Teams Jockey For Position In Final NCAA DI Women’s XC Regional Rankings

NEW ORLEANS — Another Conference Championship Weekend in NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country has come and gone and outside of a few upsets, those teams and individuals that were favored handled business.

Because of that, there weren’t many changes to the latest Regional Rankings, released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). These are also the final Regional Rankings of the season as the results from the upcoming Regional Championships are considered the final ranking.

Regional Rankings Summary PDF | Rankings Central | Men’s Rankings

Each of the nine teams that entered this past weekend ranked No. 1 in their respective regions remained on top and three teams moved into the all-important No. 2 position. Remember: The top-2 teams at each regional championship punch an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The biggest mover in the rankings this week was Stanford in the West Region. The Cardinal went from No. 5 to No. 2 after finishing third at the Pac-12 Championships (Colorado rolled and Washington, the top-ranked West team, finished second).

It was a coming-out party of sorts for Stanford as three of its top-5 finishers were freshmen. Vanessa Fraser led the way in 8th, but behind her were Fiona O’Keefe (11th), Christina Aragon (14th) and Ella Donaghu (20th).

In the Northeast Region, Harvard moved from No. 3 to No. 2 thanks to a huge win at the Heptagonal Championships. The Crimson put four in the top-10 of a 56-woman race and captured its first conference title since 1985 (7th in program history). Courtney Smith earned the individual win for Harvard (20:19.6 — 12 seconds ahead of Penn’s Ashley Montgomery), the first from that program to do so in 27 years.

Over in the South Central Region, SMU is in prime position with two weeks to go until the regional championship. The Mustangs edged Tulsa 45-47 at the AAC Championships and leapfrogged Baylor, a team that struggled at the Big 12 Championships.

As a refresher, here is the top team in each region: Michigan (Great Lakes), Colorado (Mountain), Arkansas (South Central), Penn State (Mid-Atlantic), Providence (Northeast), NC State (Southeast), Iowa State (Midwest), Mississippi (South) and Washington (West).

We’ll find out very soon how well these region rankings hold up when the 2016 NCAA Division I Regional Championships are held across the nation on November 11.

As always, you can find out what impact the past weekend had on the National Coaches’ Poll when it’s unveiled LIVE on "Cross Country U." That show airs at noon ET on Tuesday exclusively on USTFCCCA.org.

USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining predicted team finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships.