<p>My son is a runner, and is mostly applying to small liberal arts Division 3 schools. He runs well enough to be welcome on these Division 3 teams. He is interested in a Division 1 school (not because it's division 1, but because of the academics). Should we assume that he just won't be good enough to run? Should he contact the coach anyway? He's not interested (nor would he be eligible) in a sports scholarship. I guess I'm asking, if he's not good enough to be recruited by a Division 1 school, does that mean he won't be able to run? Thanks for your advice. The school is Lehigh by the way, if that helps.</p>
<p>I’d recommend he compare his times with Lehigh’s runners’ times to get a sense of if he’s in their league. If he is, he should contact the coach. Here’s a link to results of one of last year’s meets.</p>
<p><a href=“Fast Times Before Finals Results - Lehigh University Athletics”>Fast Times Before Finals Results - Lehigh University Athletics;
<p>I think he should contact the coach. My D was also a runner in high school and was not recruitable for various reasons. She decided to attend a D1 school. In the spring of her senior year of high school she decided she may want to walk on with her schools XC team. The coach was willing to talk with her even at that late date. She ultimately decided to not run with the team. It is possible, though, depending on the team, the coach, and how competitive the team has been in the recent past.</p>
<p>Contact the coach. My S is at his second D1 school, having transferred. Both schools had try-outs in the first two weeks of school for possible walk on candidates. While a notice appeared on the school athletic website, the prospective athletes knew about it before hand from the coach, and they had to complete a physical prior to showing up. In the case of his first school, potential walk-ons for cross country were also allowed to come to campus 1.5 weeks early and train with the team. The understanding is there is no money at this point, (but in most cases, there isn’t much anyway!) but there can be places open on the roster, however you won’t know unless you ask. </p>
<p>The coach can also tell you up front, if they will even have any openings for someone in his event. Coming out of HS we found a few schools that cap the roster by event and told my S, no matter how good his performance was, there were enough existing athletes or commits already. So you will need to ask the coach what the situation is and don’t make any assumptions. </p>