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

sammytv613 wrote:

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.

LOL. A thread full of 30+ great recommendations (a rarity on this site) filled with insight and not even ONE of them is a good fit? Give me a break.

I can only speak for NJ but Rowan, Ramapo, and TCNJ all have decent performances. They aren't the best teams or anything and sometimes they burn out a bit early but they all have consistently decent squads of guys who look like they get along with one another.

That being said...the TCNJ coach is a prick from what I've heard.

sammytv613 wrote:

Don’t flame me - just looking for advice on a decent D3 men’s program in the mid-Atlantic area? I am a sub 18 min high school junior, looking to stay relatively close to this area, but want to improve as a runner in college. I know I could go the club route at a bigger school, but worried it won’t be serious enough, which will make me frustrated about not getting better. Thanks.

It's not big (2400 students) and it's pretty remote, but St Lawrence in upstate NY has a really good D3 distance (XC and T&F) program and some of the most amazing athletic facilities you'll ever see. If you like the outdoors (especially winter sports) it's a great option.

sammytv613 wrote:

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.

You asked about D3 schools in the Mid Atlantic states but want a large school? That's really limiting because most D3 schools in the region are small. But if you want a big school where you might be able to run check out Rutgers,

sammytv613 wrote:

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.

Have you toured any schools yet? If not, I'd strongly encourage you tour at least one small school and one big one (could even do an overnight with the team at a small school depending on their COVID policies) - a lot of people think they'd like a big school, until they get there and all their intro level classes are 400 students with a professor who has no office hours. I might be biased because I did go to a smaller school, but I think it would be worth your time to reach out to a coach or two from the schools in this thread, they're worth a closer look. Not to mention the obvious difficulty in finding a large school that you can run on the team for - not a lot of large D3 schools in the area you're looking. Not dissing large schools or you, but small schools can often surprise you - give one a shot.

I think the SUNY's have already been recommended, but you could look specifically at SUNY New Paltz. It's less than two hours north of NYC and pretty big (about 7K students) for D3. It's also in a beautiful area, with great trails to run on not far from school.

I don't know where your times would fit in, but it looks like at their most recent meet their top 5 ran about 26:00 - 31:00 for 8K.