2018 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 6
NEW ORLEANS – Just when you thought the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll couldn’t change any more, this past weekend happened.
The biggest weekend of the regular season came and went and caused some major changes to the most recent index, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
|
|||||||||||||||
We’ll start at the top, where there were no changes (Imagine that): Johns Hopkins is still the unanimous No. 1 team following its team victory at the Inter-Regional Border Battle this past weekend, followed by Kollege Town Sports Invitational champion Washington (Mo.) at No. 2, Inter-Regional Border Battle runner-up SUNY Geneseo at No. 3 and Kollege Town Sports Invitational runner-up MIT at No. 4.
Middlebury made the first major jump in the poll as it soared from No. 16 in Week 5 to No. 5 in Week 6 following a victory at the Connecticut College Invitational. The Panthers, who haven’t been ranked this high since Week 3 of 2015, put their entire scoring lineup in the top-25 as they edged runner-up Dickinson by five points (67-72).
Speaking of the Red Devils (See what we did there), they come in at No. 6 this week, an eight-spot jump from Week 5. Dickinson landed its best ranking in program history after it put four runners in the top-17, led by Sarah House (sixth) and Emma Johnston (eighth).
We’ll stay in Connecticut, where Tufts finished third behind Middlebury and Dickinson. The Jumbos lumbered up four spots from Week 5 to No. 7 in Week 6. Natalie Bettez continued her strong season with a third-place finish overall.
Brandeis proved to be stronger than expected this past weekend at the Kollege Town Sports Invitational. The Judges dropped the gavel on the field and placed third as a team. Brandeis jumped from No. 18 in Week 5 to No. 8 in Week 6, its best ranking in program history.
Wheaton (Ill.) ran well collectively in Winneconne, Wisconsin, and finished fourth as a team. The Thunder jumped three spots between Week 5 and Week 6, coming in at No. 9 this week, which is its third time ranked in the top-10 this season.
There were three other double-digit movers in the top-20 this week: U of Chicago went from No. 26 to No. 14 (The Maroons’ seventh year in a row in the top-15 at some point in the season), Wesleyan (Conn.) went from No. 33 to a program-record No. 18 after finishing third at the Inter-Regional Border Battle and Emory went from No. 28 to No. 17 (The Eagles’ best rank since 2016) after finishing 10th at the Kollege Town Sports Invitational.
Two teams dropped out of the poll, which meant two teams were welcomed into its ranks: Oberlin at No. 29 after not being ranked last week and Case Western Reserve, which jumps from the Land of Receiving Votes to No. 32.
There will not be a National Coaches’ Poll next week, so you’ll want to check back on October 31, when the list is updated following Conference Championship Weekend.
