Traper Keeper Express wrote:
Exactly, my D1 team was allowed 14 guys on the roster. Much different then the 40-50 guys many of the D3 programs have. Look at some of the WIAC schools and you will see these numbers. This is a huge advantage to the D3 schools but the year in and year out talent on the top D1 teams trumps this.
I guess you can compare it to York High School in Elmhurst. There advantage is that they get 100 guys out for XC yearly so the cream rises as they train. The D1 schools can recruit around the country instead of just a community (Elmhurst) therefore they can crush it on talent.
I actually don't know what the heck i'm saying now...
Your point - the best runners go to DI. That is most obviously the case. There are a few instances where very good atheletes go to DIII. You can count them on two hands. In all other cases, if you have talent, and you want to run in Uni (some like Young Sung Leal, dont), you go to DI. It is really preposterous to suggest that DIII is just as good. Those who believe this are self-important twerps who breezily dismiss facts with some hand waving and a few convenient what-ifs like, "If the top DIII guys were allowed to compete against DI guys".
Newsflash - they are. Crain ran his 28 at Stnaford (Mt. Sac?). the guy from UWStout ran 13:56 at Stanford. Karl Paranya ran his 357 on his home track against Marcus Fing O'Sullivan. There is no shortage of opportunities for DIII athletes to get in over their head and run as fast as they can.