Can you walk on to a college xc/track team as an upperclassmen?

Google Michael Van Vhooris

If you really want to run in college, I would encourage you to be very realistic about what improvements you might make. If you go to even a mid major d1 school, I don't see you improving enough to make the team. You'll need to choose a school that fits your academics plus your running.

D3 tends to have the best academics for schools with very easy teams to make, why have you ruled out all of the d3 schools? Surely one fits you, there is a huge variety.

Naia is another option.

Anyway, most schools will allow an upper class man to walk onto the team. In general though, a junior or senior will only make the team for the first time of they are likely to make the traveling squad. So you may find yourself missing out on a spot on the team while a slightly slower freshman might make it.

Another option is to find a school with an active club xc and track team. They do exist and some are fairly serious, similar to a solid high school track team in terms of dedication.

Lastly, a small number of college coaches will unofficially coach people on the side, and even turn a blind eye to them doing some easy long runs with the team.

Of the schools I've looked at, I think that I like the larger schools more so that's why I think I wouldn't want to go to a d3 school. Also, I don't want to go to an extremely academics focused school for college. I think I either want to run or have fun, not spend all of my time studying and stuff.

I've also looked into club teams and If the school I go to has one I'll definitely join.

What kind of times do you think I would need to get to walk on to a lower tier d1 school?

I walked into a pretty average DI XC team about 15 years ago at this point. My senior year of high school times were just under 2:00, just under 4:30, and about 9:45 (800, 1600, and 3200, respectively). Maybe 10 guys showed up to walk on, and there were two slots. I ran 27 and changes for 8K in a time trial on the team's home XC course to grab the last slot on the team. I improved to 25 high by the end of the season, and didn't have to try out again for track.

Realistically, if your walking on as an upperclassman you'll probably need to be able to run around 25 high, 26 low for 8K to make a average DI team. Not sure for track. We had a guy walk on as a sophomore who ran around 4:05 for 1500 in his tryout, but he got injured after a month or so and disappeared.

look at where you want to go and where you'd be willing to go (ie if your first choice is Colorado based on location and academics, maybe pick your 2nd or 3rd choice)

Of those schools, find the one that has runners closest to the times you're running. Get your hs coach to write a letter to the coaches at those schools and express interest to the coaches at them. With big prs next year and showing serious dedication, you might convince a coach to take you as a walk on.

You can walk on as an upperclassman, but why not work hard now and get there earlier.