2021 NCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Week 2
NEW ORLEANS – “Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes” isn’t just a lyric in a Bob Dylan song.
Here is the newest edition of the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Multiple teams shifted between Week 1 and Week 2, including seven of the top-10 programs 30 overall throughout the ranks.
NCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
2
Wartburg
Wartburg
3
Chicago
Chicago
4
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
5
Washington (Mo.)
Washington (Mo.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
If you think Johns Hopkins is going anywhere other than the top spot, you’re sorely mistaken. The Blue Jays, who are unanimous favorites in the Week 2 index, starred at the Iona Br. Paddy Doyle Meet of Championships this past weekend. Johns Hopkins beat a NCAA Division I-loaded field by 22 points. The Blue Jays put three runners in the top-10, led by Ella Baran in 2nd place.
Both Wartburg and UChicago moved up one spot to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps jumped three spots to No. 5. Each of those moves were facilitated by a three-spot drop by Washington (Mo.) from No. 2 to No. 5. Both the Maroons and the Athenas impressed this past weekend. UChicago split its squad and finished a strong fourth at the MSU Spartan Invitational and steamrolled the field at the Gil Dodds Invitational. CMS took runner-up honors at the UCR Cross Country Invitational behind NCAA DI Cal Baptist.
Elsewhere in the top-10, Williams and Bates both jumped six or more spots. The now eighth-ranked Ephs improved six spots from Week 1 thanks to an 11-point win at the Little 3 Championships over Amherst and Wesleyan. The now 10th-ranked Bobcats brandished their depth at the Bates Super XC Shootout, as they put six runners in the top-10 to beat former No. 5 Tufts, 26-42.
Four other teams improved five or more spots in Week 2: Pomona-Pitzer went from No. 21 to No. 14 after a strong performance at the UCR Cross Country Invitational, where they won the Open race; Emory went from No. 25 to No. 20 following a runner-up finish at the Converse Kick-Off, which featured NCAA DII and NCAA DIII programs; WPI went from No. 32 to No. 25 thanks to winning the UMass Dartmouth Cross Country Invitational; Haverford went from No. 32 to No. 27 with a solid effort at the Main Line Invitational.
Perhaps the most notable vault belonged to Calvin, which went from Also Receiving Votes to No. 16. The Knights, still riding the high of a runner-up finish at the Calvin Knight Invitational to reigning NCAA DII champ Grand Valley State, took seventh at the MSU Spartan Invitational and were the second-best NCAA DIII program in the field.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 20, because that’s when the 2021 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be held at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky!
