The NCAA Chase Begins

Things heat up on Saturday as NCAA Division I cross country begins its long road to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 21. On Saturday, nine regional sites will be producing that championship field, including two regions — the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic — which cover The Armory's primary coverage areas.

The Northeast Regional — which emcompasses the state of New York and those to the North — will take place at the Audubon Golf Club in suburban Buffalo, N.Y. Eight nationally-ranked programs will compete there, four men and four women. On the men's side, No. 9 Iona — led by individual title contender Leonard Korir — is the top-ranked in the region followed by Columbia (22), Syracuse (29) and Providence (30). The women's race will feature No. 5 Providence and No. 9 Syracuse trying to hold off Boston College (18) and Cornell (29).

The Mid-Atlantic Regional — which stretches from New Jersey south to the Capitol Region and west to West Virginia — will hold its event on the campus of the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Md. Last year's national championship women's team — current No. 2 Villanova — will be challenged by No. 7 Georgetown, No. 13 West Virginia and No. 22 Penn State. On the men's side, Heps' champion Princeton, ranked ninth in the nation, is the team to beat and Villanova (13) and Georgetown (23) will be trying to do just that.

The No. 1 team on the men's side, the Wisconsin Badgers led by former Iona Coach Mick Byrne, will take on other Big 10 foes at the Great Lakes Regional in Toledo, Ohio, while the top-ranked women, the Seminoles of Florida State, will compete in the South Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The road to the NCAA Division II Championships began last weekend and the New York schools competed at the East Regional in Boston's Franklin Park. On the men's side, three Long Island schools finished among the top 10 led by Adelphi's fourth place. Junior Andrew Coelho was second overall (31:02.1) while senior Angel Ortega placed seventh (31:53.7) as the Panthers were not far from the battle for the team title, which was narrowly claimed by host UMass-Lowell. C.W. Post was eighth while Molloy — with ninth-place finisher Nicholas Filippazzo — took 10th.

On the women's side, Adelphi was the lone metropolitan area school in the top 10, taking sixth overall with junior Jacqueline Kaste (24th) leading the way. Stonehill was the easy team winner, with all five scorers finishing among the top 14.

The NCAA Division III Regionals take place this weekend and the New York and New Jersey schools will square off in the Atlantic Regional at the Ronald C. Hoffmann Course in Canton, N.Y. SUNY Geneseo holds down the top spots in the region for both the men and women, but NYU is ranked nationally in both genders as well.

NCAA Division I Regionals

Mid-Atlantic — Site: UMES campus (Princess Anne, MD)

Northeast — Site: Audubon Golf Club (Amherst, NY)

Great Lakes — Site: Ottawa Park Golf Course (Toledo, OH)

Southeast — Site: E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park (Louisville, KY)

Midwest — Site: Anderson Field (DeKalb, IL)

South — Site: Harry Pritchett Running Park (Tuscaloosa, AL)

West — Site: Stanford Golf Course (Palo Alto, CA)

South Central — Site: Cottonwood Creek Golf Course (Waco, TX)

Mountain — Site: East Bay Golf Course (Provo, UT)

NCAA Division III Regionals

Atlantic — Site: Ronald C. Hoffmann Course (Canton, NY)

Mideast — Site: DeSales University (Center Valley, PA)

New England — Site: Pickard Field (Brunswick, ME)

Great Lakes — Site: Community Trail (Oberlin, OH)

Midwest — Site: Saukie Golf Course (Rock Island, IL)

Central — Site: Max Championship Course (Waverly, IA)

West — Site: Pomona College (Claremont, CA)

South/Southeast — Site: Intramural Fields (Seguin, TX)