Unanimous No. 1 Makes Way For Another In NCAA DIII Women’s XC Poll

NEW ORLEANS — The Williams College-hosted Purple Valley Classic had a chance to really shake up the NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll.

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) SUNY Geneseo MIT Johns Hopkins Washington (Mo.) Williams View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

With 10 ranked teams in attendance, including six of them in last week’s top-10, it’s to be expected that the meet champion would have an inside line to the national No. 1 spot. Well, that’s exactly what happened after the dust settled at Mt. Greylock High School last Saturday.

Second-ranked (at the time) SUNY Geneseo, anchored by Sara Rosenzweig (6th overall) and Marissa Cossaro (7th), captured the meet title over fifth-ranked (at the time) MIT and top-ranked (at the time) Williams. The Knights scored 65 points to the Engineers’ 71 and 100 from the host Ephs.

Voting coaches took notice and in the most recent poll, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), tabbed SUNY Geneseo as the unanimous No. 1 team in all the land. The Knights are No. 1 for the ninth time in program history. Under previous coach Mike Woods, SUNY Geneseo was ranked No. 1 for eight consecutive weeks from the 2006 Preseason Poll through Week 7.

Coupled with the SUNY Geneseo men being ranked No. 1, this marks the first time in NCAA DIII poll history that one school housed both the top-ranked men’s and women’s program in the nation simultaneously.

Just like its finish this past weekend in Williamstown, Massachusetts, MIT is runner-up to the Knights in the poll. The Engineers moved up from fifth last week to second, tying their best billing from the past two years. It was at the Purple Valley Classic, however, that Megan McCandless notched the individual win for MIT and should give them a formidable one-two punch at the top of the lineup with Maryann Gong.

NATIONAL PDFs: Summary | Week-By-Week 2016 | Week-By-Week All-Time
Regional Rankings: Week 3 Summary | Week 3 Recap

MEN’S WEEK THREE NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL

Williams tumbled from No. 1 to No. 5 this week behind third-ranked Johns Hopkins and fourth-ranked Washington (Mo.). This is the lowest the Ephs have been in the poll at this point of the season since 2014 when they were 10th.

The biggest mover outside SUNY Geneseo and Williams this week was that of Dickinson. The Red Devils also took part in the Purple Valley Classic and finished sixth in the team standings. Dickinson beat four teams that were ranked ahead of itself last week and vaulted above them all this week, from No. 30 to No. 10. The Red Devils only had one runner in the top-30 at the Purple Valley Classic, however, and that was Sofia Canning.

There was only one new addition to the poll this week and that was DeSales (32nd). The Bulldogs posted their second victory in as many weeks this past weekend when they won the Messiah College Invitational over 12 teams.

The 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held November 19 in Louisville, Kentucky at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park. Two individual champions and two national champions will be crowned that day.

For the full National Coaches’ Poll, look below. And be sure to tune in ever Wednesday at noon ET for the LIVE reveal of the NCAA DIII polls on "Cross Country U," on USTFCCCA.org.