Follow our 2019 FloXC Countdown, where FloTrack ranks the top 10 cross country teams in NCAA DII/DIII this season. The 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships will be LIVE on FloTrack for all three divisions. The No. 4 DIII men’s spot goes to Williams, and here's why:

Projected Top Five:

SR Ryan Cox (30:20 10K; 6th at ‘18 NCAA XC)

JR Aidan Ryan (‘19 NCAA 1500 champ; 42nd at ‘18 NCAA XC)

SO Elias Lindgren (3:53 1500; 109th at ‘18 NCAA XC)

SR William McGovern (181st at ‘18 NCAA XC)

SR Tristan Colaizzi (3:51 1500; 135th at ‘18 NCAA XC)

Impact Freshmen/Transfers:

Will Titus via Pennington, NJ (1:54 800; 4:17 1600)

Analysis: 

The Williams men return six of their top seven from last year’s eighth-place NCAA team, with their strength up top and overall depth positioning the Ephs for their first podium finish since 2015.

Ryan Cox and Aidan Ryan could be the top duo in Division III this fall. Cox is the second-best returner in cross country by virtue of his sixth-place finish, a performance that marked an incredible improvement from his 104th-place showing a year prior. Ryan was only 42nd at nationals in 2018, but he won the NCAA outdoor 1500m this spring and was just a place behind Cox at cross regionals last November. He could be top 10 as well in 2019.

The Ephs should benefit tremendously from the rest of their projected top five already having NCAA experience. Elias Lindgren nearly cracked the top 100 as a freshman and then proceeded to have a solid first track season. Tristan Colaizzi, 135th last November, will also look to carry a good spring into the fall after he notched his second straight 1500m All-American nod. Lindgren and Colaizzi were All-Region in 2018, as was fellow senior-to-be William McGovern. 

The Williams men sit at four for now, due in part to the legacy of success that teams like North Central and UW-La Crosse have over them. But the Ephs have a legitimate shot at a national title if their stars live up to the hype and the role players progress as expected.

FULL RANKINGS HERE