the summer heat). I ran many, many miles in the foothills and at what was called Puddingstone.
Also, Occidential (Oxy) has a fabulous track/XC history and is a very good school further into the LA area. Oxy probably has a better T&F history than any DIII school in the country.
For Men XC ...
Haverford is a national powerhouse, tons of runners in its program. Good Coach. Good kids. Finished 1st in the Centennial Conference and Mideast Region. Finished 3rd in the NCAA. 2 All Americans. Obviously a good academic school as well.
Dickinson College finished 2nd in the Centennial Conference and 6th in the Mideast Region. Top two individuals qualified for nationals with top runner earning All-American. Consistently one of the better teams from the Mideast, and with a few good additions could be knocking on the door to a nationals trip. Good coach. Good kids. Obviously a good academic school as well.
Swarthmore ... finished 3rd in Centennials and 7th in regionals. Good coach. Good kids. Good academic school. Again, with a few good additions, could be knocking on the door to nationals in upcoming years.
Muhlenberg ... finished 4th in Centennials and 8th in regionals. New coach (although a long-time assistant). Good kids. Good academically.
For Women ...
Dickinson College ... finished 6th at nationals. 1 All-american. Won Centennials and Mideast (both by all-time low scores). Consistent every year.
Haverford College ... finished 2nd in Centennials and 2nd in Mideast. Consistent every year.
Swarthmore ... finished 3rd in Centennials and 5th in Mideast.
Kid ... don't rule out any of these colleges. You would do yourself a disservice if you didn't check them out. Visit them and get a feel for if they would be a good fit for you.