2021 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 3

NEW ORLEANS – It is the calm before the storm.

Here is the newest edition of the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for Week 3 of the 2021 season, as released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Only four regions saw movement in their respective top-5s, but rest assured that we’ll see much more next week.

Regional Championships Saturday is set for Saturday, November 13!

East Region

There was a small change to the order of the top-5 teams in the East Region.

MIT and Bates remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Colby, but WPI leapfrogged Tufts into the No. 4 spot (The Jumbos are now ranked No. 5). The Cambridge-based Engineers finally opened their season in a big way, posting a strong result at the Purple Valley Classic against two other top-5 teams in the region (WPI and Tufts). We’ll get another top-5 matchup this upcoming weekend between Bates and Colby. 

Great Lakes Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Great Lakes Region.

John Carroll and Otterbein remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Calvin, No. 4 DePauw and No. 5 Case Western Reserve. None of those top-5 teams raced this past weekend, but will certainly be hitting the course this upcoming weekend: the Blue Streaks will be at the Paul Short Invitational; both the Cardinals and Spartans will be at the Mike Woods Invitational; both the Knights and the Tigers will be at the Live in the Lou Classic.

Metro Region

There was a small change to the order of the top-5 teams in the Metro Region.

Haverford and Rowan remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 TCNJ, but Ramapo leapfrogged DeSales into the No. 4 spot (The Bulldogs are now ranked No. 5). The Roadrunners proved speedy this past weekend at the Osprey Invitational, winning the meet with 42 points over several divisional foes, including the aforementioned Lions.

Mid-Atlantic Region

There were some notable changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Johns Hopkins and Carnegie Mellon remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Dickinson. Messiah ascended to the No. 4 spot and Elizabethtown jumped one spot to No. 5. The Red Devils, Eagles and Bluejays all competed at the Dickinson Long-Short Invitational this past weekend with the results in the same order. 

Mideast Region

There were a few changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Mideast Region.

Williams and Connecticut College remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, but Middlebury leapfrogged Vassar into the No. 3 spot (The Brewers are now ranked No. 4) and RPI held steady at No. 5. The Ephs and the Panthers both competed at the Purple Valley Classic this past weekend, with the former taking home the team title and the latter placing a strong third. Vassar and RPI both competed at the Saratoga Invitational with the former putting together a strong effort and beat the latter for the second time this season.

Midwest Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Midwest Region.

Wartburg and North Central (Ill.) remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Washington (Mo.), No. 4 UChicago and No. 5 Loras. None of those top-5 teams competed this past weekend, but will be out in full force this upcoming weekend: the Knights host the Dan Huston Invitational, which Washington (Mo.) will attend; the Cardinals will split squad, with one group going to the Live in the Lou Classic and the other at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational; both the Maroons and the Duhawks will compete at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational.

Niagara Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the Northeast Region.

SUNY Geneseo and NYU remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 Rochester (N.Y.), No. 4 Hamilton and No. 5 Ithaca. Both the Yellow Jackets and the Continentals raced their “A” squads this past weekend to favorable results. Rochester (N.Y.) finished a strong third at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational, ending up with the same score as runner-up Roberts Wesleyan. Hamilton was sixth at the loaded Purple Valley Classic, hosted by Williams.

North Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the North Region.

UW-Whitewater and St. Olaf remained No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by No. 3 UW-La Crosse, No. 4 UW-Eau Claire and No. 5 UW-Oshkosh. Four of those top-5 squads will compete at the Blugold Invitational this upcoming weekend, as the Warhawks, Oles, Blugold and Titans all square off with a lot on the line. The Eagles travel to the Live in the Lou Classic.

South Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the South Region.

Emory and Lynchburg remained No. 1 and No. 2, followed by No. 3 Christopher Newport, No. 4 Rhodes and No. 5 Berry, respectively. Four of those top-5 squads will compete at the Live in the Lou Classic this upcoming weekend, as the Eagles, Hornets, Lynx and Vikings all square off with a lot on the line. The Captains head to the Paul Short Invitational in Pennsylvania.

West Region

There were no changes to the order of the top-5 teams in the West Region.

Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps remained No.1 and No. 2, followed by No. 3 UC Santa Cruz, No. 4 George Fox and No. 5 Occidental, respectively. Three of those top-5 teams competed at the Cougar Classic this past weekend with the Sagehens posting a notable team victory over a highly-ranked NCAA Division II program. The Stags and the Banana Slugs will square off at the Live in the Lou Classic this upcoming weekend.