Mid-Atlantic (PA, NJ, MD, VA, DC, NY) - Decent D3 Program

Juice Springsteen wrote:

Echoing all sentiments about these schools except maybe E town. They are not as dominant as they were like 15 years ago.

they beat everyone but hopkins, carnegie-mellon and haverford at the last regional meet. where did your school finish?

now that i check...9 points behind haverford

Berman College is an all-male Lutheran divinity school near Philadelphia. For many years its only athletics program was the immensely popular Endurance Team, which competes in road running, triathlons, cross-country skiing, and cycling. A few years ago, the administration decided to make cross country an intercollegiate program, but their only option was NAIA. They immediately began working toward the transition to NCAA D3. The school’s first NCAA competition of any kind will be the upcoming Metro regional championships. In early October, during the school’s autumn break, the team drove to the Smoky Mountains area for the diocesan national championships (six similar schools). Berman placed 2-3-5-6-7. Their top runners have recent half-marathon bests of 1:07, 1:08, 1:08, 1:10, and 1:10. Hard to be objective, but they appear to be better than the top-ranked teams in the region, and are probably on the same level as MIT or SUNY Geneseo based on PRs in other events. (Two have run sub-3:52 for 1500; another has gone 14:16 for 5K).

Visit Stevenson, it will be worth your time.

Rowan has a solid group of kids XC/Track-wise and it's a bigger school vs. all the smaller, higher academic traditional D3s around the NE.

Most schools in the Centennial are quite good, with Haverford, Dickinson and Johns Hopkins being in a class of there own for XC. For track throw Ursinus in the mix, fantastic throws and sprints with a Mid D and D program thats getting on their feet and running quite fast.

The OP mentioned that JHU & Haverford would be out of reach academically so CMU would also be.

I did not see Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster mentioned. It is still highly competitive academically but the entrance is not quite as difficult as JHU, Haverford, and CMU. They have a decent cross team.

If the OP hasn't ruled out D2 schools, there are the PSAC schools that were mentioned. It seems that Shippensburg and Edinboro might not be a good fit and are out of reach due to the times that the guys there are currently running. There is also Slippery Rock and Lock Haven.

Slippery Rock was really strong a while back but seems to have slipped a bit lately. They did improve in the PSAC this season and were 5th in the conference meet. Back in the 2000s, they were finishing higher in the PSAC and I believe also had some high national finishes. I'm not sure why the program slipped a bit. The academics at Rock are solid and OK - not great but not bad either. Keep in mind it's a D2 school and you'll need to look hard for a D2 school with good academics. I know people that went to Slippery Rock and they are doing just fine professionally. Another bonus is that Slippery Rock is a state school that is very affordable - even for out-of-state residents.

Lock Haven is also in the PSAC and probably has the better team right now (compared to Slippery Rock). The academics at Lock Haven are not good, though. If it were me and I was between the two schools I would go with Slippery Rock.

Far behind.

I didn’t say they were a bad team but the fact is they used to be national level competitors and now they are regional competitors in good year

Dickinson (Carlisle, PA) has great D3 distance program. You gotta have good grades though to get in.

Also, Lebanon Valley College would be a good place for you talent level. You just have to get used to living in the middle of bumf*ck nowhere.

One should also consider wokeness factor. Dickinson is more woke than LVC.

CrispyChicken wrote:

One should also consider wokeness factor. Dickinson is more woke than LVC.

woke & wokeness

two of the most overused and stupid sounding words of the year

You could check Salisbury University or Stevenson University in Maryland.

Please take a look at the ODAC. Lynchburg has really come on great as of late with their new coaching staff, plus the campus is gorgeous. Yes theres a school in Lynchburg, VA that isn't Liberty. They've put some kids under 15 in the 5k and under 4 in the 1500. Plus they do well at XC. W&L has had some great top guys and good teams throughout the years. Bridgewater was very good for a long time, not sure if they are anymore.

Lafayette College, Easton, PS

D1 (for unknown reasons) roster looks D3 ish...

I was of similar ability to the OP in high school and wound up at Lynchburg. I got a substantial academic scholarship to bring the price to a reasonable level. The campus itself is indeed gorgeous and the team is very much on the up and up. There are amazing places to train in Lynchburg as well. There is an extensive network of soft surface trails that can be accessed only a mile away from the track. We were quite spoiled out there on easy days. The team will also hop in vans and run dirt roads in the surrounding Blue Ridge foothills from time to time. There is also a measured bike path that can be accessed about two miles away from the track that is prefect for tempo runs.

Thanks everyone for all the feedback. I’ve looked into every recommendation and not sure if any of them are really a fit. I always wanted a large school but that would limit me to a club and not a have a regimented training schedule.

I have not ruled out anything - so thanks again for all the feedback. I’m open to hearing anything else.

Would not recommend W&L. The culture is way too disingenuous and pretentious.

Stelly wrote:

Lafayette College, Easton, PS

D1 (for unknown reasons) roster looks D3 ish...

No mystery about why they're D1. They're in the Patriot League which is in D1.