How to go about XC/track recruiting?

Athletic Recruits
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Hi, I’m a junior girl looking to run in a college! Big goal of mine.

18:45 XC 5k, 11:07 full 2 mile, and 5:14 full mile. Those times are all from this year, XC and indoor track.

94 GPA, 1430 SAT (first attempt last spring; taking more soon), all highest-honor classes, have taken 9 APs (including the 4 I’m in now; I repeated so that’s why that number is a lot).

If anyone with experience could tell me where I’d definitely be recruited, where to reach out, and where’s a stretch that would be great!

I have had contact with Amherst, Tufts, Williams, and Middlebury, with one of the above reaching out to me first. I know these are great schools, but my dream is be D1/Ivy, specifically Princeton. They’re super fast—how far off am I? UVA, Duke, UNC, Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, etc. also, but Princeton is my #1.

People will probably say not to get caught up on being D1, but I think I am definitely cut out for it. I am a hard worker in my sport and love the grind. Also, my family has lots of history at Princeton and I know it well, which makes it all the more appealing.

So I guess I’m asking, how do my times look for getting recruited to D1s/Ivies? Too slow now I know, but worth reaching out? How do I go about this whole process? Any other school recs?

Any guidance is appreciated :slight_smile:

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We can reach out to those schools with your profile and see if the coaches respond, but regardless of times, you are quite late in the process and I wouldn’t be surprised if many of those programs are done recruiting for your class. @politeperson probably has a better idea.

If you like Princeton, Williams and Amherst sound like incredible options. In many ways, much more overlap than some of the other D1 schools you mentioned IMO.

You can get an idea of your times here Princeton University

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While waiting for politeperson, OP can consult https://tfrrs.org/ to see where their times are competitive.

OP, have you contacted any of the D1 coaches at the schools you are interested in? Have you received any feedback from any D1 coaches?

Will you be full pay or are you looking for financial aid? Run the NPCs at each school you are interested in if you may qualify for need based aid. Here’s Princeton’s: Financial Aid Estimator | Princeton Admission

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I’m sure you can run in college with those times but it’d take a significant breakthrough to get interest from most of the D1 schools you list. ACC (and Princeton) seem very unlikely to me with the caliber of athletes they’re getting.

You can email all the Ivy coaches to assess interest. That’s the best way to know. I suspect something in the sub-5/10:40ish range is where some might start paying attention but you can find out.

I’d review the threads in this section on TFXC recruiting as there’s a lot of great info.

ETA: meanwhile expand your focus on D3s by looking out west and in the Midwest. Pomona, Carleton, etc

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I disagree that you’re too late for the Ivies (Distance running recruiting happens later than other sports. This is prime time to be connecting with coaches in Ivy/high academic D3.)

I agree with looking at TFRRS to get an idea of the times people on the teams are running. Frankly, you are not fast enough at this time to be of interest to Princeton, but there is a lot of variation between the Ivies.

To get Princeton interested you need to get your mile below 5 min and 2 mile probably closer to 10:40. Your XC time is relatively better, but without knowing the course it’s hard to evaluate. And this is just for recruiting; you may be able to walk on at Princeton.

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There are certainly D3 schools in that would be interested in you, but I agree that the Ivies are probably out of reach, especially since you are late to the process. But sending emails is the way to get on their radar. Maybe you’ll hit some big PRs this spring that will ignite interest.

But it’s not the time to just sit back and wait for schools to contact you. Build a list of all the schools you’re interested in, and start emailing coaches your athletic and academic resume.

ETA: if you’re really hoping for D1, the power 4 conferences will be out of reach. New roster limits in those conferences will make it tough to get a spot there, even as a walk on. Look at smaller conferences- MAC, Sunbelt, Big Sky, etc. Use tfrrs.org to see where you might fit.

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The snag is… you have to get in on your own. It’s a tough proposition to give up the sure thing at other excellent schools, assuming there are NESCAC/UAA offers in play. It’s been done but really important to have a honest and open conversation with the coach about what that looks like for the athlete. I know a recent TF athlete who expected to walk on but ultimately wasn’t able to do so because of the current size and speed of the team.

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Those are great times, and you will be able to run many places, but shift to schools where your times are in reach. My friend’s daughter is in the low 18 range (18:04) and is not getting much love from the Ivy she’d like to attend, so I think you need to move on and focus at other great schools (many mentioned above) that would have you.

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My daughter’s times were just a hair better last year (her junior year) 10:58 3200, 5:08 1600, 2:19 800. She spent a ton of time e-mailing college coaches, having conversations and being very diligent in keeping up with communications. At the end, she had walk on offers from an ACC school, a Big 10 school and partial scholarship offers from some mid-majors. In addition to TFRRS, she used https://runcruit.com/. I think some of the times on that site are published standards from those schools. Where those don’t exist, I think they look at the roster and make predictions. Anyway, I agree that you really have to take a hard look at the current roster both in size and where you would fit in.

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As others have said, you have put up some strong times, but you also have a wish list that includes some of the top track programs in the country. Runcruit isn’t always accurate, but the target times listed for the Ivy League seem reasonable. You will need to have a great spring season to get interest from most of the Ivy League schools, but Harvard and especially Princeton are another level ahead of those. Harvard tends to identify their targets pretty early, but most of the programs are still going to be open to someone who has a strong spring. There isn’t any harm in reaching out to programs that are a little out of your league, but don’t take it personally if they don’t get back to you. Be aware that for many teams the recruit standards mean coaches will start talking to you, but it doesn’t mean you are offered a spot/slot/bump, or even an official visit.

Keep in mind that there are strict roster limits coming for most D1 teams, so walk on opportunities might simply not be there for many teams. (Ivy did not opt into this agreement, so they will not be bound by roster limits) The trickle down from roster limits might affect the recruiting for strong DIII programs, too. Even prior to these shakeups, there is a lot of overlap between good DIII programs and so-so DI programs, so don’t get too hung up on running at a DI school for the sake of being DI.

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Of course. And even if you are allowed to walk on at Princeton, it’s kind of like being a second-class citizen competition-wise. You don’t get to run in the “real” meets. But if OP would rather go to Princeton, and going there is more important than running, then she will have to get in on her own.

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Agree.
I’m not commenting on whether the times are good enough to make a coaches list of potential recruits, just echoing that for the Ivies and distance runners, and T&F in general, it is not too late, IMO.

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A few more thoughts after a more thorough read of your OP and some of your past posts…

The reason people say this is because outside the top tier of D1 programs, division isn’t necessarily the most important differentiator in terms of athletic fit or experience for distance runners.

As mentioned above by lurkerjoe, there’s a lot of overlap between just okay D1 programs and many top D3 programs, especially in the Northeast.

It seems your interest is in Princeton specifically because your parents and your sibling attended and that’s where you want to go to school.

Perhaps consider whether D1 would be so important to you if Princeton didn’t compete in that division. I suspect not.

I’d focus on what you want to get out of your running experience in college and look for programs that would fit your athletic profile and also provide the overall college experience you want.

Part of thinking this through is considering whether there’s even a training group at some of these programs that would fit you. Without significant improvement, you wouldn’t have many, if any, appropriate training partners at Princeton or most of the other schools you list. You’d probably have a very limited racing schedule. Is that the running experience you want?

I could list D1 programs in your region where the fit might be a bit better—Monmouth, Delaware, Pitt, etc. These are perfectly fine schools and most would be happy attending. But based on the schools you’ve listed I suspect you have academic or social or reputation criteria that would lead you to prefer some of the D3s you list. So why not explore those?

Again, you could have a big breakthrough this spring. It certainly wouldn’t be too late for Ivies. Or perhaps you have some skillset that you haven’t listed, like steeplechasing or a more distance oriented profile that’d be beneficial for XC.

By all means contact all the programs. But also be realistic about how good the athletes at Princeton/UNC/UVA/etc. are and the fact that the coaches are looking for that caliber of athlete.

Btw, worth mentioning your Princeton connections to the Princeton coach when contacting him (contact the distance coach). I don’t know if there’s an angle there but at least you’re more likely to get engagement and perhaps an explanation of what walking on might look like, what the actual criteria are, etc.

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From what I have seen, not in terms of (soft support) but the coach is likely to be polite, and hopefully transparent. OP should not fall into the trap of confusing this with interest.

My understanding is that Princeton has an active and supportive Running Club and that is something OP should look into. Some athletes that aren’t quite at the level of Princeton, successfully try out for rowing and or rugby (there could be other sports with open try outs but those are the ones I know of).

While the relationship with the school might give OP a slight edge in admissions, it will only do so if the application is top notch. I’d recommend OP focuses on grades and high test scores in addition to casting a wider net with running.

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If financial aid isn’t a factor I’d target D3 schools. I coached girls with similar times but slighly better grades who ended up running for Wellesley, Johns Hopkins, Williams, and Wesleyan. They all had great experiences. This was a while ago so the standards might be tougher now. I love D3 schools for bright students. They’re usually less intense, you’re students first, and you’re not beholden to the coach.
If financial aid is a factor then mid major schools that are academically a step below elite might be the way to go. Some of these schools were already mentioned. These schools might offer you quite a bit of merit and a place in their honors programs.
As previously stated no one seems to know how many students a team will carry. Now is a good time to email coaches and although few will get back to you you might get on their radar. Good luck and keep up your mileage.

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I’m sorry, but I’m not understanding this comment. Many D3 schools give financial aid. The ones you specifically listed are all know to give great financial aid. Are you speaking about athletic merit aid perhaps?

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Yes, I meant an athletic scholarship. I’ve been around athletes that relied on a full ride and felt a need to attend D1 or D2 schools for this reason. Many were poor and not good students. I’ve also had athletes that received great “academic” packages from D3 schools because of grades and athletic ability and as I previously stated this is usually a better choice because they’re not beholden to the coach and can quit without worrying about losing a scholarship.

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Thanks for clarifying. OP should be aware that athletic scholarships for XCTF are often minimal. Full athletic rides are rare outside of the tippy top athletes. And of course, the Ivy League doesn’t give athletic scholarships or merit aid.

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Does anyone have thoughts on the impending House v. NCAA decision in regards to roster spots for 2025?

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Appears many colleges will reduce xc and t&f rosters, pending final decision by the judge.

“ The federal judge presiding over the House v. NCAA case requested attorneys make additional tweaks to the settlement’s terms regarding roster limits and whether future players should be tied to the current class in the multi-billion dollar lawsuit. A final approval could come upon receipt of those tweaks from attorneys, though that might not happen for several weeks.”