New England Championships Shake Up Men’s Division III National Coaches Poll

NEW ORLEANS – It’s a tale of two polls in week’s five edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III National Coaches Polls, as all but five teams moved in the men’s poll and all but six teams stayed put in the women’s.

NATIONAL PDFs: National Summary | Week-by-Week | All-Time Week-by-Week
REGIONAL PDFs: Regional Summary | Week-by-Week
Division III XC Rankings Central

The NEICAAA New England Championships this past weekend caused a lot of big movement in the men’s poll. A fifteen-spot jump to No. 9 for Middlebury, combined with an 11-spot slide to No. 15 for MIT and a 12-position increase to No. 18 by Tufts, caused most teams in the poll to shift from last week’s positions.

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
North Central (Ill.).	UW-La Crosse	Washington (Mo.)	Williams (+1)	St. Olaf (+1)
View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll

Middlebury finished fifth at New Englands ahead of a host of other New England Region squads to jump to the top spot in the Regional Rankings, but the No. 9 Panthers find themselves second among region teams in the National Poll.

That honor goes to Williams, which improved one spot to No. 4, taking the spot previously held by MIT. St. Olaf also moved up one spot to No. 5 as a resul, marking its highest position since USTFCCCA records began in 2006..

No. 6 NYU is up two spots from a tied at No. 8 last week following a team title at the Metropolitan Championships. UW-Oshkosh, the team with which NYU was tied at No. 8, moved one spot to No. 7, displacing Dickinson to No. 8.

Middlebury took the No. 9 spot, and Central (Iowa) improved one spot to No. 10.

The top three of unanimous No. 1 and defending champ North Central (Ill.), No. 2 UW-La Crosse and No. 3 Washington (Mo.) remained the same.

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
Johns Hopkins	Wartburg	Middlebury	MIT	Williams
View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

New to the rankings this week is No. 33 Colby, ranked in the National Coaches Poll for the first time since USTFCCCA records began in 2006.

In the women’s poll, the top 21 teams remained stationary from a week ago. Defending champion and unanimous No. 1 Johns Hopkins top the poll, followed by No. 2 Wartburg and No. 3 Middlebury.

New to the poll is No. 35 Hamilton, ranked for the first time since the beginning of USTFCCCA records in 2006.

The 2013 NCAA Division III National Championships will be contested November 23 in Hanover, Ind., and will be broadcast on NCAA.com.