2018 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 5
NEW ORLEANS – If a team was in the top-12 of last week’s NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, then it can breathe safely – at least for another week.
The most recent poll, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), saw no changes to the top-12 from Week 4 to Week 5, but a plethora of them from No. 13 to No. 35. In fact, 18 of the 23 teams that were ranked between No. 13 and No. 35 last week shifted spots.
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Pomona-Pitzer continues to climb in the National Coaches’ Poll. After not being ranked in the preseason, the Sagehens worked their way up to No. 15 in Week 3 and now No. 14 in Week 5. It was a strong effort at its own Pomona-Pitzer Invitational that propelled the squad up four spots from Week 4. The Sagehens, led by Helen Guo’s individual title, won the meet with 48 points as they put four runners in the top-15.
St. Thomas (Minn.) was the only other program to move more than one spot in the positive direction. The Tommies continue to ride the wave of momentum from their performance at the Roy Griak Invitational. St. Thomas (Minn.) finished second out of every NCAA DIII program entered in the Women’s Maroon Race two weeks ago.
Dickinson posted one of the most lopsided wins of the past weekend when it romped to the team title at the DeSales Invitational by 64 points. The Red Devils moved up one spot from No. 15 to No. 14, which ties their highest billing of the season.
Here are the other teams that moved up one spot from Week 4: Brandeis from No. 19 to No. 18, Otterbein from No. 22 to No. 21, North Central (Ill.) from No. 24 to No. 23, Emory from No. 29 to No. 28 and Carnegie Mellon from No. 31 to No. 30.
Be sure to check back next week as there will be many more changes to the National Coaches’ Poll following a busy weekend highlighted by the Pre-National Invitational.
Remember: The 2018 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held Saturday, November 17 at the Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne, Wisconsin.
Where Is The Nation Racing This Weekend?
Here is a look at some of the notable meets this weekend with ranked teams.
Pre-National Invitational
No. 2 Washington (Mo.)
No. 4 MIT
No. 5 UW-Eau Claire
No. 6 Carleton
No. 9 Hope
No. 12 Wheaton (Ill.)
No. 13 Pomona-Pitzer
No. 15 Calvin
No. 18 Brandeis
No. 20 Wartburg
No. 21 Otterbein
No. 23 North Central (Ill.)
No. 24 Bates
No. 25 St. Olaf
No. 26 U of Chicago
No. 28 Emory
No. 32 St. Thomas (Minn.)
Inter-Regional Border Battle
No. 1 Johns Hopkins
No. 3 SUNY Geneseo
No. 7 St. Lawrence
No. 10 RPI
No. 22 Rochester
No. 30 Carnegie Mellon
No. 34 TCNJ
No. 35 Allegheny (Pa.)
Connecticut College Invitational
No. 8 Williams
No. 11 Tufts
No. 14 Dickinson
No. 16 Middlebury
No. 31 St. Thomas
No. 29 Coast Guard Academy
No. 33 Wesleyan (Conn.)
