<p>I know I've asked about swimming, but I figured I had nothing to lose asking about this too.</p>
<p>What would it take to Walk On a D1 XC team? I've never done XC (it's a really long story) and only did Track one year (and probably won't senior year... again its a long story). The team(s) I'm looking at isn't ranked high at all (as in, they're not even listed in the rankings for D1) and have girls running 17:00-19:low 5k times.</p>
<p>But I run a 20:low 5k without ever having any coaching. I don't know my mile time, but I'm sure I can go <6:00minute in the track. I compete a lot of local 5k's and triathlons (and this year broke into the national competition scene) and place very well in those, so I have a lot of racing experience... just not with a team. </p>
<p>I'm not looking for scholarships, the travel team, and I don't need the coach's pull to get into the school. I have a high GPA, high class rank, some good EC's and decent SAT scores. I'm just wondering if its possible to walk on, and how I would go about doing that, if I should contact the coach, and what I should say. I just want to run.</p>
<p>I know someone with very average 5K times who walked onto the Williams team. She didn’t ever make varsity but was listed on the website, so I assumed she participated on some level. They had a huge roster last I checked. Middlebury and the other schools in that conference looked to be similar in talent level.</p>
<p>TheGFG- do you know around what time I’d have to go for in a 5k? I’m racing a few this fall/winter where I hope I can break the 20 minute barrier.</p>
<p>How would I go about contacting the XC coach? Do I just fill out the recruit form, or would e-mailing the coach directly, and explain my situation a little, be better? I have no District/Regional/State racing accomplishments, but I have several placings in races around town. </p>
<p>And like I said, I’m not looking for scholarships- if they offer me one, great. I know its a time commitment, but I’m used to doing double workouts and 3-4 hours of practices a day. It’s not my priority to race on the travel team… I just want a spot on the roster and a team to be a part of and workout with. </p>
<p>If anyone wants the school’s name or more specific accomplishments, PM and ask me. I’ll send it in a PM but I don’t want to post anything too publicly and be identified. But I really would appreciate help with this.</p>
<p>Most D1 programs will have some walk-ons since they do not have enough recruiting slots to fill cross-country/ track squads … that said a lot of folks are “recruited walk-ons”; folks the coaches have been in touch with and have told they would like them to try out for the team if they are accepted. Ultimately none of us can provide you a lot of info as this is pretty school specific … contact the coaches at the school in which you are interested … and they will let you know if they take walk-ons and if they have any sort of a tryout process.</p>
<p>For women, a sub-20 minute 5K PR is somewhat of a recruiting threshold for DIII. If you have other attributes, like great test scores/GPA, coaches can sometimes find merit or “leadership” scholarships to sweeten the pot, but for runners at this level, it’s not going to be a whole lot of money. As others have said, DIIIs and NAIA coahes are often happy to have you join the party, and see what you can throw down.</p>
<p>I contacted the coach and explained the my situation to him, because it really is pretty unique- I’ve essentially had zero running/XC coaching and all my times are results from races I’ve entered on my own. Based on what I found though, their fastest runner (a senior) runs a 17:40 5k. But the majority of the girls go 18-19 minute 5k’s. (I’m fortunate enough to have competed many areas that they do, since they’re a state school, so I’m fairly familiar with the course elevations that they run on).</p>
<p>Riverunner- I’m not trying to get a scholarship to the team, I just want a spot on the roster. I’m already “in” their school because of academics (top 10/8% in-state school) so I don’t need their pull with admissions either. I really just want to have a team to run with and support and score points for eventually (I know with coaching I could get down into the 17/18 minute 5k’s, or better).</p>
<p>A recent 5K in the NESCAC conference was won in 17:48, which is not terribly fast for a college race and there were plenty of girls in it running in the 19 minute range. Their most recent 6K was won in 22:17. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>I got a hold of the coach, so we’ll see how it goes from there. I might just be able to walk-on… they have a surprisingly small female XC roster for the size of their school (and football team) and with Title IX in effect I might have a shot at it. We’ll see how it goes. Most likely it’ll be do what I can this fall/winter and keep him updated with times. It may be a bit of a long-shot, but I really don’t have anything to lose so I don’t see why I shouldn’t at least try. </p>