By Eric Spresser, Student Assistant Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University men's cross country team is ranked #29 in the final 2015 NCAA Division III National Coaches' Poll released by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday, Nov. 16. The men competed in the West Regional this past Saturday and finished third. Willamette receiving an at-large bid to compete in the NCAA Championships this coming weekend in Wisconsin. 

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire continued to be ranked #1 in the latest national rankings as the Blugolds received six of the eight first place votes and 254 total points. Williams College (Mass.) remained in the #2 position, receiving the other two first place votes and 247 points. North Central College (Ill.) retained its #3 ranking with 239.

Moving up one position to #4 in this week's rankings was Amherst College (Mass.) after receiving 231 points. Coming in at #5 was St. Olaf College (Minn.) with 229. Holding steady at #6 overall was SUNY Geneseo (N.Y.) with 215 points, while Haverford College (Pa.) continued to hold on to #7 overall with 207 points.

Jumping up one spot to #8 this week was St. Lawrence University (N.Y.) with 196 points. Claremont-Mudd Scripps (Calif.) also advanced one position to #9 with 188 points. Rounding out the top 10 was Wabash College (Ind.) with 182 points.

This was the final release of the national rankings before the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships are held this Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wisconsin. The women's 6-kilometer championship race will begin at 11 a.m. CST/9 a.m. PST, and will be followed by the men's 8-kilometer men's race at 12 p.m. CST/10 a.m. PST.

All three of the nationally ranked West Region men's teams qualified for the NCAA Championships, as Willamette will be joining Claremont-Mudd Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer to represent the West. A total of 32 men's teams will compete for the team title, while a maximum of 280 runners will participate in the 8-kilometer men's race. It is the first team bid for the Willamette men since 2010, when the Bearcats took 23rd place at the NCAA Championships.

Top finishers for Willamette at the West Regional were Nathan Conrad (Sr., Bothell, Wa/Bothell HS), Yonny Castillo (Sr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS), and Patrick Loftus (So., Healdsburg, CA/Sonoma Academy). Conrad took sixth place, Castillo earned 14th place and Loftus completed the course in 21st place.

The Bearcats achieved a team score of 109 and was the only Northwest Conference team to receive a men's team bid to the NCAA Championships.