Am I talented enough to run in college? The answer to that question is that “it depends”. Evaluating whether you have enough talent to run in college depends on the school, the coach, and the team. For example, a 10:00 two-miler would not have a prayer of making an elite NCAA Division I team, like Arkansas. However, he would probably be welcomed onto most NCAA Division II teams.
It’s important to realize that coaches have good reasons to keep their teams relatively small. For example, regulations such as Title IX force coaches to limit how many male athletes they can carry on a team. However, Title IX does help female athletes by ensuring that athletic programs don’t unequally provide opportunities to males. As a result, it is comparatively easier for female runners to get onto NCAA cross-country and track teams than it is for males.
What Kind of Times Do Coaches Look For?
From my experience, it seems that most Division I coaches look to an individual’s track times in deciding whether or to allow him to walk on. Track times are great because, unlike cross country, everybody runs the same course. Although far from a set rule, it seems that most coaches allow runners to try out for teams as long as they can run a 4:40 mile and/or a 9:50 two mile. Of course, having a great cross-country resume can help convince a coach to give you chance. If you have placed high at the state meet, or have a solid 5k time (probably has to be at least under 17:00) it can make up for poor track times. Again, there are no set rules so you owe it to yourself to contact coaches personally and ask them what their standards are. Please see my page on contacting coaches to understand how to get the attention of coaches.
As I hinted at before, the aforementioned time standards do not apply to Division II, III and NAIA schools. Many colleges in these divisions accept runners with times far above 4:40 and 9:50. Therefore, if you really want to run in college, but don't have great times, don't limit yourself only to Division I colleges in your search.
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