Calm Before the Storm in DIII National Coaches’ Polls

NEW ORLEANS – Don’t think for a second that just because it was a light weekend of racing there wouldn’t be any movement in the NCAA Division III Cross Country National Coaches’ Polls.

The winds of change continued to blow through the newest polls, as released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

National PDFs: Week 5 Top 35 Summary | Week-by-Week 2015 | Week-by-Week All Time
Regional Rankings: Week 5 Summary | Week 5 Recap
Division III Rankings/Polls Homepage: Link

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) UW-Eau Claire Amherst North Central (Ill.) St. Olaf Washington (Mo.) View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll   NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Johns Hopkins Williams Tufts MIT Washington (Mo.) View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

For the second consecutive week, the men’s former No. 1 team – and reigning national champion, at that – North Central (Ill.) fell further down the poll. Last week the Cardinals slid from No. 1 to No. 2 and this week, they went from No. 2 to No. 3. If North Central (Ill.) tumbles any more, it will be the first time since 2008 that the Cardinals were ranked below No. 3.

Taking residence behind men’s current No. 1 UW-Eau Claire is new-No. 2 Amherst. This past weekend the Lord Jeffs placed second at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Cross Country Championships behind a strong showing by three-time DIII National Athlete of the Week Mohamed Hussein.

To make way for Amherst, St. Olaf College joined North Central (Ill.) as the other team to drop one spot. The Oles went from No. 3 last week to No. 4 this week.

There weren’t many other changes from No. 5 to No. 20 in the men’s poll. After No. 20, there were two teams that moved up four or more spots and three additions to the poll.

Tufts went from No. 30 to No. 24 and UW-Platteville surged from No. 29 to No. 25. Hamilton (No. 31) is ranked for the first time in program history and Rowan (No. 35) is back in the poll for the first time since 2011. Calvin (No. 34) returns after a one-week hiatus.

Over in the women’s poll, it’s status quo from No. 1 to No. 10. Reigning national champ Johns Hopkins is still No. 1 and it’s the same until you get to No. 10 Hope.

Women’s teams making the most noise were Whitworth (No. 21 to No. 18), Brandeis (No. 22 to No. 19), Wellesley (No. 31 to No. 23) and Dickinson (No. 30 to No. 25).

Amherst’s women slipped the most spots out of either poll, going down 13 spots from No. 15 last week to No. 28 this week.

Two meets this weekend should have major implications on next week’s polls – the Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle and the UW-Oshkosh AAE Invitational. Those meets will be packed with nationally-ranked teams, especially the latter as it will serve as the Pre-Nationals for Division III.

These will all serve as a warm-up for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, wihich will be held November 21 in Winneconne, Wisconsin.