2019 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 1
NEW ORLEANS – The winds of change swept through the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll between the preseason and Week 1.
Only five of the top-35 teams remained in place after the first few weeks of competition during the 2019 season, which means there were tons of new spots to be had.
NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Washington (Mo.)
Washington (Mo.)
2
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
3
Williams
Williams
4
Chicago
Chicago
4
MIT
MIT
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
Nothing changed at the top of the poll as Washington (Mo.) and Johns Hopkins still take up residence at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. Both the Bears and the Blue Jays are back in action this weekend, but it’s what the latter did a few weeks ago at the Mount St. Mary’s Duals that opened a lot of eyes. Johns Hopkins posted a perfect 7-0 record at the meet, knocking off six different NCAA Division I programs in the process – including Georgetown (28-29) and Maryland (21-40).
U of Chicago is in the top-5 for the first time since Week 1 of the 2014 season. The Maroons, who sit behind No. 3 Williams and are tied with fellow No. 4 MIT, recently starred at the UWP Vic Godfrey Open and finished a close runner-up to NCAA Division I Butler. Claire Brockway, Maggie Boudreau and Leah Ulrich finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, with less than three seconds separating them.
Elsewhere in the top-10, Tufts and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps joined the ranks for the first time this season at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively.
The Jumbos recently opened their season with a dominant win at the Bates Super XC Shootout at Pineland Farms. Each of Tuft’s top-5 athletes finished in the top-6, led by Danielle Page’s individual title.
The Athenas stood tall against a number of NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II programs at both the Biola Invitational and the UCR Invitational. CMS finished a close third behind Cal State San Marcos and UC San Diego at the former and sixth behind Cal Baptist, Southern Utah, Cal Poly, Utah Valley and UC Santa Barbara at the latter.
UC Santa Cruz tied U of Chicago for the biggest jump by teams already ranked in the poll. The Banana Slugs climbed six spots from No. 32 to No. 26, its highest rank in program history.
Seven new teams joined the top-35 for the first time this season: No. 24 Bates, No. 27 Case Western Reserve, No. 29 Washington and Lee, No. 30 John Carroll, No. 32 St. Norbert, No. 33 RIT and No. 34 Messiah.
The next NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll will be released next Wednesday, September 25.
