D1 Thoughts wrote:
OLD AND FAT summed it up. D1 runners respect D3 runners if they run fast like the occasional guy that will run around 14 flat for 5k. A D1 runner doesn't necessarily respect the competition of another D1 runner if they are not fast and in a low-level D1 program that doesn't have anyone good. But it was always kind of annoying when D3 runners would rack up all of these All-American awards and are advertised as All-Americans when they would get beat by a ton of D1 people that never were All-American because the difference in competition. Run sub 14:20 5k and you're probably All-American in D3, Run 14:20 in D1 you're not going anywhere special.
For the most part, this is true. But if we're looking at 2017-2018, 75 men broke 14 minutes for 5k, and 18 broke 29 for 10k. ~250 men run in the DI NCAA cross country national championships, and 31 teams compete + individual qualifiers. The teams travel with 10 men and 7 run. These 30 teams are considered the upper tier of teams in the NCAA distance, considering there are 300 Division I cross country programs. If only 75 broke 14 and 18 broke 29, that means there are dozens and dozens of DI runners who fall in the 14-14:30 range that are still running on the top teams in the nation. Even more so who fall in the 29-30 range for 10k. Statistically, running 14:20 is more likely to place you among the abilities of individuals running on a top 30 team than not. A DIII athlete who runs 14 flat for 5k isn't just better than everyone in DIII, he's also better than the majority of DI runners.
My point is, there are so many DI runners, that it's still a super minority that end up running sub 14 and sub 29. When you look at the AA's and national contenders, those are individuals who have a legit shot at pro contracts, so obviously they're not only an outlier from DIII, but the rest of collegiate distance running as well.