2017 NCAA DI Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings — Week 6

NEW ORLEANS – As the dust settles after a weekend filled with conference championships, a clearer picture of the NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings are beginning to emerge.

The sixth week of rankings, announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), does not dramatically shift the landscape, as just one region saw a new team take over the top spot. As a reminder, the top-two teams at each NCAA Regional meet automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships.

REGIONAL RANKING – SUUMMARY PDF
REGIONAL RANKING – 2017 WEEK BY WEEK
REGIONAL RANKING – ALL-TIME WEEK BY WEEK

Great Lakes Region

The Big Ten is holding down the top portion of the Great Lakes Region, as Michigan remains in first after laying claim to the Big Ten Championships, thanks to top-five finishes from Jamie Morrissey (20:16.8 – third) and Gina Sereno (20:22.2 – fourth) in Bloomington, Indiana.

Wisconsin – coming off a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships – is the runner-up in the region for the second-consecutive week, while Michigan State has third place locked down after a fifth-place outing at the conference championships.

Mid-Atlantic Region

The lone change in first-place in the NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country Regional Rankings this week belongs to the Mid-Atlantic Region, as Villanova leap frogged Penn State for the top spot.

The Wildcats captured the Big East title with a score of 39, as four runners placed within the top-10. The Nittany Lions came in fourth place at the Big Ten Championships, and have two teams who jumped a spot each in the rankings in Georgetown (third) and West Virginia (fourth) hot on their heels after solid showings at the Big East and Big 12 Championships, respectively.

Midwest Region

No surprises in the Midwest Region, as Minnesota comes in at first for the third time on the season after a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships. The Golden Gophers’ Madeline Strandemo (20:13.5) was just three seconds off the pace setter in Bloomington.

The top-two teams from the Big 12 Championships sit second and third in the Midwest Region in Iowa State and Oklahoma State. The Cyclones saw three runners finish in the top-10 and all five scorers wrap up in the top-20, while Oklahoma State had four top-20 competitors.

Mountain Region

The Mountain Region saw the fewest changes, as the top-eight teams from a week ago remained in their respective spots.

Colorado galloped to a Pac-12 title, thanks to a first-place finish from Dani Jones (18:57.3). But New Mexico was equally as impressive, picking up a Mountain West Championship on the backs of Ednah Kurgat (19:58.8 – first), Weini Kelati (20:11.7 – second), Charlotte Prouse (20:14.7 – third) and Alice Wright (20:54.9 – fifth).

Utah State sits in third again after finishing third at the Mountain West Championships.

Northeast Region

Much like the Mountain Region, the Northeast Region didn’t see a tremendous amount of movement at the top of its rankings. Providence placed four runners in the top-10 of the Big East Championships, including individual champion Catarina Rocha (19:59.0), for a runner-up finish at that meet to keep the program in first in the region.  

The Ivy League held down the fort in spots second and third, as Columbia and Dartmouth went 1-2 at the conference meet.

South Region

Georgia proved it was for real after a runner-up finish at the SEC Championships this past week, allowing them to remain in first in the South Region. The Bulldogs got top-five finishes from Jessica Drop (20:17.1 – fourth) and Samantha Drop (20:19.8 – fifth), staying just ahead of Ole Miss, who finished third at the meet and remains in second in the region.

Mississippi State, who finished just three points out of fourth place at the SEC Championships, jumped to third in the region after coming in seventh a week ago.

South Central Region

Arkansas unsurprisingly dominated the SEC Championships with five top-12 finishes, including a runner-up outing from Taylor Werner (20:07.1), to remain in the lead in the South Central Region.

The Southland Conference Champion Abilene Christian jumped into second on the week, after Alexandria Hackett (20:27.8), Michaela Hackett (20:31.1) and Diana Garcia-Munoz (21:07.4) went 1-2-3 for the Wildcats.

Texas moved up to third after falling to fifth a week ago. The Longhorns finished third at the Big 12 Championships.

Southeast Region

The top-three teams in the Southeast Region held down their respective spots after strong outings in three different conference championships.

NC State remained in first for the 14th-consecutive week after bringing home the ACC Championship. The Wolfpack was led by rookie Dominique Clairmonte (19:59.0 – third), while three others finished in the top-10.

Furman put on a show at the Southern Conference Championship to hold onto second place. Allie Buchalski won the individual title with a time of 16:23.4, and five other Paladins were in the top-nine.

Eastern Kentucky held down third place in the region after capturing the Ohio Valley Conference title with a perfect score of 15. Charlotte Imer led the pack with a time of 16:52.3.

West Region

Oregon was second at the Pac-12 Championships – with Katie Rainsberger (18:58.5) finishing second at the meet to continue its stranglehold on first place in the West Region. But Stanford made a huge jump in the rankings after a solid showing at the same meet.

The Cardinal were led by Vanessa Fraser (19:02.6), who finished fourth to put Stanford in a tie with Oregon. The Cardinal wrapped up third in a tie breaker with the Ducks at the meet, moving up three spots from fifth in the region.

San Francisco remained in the top-three, but fell one spot from second despite winning the West Coast Championships with a score of 20. Charlotte Taylor (19:10.5), Weronika Pyzik (19:30.3) and Isabelle Brauer (19:40.2) went 1-2-3 during the meet.